Marijuana = Sinfull?

[Denae]

I know I’m just repeating what others are saying, but I don’t think that weed in of itself is sinful, (like alchohol) it’s the fact that using it breaks the law. And that is where the sin comes into play. If alchohol were still illegal (prohibition) then it would have been a sin to use it.

 

[John_Russell_Jr]

I am a catholic and I have been smoking pot on and off again for a couple of months now. I appreciate all of the posts on this thread that I have read (although I have only read some of them). I guess I am searching my heart for how I believe God’s view of me smoking marijuana would be. Asking myself am I WANTING marijuana to be deemed inline with the obedience of God and is that affecting my stand, because it shouldn’t. That would be me wanting God to be how I want him to be. I guess the confusing part of it all is that alcohol (wine) in the bible and jesus’ acceptance or endorsment of it. He changed water into wine and obviously drinking wine isn’t sinful in moderation. Ephesian’s tells us to not be drunk on wine but be filled with the holy spirit. I look at that and have tried to apply that to marijuana/alcohol/caffine/ etc… That verse says to me do not do things to your temple (body) which will stand in the way of your connection with our lord. Maybe that’s the key. I know I would not choose alcohol or pot over God. I’d make the change if need be. And I have a hard time respecting the law of our land when abortion (MURDER) is legal. At the least I believe that getting stoned out of one’s mind is as sinful as getting drunk to a state of uselessness. I don’t know how taking a puff is sinful while drinking a glass of wine isn’t. I want to understand that. And I don’t want to hear that something is a sin in the United States and not a sin in Amsterdam. I want to know what God’s law tells me how to live, not our genocidal abortion endorsing country.

It is never a sin to break mans laws, only Gods laws. The reason why it is ok to drink alcohol and not ok to smoke pot is that alcohol is designed to gladden the heart but pot is designed to bomb you out. Alcohol is like a mild sedative to help us relax and unwind. Pot bombs out the mind. If you smoke pot for recreational purposes then it’s sinful. Pot is not designed to have the same effect as alcohol.They are different. Much of the pot around is mixed with other drugs like speed too to give you a bigger buzz and this makes it more addictive. You need to be careful with pot. Pot is very bad for your health too, but a little alcohol is good for your health.

 

[KingAlfred]

Tobacco and alcohol are self-destructive…your point?

Don’t self-destruct. God doesn’t want that.

 

[KingAlfred]

It is never a sin to break mans laws, only Gods laws. The reason why it is ok to drink alcohol and not ok to smoke pot is that alcohol is designed to gladden the heart but pot is designed to bomb you out. Alcohol is like a mild sedative to help us relax and unwind. Pot bombs out the mind. If you smoke pot for recreational purposes then it’s sinful. Pot is not designed to have the same effect as alcohol.They are different. Much of the pot around is mixed with other drugs like speed too to give you a bigger buzz and this makes it more addictive. You need to be careful with pot. Pot is very bad for your health too, but a little alcohol is good for your health.

IMO, they’re both drugs and bad for you. I encourage my son to do neither, ever.

 

[John_Russell_Jr]

IMO, they’re both drugs and bad for you. I encourage my son to do neither, ever.

Hi there
they are both drugs but food is a drug too. So being a drug does not make something bad. Drinking alcohol in moderation is very biblical and Jesus drank and made it part of our worship- the main part. Not drinking alcohol is a voluntary choice we can make if we want. Except for me and those like me. I’m an AA’er and alcohol is poison to me and it’s sinful for me to drink one drop of alcohol, except if the Host is dipped in the precious blood- that doesn’t upset me. I am allergic to alcohol and powerless over it. But for the normal person it’s very healthy to have a little alcohol. If a person chooses never to drink alcohol then that’s a personal sacrifice and meritorious. Some people are born with a potential to have the disease of alcoholism like me but not everyone.

 

[xmydreamsfadex]

It is never a sin to break mans laws, only Gods laws. The reason why it is ok to drink alcohol and not ok to smoke pot is that alcohol is designed to gladden the heart but pot is designed to bomb you out. Alcohol is like a mild sedative to help us relax and unwind. Pot bombs out the mind. If you smoke pot for recreational purposes then it’s sinful. Pot is not designed to have the same effect as alcohol.They are different. Much of the pot around is mixed with other drugs like speed too to give you a bigger buzz and this makes it more addictive. You need to be careful with pot. Pot is very bad for your health too, but a little alcohol is good for your health.

as someone who smoked a lot of pot in his teen years, pot isn’t mixed with anything. i have never seen, or heard, of pot being “laced” with such drugs just because meth and hard drugs like that are a lot more expensive than pot so the “dealer” would be wasting his own money trying to get his pawn high-er. now people can lace their own weed with other drugs that they also buy but the dealer isn’t going to waste his time.

