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Guest
Right, brent68. I myself took this comment to task last night. I did not find any official definition of a drug as having to be chemically extracted. The Oxford English Dictionary online provides the following definition of drug:I dunno which dictionary you’re using, but Merriam-Webster’s definition is:
I don’t see anything here about it needing to be chemically extracted.
Noun:
- a medicine or other substance which has a physiological effect when ingested or otherwise introduced into the body
1:1 a substance taken for its narcotic or stimulant effects, often illegally
There is nothing in the definition about how it is obtained. Instead the definition is focused on the physiological effects of the substance.
oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/drug?q=drug
Here is another definition:
What is a drug?
A drug is any chemical you take that affects the way your body works. Alcohol, caffeine, aspirin and nicotine are all drugs. A drug must be able to pass from your body into your brain. Once inside your brain, drugs can change the messages your brain cells are sending to each other, and to the rest of your body. They do this by interfering with your brain’s own chemical signals: neurotransmitters that transfer signals across synapses.
sciencemuseum.org.uk/whoami/findoutmore/yourbrain/howdodrugsaffectyourbrain/whatisadrug.aspx
Based on the official definitions, marijuana is a drug as it contains a chemical tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) which has a physiological and mind altering effects. Here is what wiki has:
“The effects of cannabis are caused by chemical compounds in cannabis, including cannabinoids such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Cannabis has both psychological and physiological effects on the human body.
Cannabis use disorder is defined in the fifth revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Cannabis use is associated with social and behavioural problems, and carries a risk to mental and physical health.” en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_cannabis
According to the official definition of ‘drug’, marijuana is a drug, just like cocaine and heroine which are both extracted from ‘organic’ plants, the coca plant and the poppy seed, respectively.
I have been reading on the Holy See website the response of the Church to drug use. There is a handbook that was put together but appears not to be available to the general public. I have requested a copy, I don’t know if it will be provided. PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR HEALTH PASTORAL CARE CHURCH: DRUGS AND DRUG ADDICTION vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/hlthwork/documents/rc_pc_hlthwork_doc_20011101_chiesa-droga-presentation_en.html
The paragraph below provides a general statement of the understanding of the Church with the problem of drugs:
ENCYCLICAL LETTER
CARITAS IN VERITATE
OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF
BENEDICT XVI
TO THE BISHOPS
PRIESTS AND DEACONS
MEN AND WOMEN RELIGIOUS
THE LAY FAITHFUL
AND ALL PEOPLE OF GOOD WILL
ON INTEGRAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
IN CHARITY AND TRUTH
“The human being develops when he grows in the spirit, when his soul comes to know itself and the truths that God has implanted deep within, when he enters into dialogue with himself and his Creator. When he is far away from God, man is unsettled and ill at ease. Social and psychological alienation and the many neuroses that afflict affluent societies are attributable in part to spiritual factors. A prosperous society, highly developed in material terms but weighing heavily on the soul, is not of itself conducive to authentic development. The new forms of slavery to drugs and the lack of hope into which so many people fall can be explained not only in sociological and psychological terms but also in essentially spiritual terms. The emptiness in which the soul feels abandoned, despite the availability of countless therapies for body and psyche, leads to suffering. There cannot be holistic development and universal common good unless people’s spiritual and moral welfare is taken into account, considered in their totality as body and soul.” vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20090629_caritas-in-veritate_en.html