Thursday, February 01, 2007


Marijuana and the Catholic Church


Thanks to the wonders of site-meter on my blog, I have found that many visitors have come with Google searches wondering about marijuana and what the Catholic Church teaches about it. So I hope the following article will be informative, but if you have questions please ask away.

First of all, marijuana is a mind altering drug and will put one into intoxication always when using it. That is an important point, because that distinguishes marijuana from something like beer which can be used without becoming intoxicated. Marijuana however you will always become intoxicated from.

As Christians we can find in the Bible in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10: "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God." Drunkenness in intoxication can be achieved through alcohol or other drugs. The Bible is saying here that those people who engage in drunkenness will not enter Heaven. This makes a very clear statement that marijuana can not be compatible with a Christian as marijuana can never be used without abuse.

Now some people have brought up that intoxication with alcohol is much worse than intoxication with marijuana and that may be true. However just because it MAY (though not necessarily) be a lesser evil, it is still evil and a serious sin that St. Paul said would not allow us to enter Heaven unrepented of.

God has entrusted us to guard our minds and to take care of our bodies. In 1 Peter 5:8 it says: "Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour." And in Titus 2:11-12: "For the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men, training us to renounce irreligion and worldly passions, and to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world..."

In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 it is obvious that we must take care of our bodies as we do not belong to ourselves: "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own. You were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."


Now God didn't tell us that intoxication is evil so that He could outlaw having "fun" and for the sake of making rules. No! God has a reason for every Law that He sets for us. Intoxication is poisoning your body. Important body cells are killed through intoxication and can even lead to death if severe enough or if repeated enough. Affects from marijuana include according to National Institute on Drug Abuse, InfoFacts: Marijuana, April 2006: "Marijuana abuse is associated with many detrimental health effects. These effects can include frequent respiratory infections, impaired memory and learning, increased heart rate, anxiety, panic attacks and tolerance. Marijuana meets the criteria for an addictive drug and animal studies suggest marijuana causes physical dependence and some people report withdrawal symptoms"


and from 12 National Institute on Drug Abuse, Research Report Series—Marijuana Abuse, October 2001. : "Someone who smokes marijuana regularly may have many of the same respiratory problems that tobacco smokers do, such as daily cough and phlegm production, more frequent acute chest illnesses, a heightened risk of lung infections, and a greater tendency toward obstructed airways. Cancer of the respiratory tract and lungs may also be promoted by marijuana smoke. Marijuana has the potential to promote cancer of the lungs and other parts of the respiratory tract because marijuana smoke contains 50 percent to 70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than does tobacco smoke"


Look in The Catechsim of the Catholic Church #2291



When life presents its problems we must remember that intoxication will only leave us with emptiness and only a temporary feeling of "happiness". Turning our hearts to God is the only answer. Many people try to do anything but that and eventually die in unhappiness or find What they were looking for all along--- their Saviour Jesus Christ Who died for us and offers us Eternal Life with Him for those who are willing to follow.

13 comments:

PBXVI said...

Terry,
Genesis 1:29 says: "And God said, 'Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food.'" Notice that marijuana is NOT food. Yes God gave us the plants and trees etc. (mainly for food) but that doesn't mean marijuana is something that should be used for SMOKING and becoming intoxicated on. What about poisonous plants, etc.? Should we eat or smoke those just because God created them? NO! You see, not every plant and thing created was meant for the same purpose. Marijuana was not meant for man to smoke and hurt himself with.
Then you say that in Exodus 30:23 that marijuana is contained in the Holy oil. Well it is not for sure that the "aromatic cane" was the cannabis plant or not. However, even if it was, it was certainly not the only substance with that amount. It was NOT meant for the Israelites to be smoking joints though, or to get intoxicated on. I have given you numerous Bible references that are very clear about intoxication. I am updating this article to include the references in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. I hope I have made myself clear. Feel free to continue discussion and God Bless!

PBXVI said...

Terry,
Sorry I am so slow to responding to you, and I hope indeed that you are still out there somewhere in cyberworld. It's hard to take time for my blog in between school and work and other activities etc. I am going to be doing more research as to the topics you brought up, but what about intoxication? I have provided a number of passages about this, and God does not contradict Himself. Either intoxication is wrong or it's not. God says it is, so how could He promote marijuana? Again, I will get back with you on the possibility of marijuana in the Old Testament etc, that you brought up, but in the meantime, what of the passages I have mentioned? Thanks for your willingness to try to use reason in arguing which is something I rarely see these days. God Bless!

