Pope on Pot. Wait. That doesn't sound right

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Bill_Dodds

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So, according to Catholic News Service: “Pope Francis said legalizing marijuana and other so-called ‘recreational drugs’ has never curbed drug addiction rates and has little impact on the criminal organizations trafficking drugs around the world.”

Do you think it will continue to be legalized? (And taxed.)

Should it be?

What’s the difference between legally selling marijuana and legally selling alcohol?
 
I think that our country will continue its drive to legalization; it has never paid that much mind to Papal announcements.

While I would not favor such a movement, not caring to live in a society that welcomes drug use, I don’t think anybody’s going to back up that snowball anymore.

ICXC NIKA
 
I don’t smoke, so it doesn’t really matter to me…but burdening our courts and prisons with pot smokers doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. In fact, all drug users respond far better to receiving actual treatment than they do going to prison.

I am still intently watching how things go in Colorado and Washington. It’s a complicated issue.
 
Legalizing Pot makes no sense, especially when tobacco is slowly on its way out.

Pot and alcohol are not the same. When you are at a wedding or formal event, you can have a glass of alcohol and do a toast. I doubt you will see my weddings and formal events where a bong is smoked during the toast… :hypno:

No binge drinking and smoking pot do have much in common, but having a glass of wine or a beer with dinner is not the same as smoking a joint during or after dinner.

You can have a drink in front of your kids without them getting drunk. If you smoke weed with your kids in the room, they could get buzzed or even high.

Finally, society is bad enough has it is… do we really need more people smoking weed?
 
I often said if it was every legal I would try it once. However, it doesn’t mean that much and I would rather follow what the boss says. Now I have to also weigh alcohol consumption based on this message. It seems rather clear cut to me.
 
ae22 said:
I don’t smoke, so it doesn’t really matter to me…but burdening our courts and prisons with pot smokers doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. In fact, all drug users respond far better to receiving actual treatment than they do going to prison.

I am still intently watching how things go in Colorado and Washington. It’s a complicated issue.
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you can change the punishments and still keep it illegal. You can change the “crime” of pot position to a “violation” (like reckless driving) but keep the sale of pot a criminal offense. That way you don’t stick the college kids in jail for smoking, but can still punish the drug dealers.

Two violations and you must enter rehab.

There are things which can be done to provide “relief” for the judicial system without legalizing it. Any foreseen good from legalizing pot will be over shadowed by the negative affects on society.

God Bless.
 
phil19034 said:
you can change the punishments and still keep it illegal. You can change the “crime” of pot position to a “violation” (like reckless driving) but keep the sale of pot a criminal offense. That way you don’t stick the college kids in jail for smoking, but can still punish the drug dealers.

Two violations and you must enter rehab.

There are things which can be done to provide “relief” for the judicial system without legalizing it. Any foreseen good from legalizing pot will be over shadowed by the negative affects on society.

God Bless.
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That’s how it is in my state. You get a $100 fine if you are caught with 1 oz. or less. Juveniles get a $1000 fine and have to take drug classes.

Regarding the drug dealers, even in Amsterdam, where it is legal to smoke, selling it on the street is illegal (and there are a ton of restrictions on where you can smoke it, driving afterwards, etc). Of course, the drug dealers there just sell other drugs instead.

In Portugal, ALL drugs are decriminalized. Even heroin and methamphetamine possession do not result in jail time. They aren’t legal, but you don’t go to jail - you pay fines and go to treatment programs. Their rates of drug use are half that of the EU average.

Government debt around the globe is skyrocketing, and governments simply don’t have unlimited resources. Not only that, but a college kid who gets arrested for having a joint will have a record for the rest of their life. The fact that someone did something stupid in college is hardly an indication of the type of person they are later in life. We, as Catholics, need to forgive others for their transgressions. Having our society label them as a criminal for the rest of their life because they smoked a joint 25 years prior is hardly the way to do that.
 
Oh…the Holy Father talked about drugs, without mentioning any particular drug. The way every article was written, it seemed like he singled out marijuana. He talked about the need to have compassion for addicts and to work with them to help them treat their addictions. He said that drug trafficking is extremely wrong and that drug addiction is evil. He said our society should not normalize drug use, while remaining compassionate toward addicts and helping them to overcome their addictions and reintegrate into society by doing productive, positive things.

I agree with Pope Francis 10000% now that I actually read what he said. Seems like it usually works that way 😛
 
ae22 said:
Oh…the Holy Father talked about drugs, without mentioning any particular drug. The way every article was written, it seemed like he singled out marijuana. He talked about the need to have compassion for addicts and to work with them to help them treat their addictions. He said that drug trafficking is extremely wrong and that drug addiction is evil. He said our society should not normalize drug use, while remaining compassionate toward addicts and helping them to overcome their addictions and reintegrate into society by doing productive, positive things.

I agree with Pope Francis 10000% now that I actually read what he said. Seems like it usually works that way 😛
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Well, yeah, because the hue and cry in this country is presently about pot legalization. There is no movement to welcome cocaine and heroin use in the lawful society.

ICXC NIKA
 
Bill_Dodds said:
So, according to Catholic News Service: “Pope Francis said legalizing marijuana and other so-called ‘recreational drugs’ has never curbed drug addiction rates and has little impact on the criminal organizations trafficking drugs around the world.”

Do you think it will continue to be legalized? (And taxed.)

Should it be?

