Legality and Morality of Marijauna?

[nysacerdote]

With Marijauna recently legalized for recreational use in Colorado, what is the Church’s stance and using Marijauna?

 

[Fr.Charles_Grondin]

You may find the following articles helpful:

Marijuana and Catholic Belief by E. Christian Brugger, Ph.D.

Therefore, if we smoke pot with the intention of getting high, we do wrong. It follows that to the extent that the Colorado law aims at sanctioning pot smoking in order to get high, it’s a harmful and unjust law.

Nancy Frazier O’Brien
Catholic News Service

In his commentary on the California marijuana proposal, Bishop Cordileone said that “the ingestion of brain-altering chemicals – legal or illegal – cannot be categorized as good stewardship of our earthly lives.”

Patchwork of murky laws emerges as more states OK use of marijuana

“The church is generally concerned about that which is legal ‘becomes moral’ — as with legalized gambling and assisted suicide. It’s now hard to make a moral case to young people not to smoke pot if it’s legal,” [Greg Magnoni, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Seattle] told Catholic News Service.

Catholic experts weigh in on the morality of legalized marijuana

In 2001, the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care reported in its handbook “Church: Drugs and Drug Addiction” that consumption of the various forms of the cannabis plant cause euphoria, confusion, desire to laugh and drowsiness. Strong doses cause lethargy and upset in the perception of time, visual precision and loss of short-term memory. With high and repeated use, pot can cause palpitation, swelling of blood vessels, bronchial illnesses and psychic dependency.
“Considering all the facts, it is irresponsible to consider cannabis in a trivial way and to think of it as being ‘a soft drug,’ that is, one without remarkable effects on the organism,” the council stated.

“Exercise prudential judgment”

“The California Bishops have not taken a position on any of the propositions, but they ask that you form your conscience by prayerfully considering Catholic teaching – several excerpts of which are highlighted in this document – and then exercise prudential judgment when casting your vote,” says a statement posted on the website of the California Catholic Conference, the political action arm of the state’s bishops.

…With regard to Proposition 19, which would legalize marijuana, the California Catholic Conference has this to say: “The California bishops have serious moral and practical concerns about Proposition 19.”