 

[gmags2003]

Oops, accidental double post.

 

[gmags2003]

Yeah, what John Russell is at its highest probability a myth.

http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/146/PP0159~God-Made-Grass-Man-Made-Booze-Posters.jpg

The government spends billions of dollars a year arresting peaceful marijuana users and maintaining them in a jail cell. If marijuana were legal, not only would they save money from not arresting otherwise innocent people, they could potentially make money by taxing the drug in the same fashion they do anything else.

BaerWCB

 

[Leapling229]

So, I’ve been lurking for a while, but I thought I’d register and comment on this topic.

First off, I agree that marijuana should stay illegal (except in cases for legitimate medical need), but I was a heavy user of it until a few years ago. I went through a spiritual awakening and left behind the life I was living. I’m 28 years old now, though I didn’t begin smoking until after 20… I saw the effects of those teenagers who smoked some, were honors students, and then never got out of it… their lives went down the tube. I joined up late in the game, but my life went tumbling down as well. I passionately defended it as not being a “gateway drug”, though in my own case and most of the people I knew it was exactly that. We just liked to say that it wasn’t the pot’s fault, we would have done the harder drugs anyway… but… I’m just not sure that’s true. So many of these people would deny it’s addictiveness, but were unable to live life without it.

Anyways, I’m getting off the subject. I stopped smoking to get high when I left behind my old ways, but I continued to smoke a little on my own for a few months after. Cutting back immensely (think the equivalent of drinking a single beer every week instead of a 12-pack every day) helped put my life into perspective and, in a way, be honest to myself. Honestly, it helped me feel closer to God for a while, introducing me to Him as I coped with the recognition and realization of my prior sins. In a little time, the marijuana itself was revealed as a sin and I understood why it is illegal and alcohol and tobacco aren’t.

I just know with all me heart that I wish I had never started smoking it… it’s more than just a drug, it’s a lifestyle which is often harder to leave behind than the drug itself. For many people, though, it’s just a short phase which they go through during the college years to “expand their mind”… though, in the long run it hurts more people than it helps.

It’s a sin in my book… and against the law… though I admit I do miss the lifestyle from time to time. Not the drug, but the friends I had such good times with. I can’t be around them now because seeing how they really are reminds me of the truth of who I was… and I was meant for so much more on this earth.

Sorry to talk about me so much…

 

[Leapling229]

The government spends billions of dollars a year arresting peaceful marijuana users and maintaining them in a jail cell. If marijuana were legal, not only would they save money from not arresting otherwise innocent people, they could potentially make money by taxing the drug in the same fashion they do anything else.

BaerWCB

Oh yeah… even though I believe marijuana should stay illegal, it should NOT be an arrestable offense nor should the government put money best used elsewhere into finding marijuana users. Legalize it nationally for legitimate medical reasons and tax that. The general public shouldn’t have even easier access to it. If people want to smoke it, they are going to find ways…

 

[bhall0689]

This is a very interesting question, and there’s lots of heated debate on both sides of the issue. True, marijuana can have debilitating effects, but many marijuana users will tell you that, with time, the drug can have very spiritual, formative effects.

For something to be a mortal sin, the person committing the sin must be sufficiently informed and freely choose to do so. The sin must be of “grave matter.” As much as one might “speculate,” there is no specific passage in the Bible explicitly prohibiting the use of marijuana. Regardless, smoking would probably be at most a venial sin.

Indeed, in a research study published by the National Academy of Sciences, marijuana has been shown to have a very low rate of addiction, not even comparative to that of tobacco or alcohol.

What about medicinal marijuana? There have been numerous scientific studies (I can pull these up for you guys if you want, wrote a research paper about it) hailing the benefits of smoked marijuana to patients undergoing chemotherapy and suffering from other afflictions such as AIDS or glaucoma. Indeed, we were created in the image of God, and we have cannaboid receptors in our brains.

Remember that Catholics are no tee-totalers; Jesus’ first miracle was the transformation of water into wine. The Catholic church does not preach against the consumption of alcohol, which arguably has much more debilitating effects than marijuana.

 

[John_Russell_Jr]

This is a big debate. It’s been going on a long time - this post. One must ask oneself why one wants to smoke marijuana. If it’s to bomb ones self out or get high or escape from reality then one is committing a mortal sin. For the argument of debate one must purely look at the sinfulness of something objectively. We can never be sure if the smoker committed a sin or not but that does not mean we can’t condemn the deed as sinful. In fact we sin if we neglect to perform the spiritual works of mercy where appropriate. Should we take morphine because doctors use it to alleviate human suffering? Alcohol is ok in moderation because it’s designed to gladden the heart and not bomb out the mind. i’ve been asked to explain what bombing out the mind means on this post before- it’s pretty obvious. It’s taking you out of reality. Whether there are long term effects of the drug making you seem dopey like all the people I’ve met who are heavy smokers of this may be debatable to some but that most marijuana smokers smoke to escape reality is a fact and in this case it’s sinful. In this weakened state of mind and sin one is very susceptible to possession too. I bet that point hasn’t been raised much in this debate. There have been numerous accounts of people being possessed whilst high. The devil will assault us much more when we’re at our weakest. I assume no one will deny a person is in a weaker state of mind when high? Sin is very pleasurable and very appealing to us. I guess that’s why so many people want to smoke weed. But there is a huge difference between getting high and medicine. I hope I’ve added something useful to the debate.

