Why is smoking marijuana a sin?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Le_Crouton
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Le_Crouton said:
But we don’t have to obey unjust laws
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Says who?

I believe the rule is that you don’t have to obey laws that demand you violate the moral law, but not smoking pot is not a violation of the moral law regardless of the justice of the legal regime.
 
I live in a state in which it is illegal, but a local priest has explained to me that (pertinent to a chronically ill relative), the use is only sinful if it lacks temperance. If the use is limited to the treatment of pain, in this specific circumstance, there is nothing to seek forgiveness for. If the use was explicitly for intoxication and was gluttonous, therein lies the sinfulness.
 
Catechism part 3.2.2.5. 2291 The use of drugs inflicts very grave damage on human health and life. Their use, except on strictly therapeutic grounds, is a grave offense. Clandestine production of and trafficking in drugs are scandalous practices. They constitute direct co-operation in evil, since they encourage people to practices gravely contrary to the moral law.
 
Le_Crouton said:
But we don’t have to obey unjust laws
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What part of Catholic morality does making marijuana illegal violate?
Le_Crouton said:
A single beer can give you a buzz. It’s not like once you inhale a single hit of marijuana that you’re so high to the point where it impacts your reason
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Beer has other purposes than making you drunk. Recreational marijuana is supposed to make you high.
 
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vinzclortho said:
Catechism part 3.2.2.5. 2291 The use of drugs inflicts very grave damage on human health and life. Their use, except on strictly therapeutic grounds, is a grave offense. Clandestine production of and trafficking in drugs are scandalous practices. They constitute direct co-operation in evil, since they encourage people to practices gravely contrary to the moral law.
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Alcool, Nicotene, caffeine, theine are all drugs also… So none of them?
 
Unlawful by who’s law? In this new century are the law makers guided by the Church in this decision or motivated by political agenda? Are they a law unto themselves or are they honouring Christian values?

Gluttony is a sin, but that can be applied to fruit cake not just marijuana.
 
Caffeine is a drug. So is alcohol. I don’t see how a moderate use of marijuana is so bad
 
Right. Weed has more purposes than just making you high. Might be used to go to sleep or unwind after a long day. Just as two beers would be used
 
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Vapor thc exists. Also cigarettes smell worse
 
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Le_Crouton said:
Caffeine is a drug. So is alcohol. I don’t see how a moderate use of marijuana is so bad
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Caffeine is considered a drug by Western definition. Try telling that to a middle eastern man as he sips his coffee while reading the Tanakh
 
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Lets use the Church’s teaching about alcohol as a basis. If one drinks enough to become drunk, that is a sin. Do we agree on that? Using alcohol moderately is not a sin, that would be defined as not drinking enough to become drunk. Now, the question is, what about being " a little tipsy". IMO, that crosses the line, but it is likely a venial sin.

If we apply the same logic to marijuana, where do we stand? I have never been a marijuana user, so correct me if I am wrong. But it seems to me, that outside of medical use, anyone smoking marijuana is intending to get some type of high. That being the case, it would always be sinful.
 
tafan2 said:
But it seems to me, that outside of medical use, anyone smoking marijuana is intending to get some type of high. That being the case, it would always be sinful.
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Marijuana itself is not sinful, the intent to abuse it (gluttony) is.
 
But what is the definition of gluttony with regards to marijuana? It would certainly be attaining a high.
 
So, do people actually smoke marijuana without intending to get high? In my experience, the answer is no.
This is the key point in all of these debates comparing marijuana with alcohol. People drink all the time without getting the least bit drunk. People do not smoke marijuana without getting high.
 
tafan2 said:
People drink all the time without getting the least bit drunk. People do not smoke marijuana without getting high.
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I think the point is that “high” is not a binary. There are degrees of high. One can be slightly buzzed from weed but still be basically in control of your faculties, just like there is a difference from being a little tipsy and dancing on the bar with your shirt off.
 
Agreed. And as I stated above, and as a priest has told me in the past, with alcohol a “little tipsy” is still over the line, its a venial sin if done intentionally. So I have to think using marijuana to get “slightly buzzed” is also sinful.
 
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