PBXVI said...

Jesus drank wine, but he never indulged in drunkenness. I believe it is the practice in ancient pagan religions and modern eastern religions to sometimes use intoxication for meditation, but it certainly not a Christian practice. A Christian must believe in what the Bible says and not take a few passages and stretch them to make them say what he wants them to say so as to live the way he wishes. Your mention of 1 Timothy 4:1-4 near the end where it says: "For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving." That is referring to the law not forbidding the eating of certain meats, as was the law before. Obviously, marijuana is not a "creature". (Although, I doubt you would consider eating a poison-dart frog--you have to be careful when the Bible uses universal statements.) Anyway, I don't understand what you are trying to prove with 1 Tim. 4, and you have still not been able to give an answer to the passages I have given, though I admit I have not had the time to research your belief of marijuana in Exodus. But I hope you can see here, that the Bible is VERY clear about intoxication being sinful (and yes marijuana is intoxicating, though perhaps not as much as alcohol). God Bless!

Indica Man said...

Hello BPXV

I have a number of comments to make, so please bear with me. Let me state first that I will not be arguing the verses of the Holy Bible as I do not have enough knowledge of the text. That is your line of expertise I'd suggest.

In respect to Cannabis as an ingredient in Holy Oil (or anointing oil). I have some information on my blog that may assist with your research. Personally, I have no opinion on whether it was cannabis or Calamus; both are psychoactive with Calamus being perhaps the more psychoactive of the two. For more information and links, please refer to my blog post:
cannabis used in biblical annointing-maybe, maybe not.

In reference to one of your first statements:

"First of all, marijuana is a mind altering drug and will put one into intoxication always when using it. That is an important point, because that distinguishes marijuana from something like beer which can be used without becoming intoxicated. Marijuana however you will always become intoxicated from."

Cannabis can be used without becoming intoxicated in the sense that you describe it. One of the latest studies currently underway is assessing the dosage requirements of THC to achieve pain relief.This study compared cannabis 'joints' containing 7% Delta-9-THC, 3,5% and a placebo. With both dosages, participants reported identical reductions in pain relief. However with the lower dose, participants reported much lower levels of learning and memory impairment, with no adverse affect on peoples' thinking. That is, they were not 'intoxicated'. Further studies will be undertaken using lower THC levels in an attempt to find a therapeutic window that can be recommended for pain relief.
(See 'The Journal of Pain.

I would hope that you would agree that there is a huge difference between use and 'abuse', which the articles you have referred to clearly state that the effects are caused by 'abuse' of marijuana. In my twenty plus years of studying scientific and anecdotal reports of the use and abuse of cannabis, I have found no evidence nor accounts of brain cells being destroyed by the drug's use or abuse. However, another recent study has shown that Delta-9-THC is effective in killing GBM brain cancer cells while leaving healthy cells unharmed. Refer to http://www.sethgroup.org for more information, or see my blog post here.

There are also studies that have been conducted on long term (30+ years) cannabis users that have surprised scientists. They have found that even though this long term use will increase the risk phlegmy coughs and bronchial infections, there is no evidence of long term use having caused any type of cancer. This includes, lung, throat and other airway related cancers.
Seeee these links for further information:
NIDA
Cammabis Use and Cancer: Assessing the Risks

Also, see this extract from the book Rethinking the War on Drugs

I would like to clarify a number of things in respect to my opinion on marijuana.
1: I believe that its use in medicine should be studied further and encouraged. So far a myriad of medicinal uses have been identified and I'm sure more will be found.

2: I believe that its use as a food (cannabis seed oil is extremely good for the human body with some of the highest levels of Omega-3 and 6 oils known to man) should be encouraged.

3: I believe it's use in industry (ie industrial hemp) should be further encouraged and exploited to help reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and unsustainable forest destruction.

4: I believe that rather than spend money prosecuting and jailing cannabis abusers, far more money should be spent educating our youth on the use, rather than abuse of cannabis.

I would hope that these beliefs fit in with the Holy Bible's Genesis 1:29, well, the first three at least. The fourth is plain common sense.