 

[RosalieM]

Wow. I can’t believe I read all the posts in this thread. I’m thinking marijuana use might be viewed as an occasion of sin. It can increase physical appetites and impede self-control. Even one tiny little puff changes reality. It can give that “lift”, that “high”. Being high isn’t the same as being happy and therein lies the main confusion. It is “decriminalized” in some states, which means it’s a misdemeanor, like a traffic violation. Even if it were perfectly legal everywhere, I daresay the Church would be against it simply because it distorts reality.
Smoking marijuana may be pleasurable, but it gets in the way of reality. It’s a bother.
To the OP: If you just want to feel dreamy, drink camomille tea and listen to new age music. If you want to be closer to Jesus, go often to communion. If you want to relax, exercise and get those endorphins going. Go on retreats, pilgrimages. Real spiritual growth is what you really want, not a fading glimpse induced by a substance. Accept no false substitutions, no mere distracting chemicals that literally and figuratively go up in smoke. God bless you.

 

[John_Russell_Jr]

To add to my last post just above. I’m not sure if this was mentioned elsewhere. When one smokes weed one is in a weakened state of mind. In this state one is more susceptible to temptation. So if one is not possessed which is rare, one is much more likely to weaken in the face of temptation. This makes it an occasion of sin as the last poster so rightly states. To think one is improving ones relationship with God or prayer life whilst high is a delusion. If one is truly on the right track with God and prayer one will experience a high from the grace of God without the drugs. Perhaps satan is very happy to deceive some people into thinking that weed helps them spiritually knowing that the narrow path will give them the true high that is pleasing to God, and not sinful. Genuine supervised medicinal use excepted of course.

 

[Live_in_faith]

The Chinese Government has laws against Chinese Catholics meeting for church. If they meet, are they not sinning by your definition?

Marijuana does not cloud your thinking like alcohol. It can help you focus your thoughts and is even prescribed by some doctors to children with ADD in California. It is non-toxic and you cannot overdose on it. You most likely voted for a President that has used it, since the past 3 have. And many good and productive Catholic use it without guilt.

The FDA has approved Marinol, which is 100% THC, for its medical benefits. The American College of Physicians thinks it should be legal. It is not against the law because it is sinful; it is against the law to protect the profits of major industries (Alcohol Industry, Pharmaceutical Industry, for profit prisons, Cotton Industry). If you know the history of it, you know that they lied to Congress about what it does, they said it makes people murderers and said physicians are for banning it, both lies. And here people are posting more misinformation about it.

If you like it but don’t want to break the Government’s laws because you see that as sinful, join NORML.ORG and help change the laws, thereby making it less sinful than drinking a beer, something my great aunt who was a Catholic Nun was fond of. Alcohol is toxic, slowly damages your liver, and in Texas the number 1 cause of teenage death. It is also a major component of violent crimes. Marijuana is less harmful than Alcohol, and any harm to society from Marijuana is not from the plant, but from the prohibition of it.

It is pure and natural, can be eaten or vaporized, and does not have to be smoked, which is not good for your lungs. People who are opposed to it have never tried it. Would you take advice from a person telling you that lobster taste terrible after you found out they have never actually tried lobster themselves, but where told by the Government that is taste terrible? Have blind faith in God, not Governments.

 

[Live_in_faith]

Alcohol is ok in moderation because it’s designed to gladden the heart and not bomb out the mind. i’ve been asked to explain what bombing out the mind means on this post before- it’s pretty obvious. It’s taking you out of reality.

Gladden the heart is code for “I like to drink alcohol because it gives me a nice buzz.” Just because something feels good does not make it sinful. A warm blanket fresh from the dryer on a cold winter’s day feels good. Is it sinful? What if the Government outlawed warm blankets? Then would it be a sin?

Don’t view socially acceptable drugs like alcohol to be good, just because the people making the laws are addicted to them.

Bombing out of the mind? I would rather be on the roads with 10 people who just smoked an entire joint than 3 people who have gladdened their hearts with alcohol. The point is Marijuana does not make you lose your inhibitions like alcohol does. This is why the Devil would not choose to get to you using cannabis. He would find a much easier path to your soul through your alcohol induced “gladdened heart”.