What’s the difference between legally selling marijuana and legally selling alcohol?
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you’re funny,…‘Pope on Pot’😃

people can hallucinate on pot, that’s a diff., and maybe legallizaing alcohol was a mistake,…
why do people need mj? what for
 
Legalizing alcohol was a mistake? Why, because it’s morally wrong? So when Our Lord turned water into wine at Cana…you know what, never mind.

They tried making alcohol illegal in America. It failed so miserably that they actually had to repeal a Constitutional Amendment.
 
Noooooo!!!

Honestly I think it is a States rights v Federal rights issue. The Feds say it is illegal. Several States challenge this by legalizing it. That means the Feds have got to act and throw an injunction over all pot sales for whatever reason. States have got to fight to get the pot back for the “patients.” whose lives will supposedly be better for having their weed and smokin’ it too. But until the Feds actually say, “Hey, we’ve got laws against the MaryJane in this country,” nothing will happen. Greed is behind the hands that are allowing the weed sales, not the welfare of the citizens. They want the easy money the tax revenues on pot sales will generate. Most folks know weed is worse than beer and that it can lead to harder drugs. This has been known for a long, long time. Longer than these United States have been around. It is illegal because it hurts people and is dangerous. Legislators who actually care about people won’t let them have what is bad for them, but they do. To put it more bluntly, I really don’t think they give a hoot about John and Jane Q. Citizen any more or they wouldn’t allow things that are bad for us to be legal. Sound kindergartenish? That’s what we elect them for I think - so they do what best for all of us not for a few special interest groups. But hell, these last few years it seems the only ones who have voices are the weirdo special interest groups. If I were in a fouler mood, I’d say we’ve had a revolution in this land and the Christians lost and that it happened without firing one shot! They really are ruining my country.

Glenda
 
Well before you judge me, no wait, that already happened, right? as a ‘prude’ or whatever
etc. teetotaler, ? (I am making a joke…here…ha;)

I am just saying as a society, what good has alcohol really done us? Can you make a list?

And I’m also just saying, pot is in a similar category. (my spellcheck is turned off, I think)

Yes they both are recreational drugs, but have either done well by us as a society or culture.?

Alcohol has done more damage and caused more heart ache. People make unwise choices on alcohol, that they regret and that causes others untold pain.

Did Jesus turn water in wine with alcohol? I did research on that, historical and into the deeper info in the Bible.

There is a great possibility that it was not wine with alcohol that Jesus made. There is plenty of support for this idea. ie right off the bat, the word oinos
for wine, has alcohol and non alcohol meanings in the bible, one word used for both.

I know you will not believe me but i am not dead set against alcohol, i am just sharing
my findings with you, and also, asking

What good has alcohol done for us as a society? Pls list all the good things.

I suppose there are people who can use pot wisely, well, and never let it control them, same with alcohol, but the majority of people in our society cant do that.
 
BeingSaved said:
Well before you judge me, no wait, that already happened, right? as a ‘prude’ or whatever
etc. teetotaler, ? (I am making a joke…here…ha;)
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I haven’t judged you at all. I do not know you, and even if I did, I still wouldn’t judge you. Our actions may be bad, but we are all created in God’s image. I’m certainly not going to identify someone as an internet forum as a bad person or a ‘prude’ (you say that like it’s a bad thing) over something they said.
BeingSaved said:
I am just saying as a society, what good has alcohol really done us? Can you make a list?
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  1. Allowed the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass to be celebrated with valid matter.
  2. Doesn’t really matter, the negatives can’t possibly outweigh positive #1.
BeingSaved said:
Alcohol has done more damage and caused more heart ache. People make unwise choices on alcohol, that they regret and that causes others untold pain.
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People make unwise choices with a LOT of things. The answer isn’t to make anything that can possibly be used for evil illegal. For one thing, anyone who wants it can just buy it on the black market, but with the possibility of adulterants, an increase in organized crime and violence, and burden on our court system…but, also, we’re free to make choices. Those choices have consequences, both here on Earth and after we are judged by God.
BeingSaved said:
Did Jesus turn water in wine with alcohol? I did research on that, historical and into the deeper info in the Bible.

There is a great possibility that it was not wine with alcohol that Jesus made. There is plenty of support for this idea. ie right off the bat, the word oinos
for wine, has alcohol and non alcohol meanings in the bible, one word used for both.
Click to expand...
Matthew 11:19 tells how the Pharisees accused Jesus of being a glutton and a drunkard. Had He simply been drinking unfermented grape juice, this most certainly would not have been the case. No, it was wine, and it was fermented. DRUNKENNESS is condemned many times in the Bible, but consumption of alcohol in moderation is not.
 
ae22 said:
  1. Allowed the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass to be celebrated with valid matter.
  2. Doesn’t really matter, the negatives can’t possibly outweigh positive #1.
People make unwise choices with a LOT of things…
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The Holy Father did not make an exception for alcohol in his statement. He said:

“Here I would reaffirm what I have stated on another occasion: No to every type of drug use. It is as simple as that”
 
I seriously doubt that he considers receiving the Precious Blood at Mass or taking aspirin for a headache “drug use”. Or having a glass of wine with dinner, for thar matter.

Drunkenness has been condemned forever.
 
ae22 said:
I seriously doubt that he considers receiving the Precious Blood at Mass or taking aspirin for a headache “drug use”. Or having a glass of wine with dinner, for thar matter.
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Well, he was talking about recreational drug use, not sacramental or medicinal. I guess where the line is drawn on recreation is really the question at hand, as far as wine for leisure. The statement seems rather absolute to me.

I will try and think of some moral principle that would allow a glass of wine to relax and not a puff of marijuana.
 
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