Thanks for your time and may your God bless you.

Indica Man said...

Apologies for the spelling and/or grammatical errors. I failed to fully check the above post before pressing the button.

:o)

Anonymous said...

Just a note for anyone reading this blog.

The Priest's did not pour the oil over the incense before burning it!!! They anointed the alter before the 1st time they used it. After that,it was only if it became defiled (by pagans using it) that it would be cleansed and anointed again! And, they did not pour it on the alter, they sprinkled it.

That said: There was very little oil on the alter in the 1st place and it was probabley all burned off after the 1st use. If not the 1st use, certainly after the 1st couple of uses. Then it would be many, many years before it was necessary to cleanse and re-anoint it.

People who want to believe that pot is a spiritual thing just want to numb themselves from the real world. They think that being "high" is true peace. Well, I'm sorry it's not. Because while your stoned, and feeling all "spiritual" and "enlightened" and "wise" and so called "clear headed", the people around you get to put up with this person who can't even carry on a complete conversation, stay focused or stay awake. Most of the time they either make no sense or they just stare at you. Then they have to sleep. How you feel on pot and how you really are, don't match. And while your under the influence, real life and true(real) peace is passing you by.

This I speak from experience. I sat and watch a love one isolate himself from the world around him so he could "commun with the spirit" and now he's all alone and his kids are with out a dad, his wife is with out a husband and his parents are with out a son. Yet he says it's from God. The only one who's really happy now, is Satan. (Though this man may tell you he is). What he is is deceived! As are you, if you continue to believe the lie that pot is okay to smoke. The bible does not say that, and it never will.

Anonymous said...

PBXVI,
By the information you have provided about the plant Cannabis Sativa, I have concluded that you do not know what you speak of. If you have ever tried Cannabis you would know that its effects cannot be described simply as intoxication. The experience is rather a look at life in a different perspective. From now on please do more research on something before posting it. As a representative of the catholic church, the information provided on this site must be held to a higher standard than the useless misinforming propaganda displayed on so many other anti-marijuana sites. What you have posted is simply not true and I insist you take it down as soon as possible. My recommendation is that you try it for yourself and base your opinions upon your experience. Do not blindly trust in misinforming facts about this plant that our government has provided. God put this plant on this earth for a reason and I don't believe he meant for it to be outlawed.

Mr_Alex said...

For the Catholic church to support the war on cannabis is very wrong and with people needing it as medicine it is very wrong to deny it to people who need it as medicine

man with desire said...

The Bible proves Jesus did not use cannabis. http://www.kotipetripaavola.com/cannabisandbible.html

Unknown said...

The charge that marijuana is not a "creature" is a gross misunderstanding of the Thomist sense of 'creature'.

Unknown said...

Dear Catholic Warrior. I stumbled upon your blog today and felt the need to comment. You asked about how God could promote Marijuana. Whilst many argue it's ties to evil, I am Roman Catholic and firmly believe that the plant holds medicinal benefits. When the Neuromuscular Movement Disorder, Dystonia, disabled me, it took my speech, sight, ability to walk, control my limbs, facial muscles, vocal cords... each breath was a struggle. Swallowing ment a fight to control my tounge without choking on the liquid. Chewing solid food was out of the question. My Trigeminal Neuralgia is relieved by the edible and topical use of the "bad for you" plant. My brain disorder dissapeared after the "gateway drug" was consumed. I healed from the head to toe muscle atrophy. Ran a 5K after being in a power mobility chair for years. I got over the stigma of the medication. Prayed for guidance and blessings. The cure is temporary, I am still affected by Dystonia. Each day is a battle, yet a Blessing. I'm able to raise the children God blessed me with. Perform community service out of love for my neighbors. I'm able to serve Christ with my voice and hands. Mind and Soul. All because of my decision to open my eyes and heart to a possibility that God doesn't judge science. He only helps it. I pray that this post finds you well. Perhaps your views have changed over the years. Please visit www.dystonia-foundation.org for more information on Dystonia. God Bless You. Love, #DystoniaWarrior

Anonymous said...

Thanks for taking the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and love learning more on this topic. If possible, as you gain expertise, would you mind updating your blog with more information? It is extremely helpful for me. best cbd oil

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.