 

[RosalieM]

I think marijuana can cause a person to make bad decisions and yes, it does make you lose your inhibitions and weaken self control. i.e., “munchies” as a lesser example. Believe me, I have been thinking of how much I would like to take some puffs off a joint lately. My beloved cat died Dec. 18th. I was tempted during my grief. As I began to heal, my mother passed away a few weeks ago. During all this, my son has rejected me to compound everything. Don’t you think the thought enters my mind how a little puff could lighten things up? Why don’t I go ahead and make a call to a sleazey guy and buy some pot? Why not? Why do I instead feel that it would distract me from going through my Lent and winning my Easter, the joy that only my Lord can give me. The joy that doesn’t wear off.
Pot can also make things “go south” as can alcohol. They are both depressants and if taken, should be in moderation. If I have a glass of wine or two, that will suffice. But I avoid it most of the time because my grief has to run its course. Frankly, I’d be scared to smoke pot while grieving. I don’t know about you, but i need to keep my wits about me and seek comfort in the Lord.

 

[DL82]

The problem is not the Marijuana, and the problem is not the Law.

The problem is that if you smoke pot then you prop up a whole illegal industry, tied up with prostitution, hard drugs, people trafficking, arms trafficking, armed rebellions and organised crime.

Even in places like Holland where the consumption of marijuana is illegal, the supply is still controlled by the Mob.

To make truly ‘clean’ marijuana would mean the regulation of a whole new industry, new farms would need to be established under new owners, in countries with stable democratic governments, new suppliers and importers would have to be licensed and set up, new stores to sell it, and new laws to control the sale. All of that is pretty unlikely.

Honestly, why bother. Is it really worth the effort?

 

[forever_always]

My name is Jason and I live in Ohio. My parents are not very religious, and I do not have any siblings. I live in a small town, and there are not many Catholics there. There is one Youth Group, but after attending several meetings I failed to become friends with any of the other kids my own age. As a result, I tend to hang out with my non-religious friends. They are good people still, and rarely do I feel my spirituality becomes an issue when I am with them. Lately, however, I have begun to wonder.

One of my friends began to smoke marijuana, and soon, most of them were. I also said no when they offered me some, and they let it rest respecting my beliefs. I always had a good time when they smoked, anyway. They were always so happy and always laughed when they were high and we all had a good time.

Let me point out that while none of them are very religious, they are still good people. They may smoke pot every so often, but they commit no other crimes. As odd as it sounds they are all on the Honor Roll at school, too, and are considered upstanding young men and women by everyone. I take pride to be in their company.

About two months ago, I let my curiosity get the best of me, and I smoked some with them. I had an amazing time. They knew it was my first time getting high, so they wanted to show me a good time. We went out into the woods and smoked, then took a hike. It was an incredible experience. It was if I was seeing the world from a completely different perspective, and I noticed details in nature that I had never noticed before. I had been to those woods many times, but it was like I was seeing it all again for the first time. I felt a connection to the world, and as a result I began to feel closer to God.

I now smoke quite a bit, and I feel that it has made me grow closer to the world around me and to God as well. I go on about my life as normal, and the smoking has never gotten me into trouble or even made me late for an appointment.

My friends sometimes ask me why I do drugs if I’m a Catholic, and I say that marijuana is from the ground, and natural. God had a reason to put it on this Earth.

I just wonder what the Bible might think of this subject.

I believe it is a sin because you are harming your body. My finance used to smoke it, quite often (before we dated we were friends for a while). I was able to avoid all of the temptations of weed (although I was hooked on tabacco for a while) and before we started dating, i told my finance I didn’t want any drugs in our life. He stopped smoking weed, and I stopped cigarettes. He was close to God his whole life, and now is even closer.

The point is, it is a sin to harm you body. Yes, it is difficult to quit, but in the long run you will be much better off. =]

 

[John_Russell_Jr]

Gladden the heart is code for “I like to drink alcohol because it gives me a nice buzz.” Just because something feels good does not make it sinful. A warm blanket fresh from the dryer on a cold winter’s day feels good. Is it sinful? What if the Government outlawed warm blankets? Then would it be a sin?

Don’t view socially acceptable drugs like alcohol to be good, just because the people making the laws are addicted to them.

Bombing out of the mind? I would rather be on the roads with 10 people who just smoked an entire joint than 3 people who have gladdened their hearts with alcohol. The point is Marijuana does not make you lose your inhibitions like alcohol does. This is why the Devil would not choose to get to you using cannabis. He would find a much easier path to your soul through your alcohol induced “gladdened heart”.

i almost see no point responding to what you say. I guess i would have to know you intimately before I could pass judgment on you. You are perhaps misunderstanding what I say and what my intention is. You are quite wrong dear friend. Pray, pray and pray. And love with a sober mind in touch with reality.