Why Marijuana in itself is NOT sinful

[liquid1187]

As a long time marijuana smoker and recently converted catholic (3-4 years ago) I have come to the conclusion that marijuana is not in itself a sinful activity because I have not noticed even one side effect and will list numerous reasons why it has been beneficial to me.

I believe that the war on marijuana is an unjust one because of the reasons why it was made illegal in the first place. It was made illegal due to racism and to protect corporate profits. Take a minute and google the history of marijuana and why it was really made illegal. Harry Anslinger, who was responsible for its criminality based his reasoning on racial prejudices. Here are some of the statements he made when trying to make it illegal.

"the primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate races."

"Reefer makes darkies think they're as good as white men."

"Marihuana leads to pacifism and communist brainwashing"

"You smoke a joint and you're likely to kill your brother."


Recently Drug Czar Carl Turner claimed that "Marijuana leads to homosexuallity and therefore AIDS"

These statements reinforce my idea that the whole war on marijuana is unjust including many government laws. This propaganda is not limited to the early days of prohibition either. Even today this same racial prejudices are wielded by our government as we can see by these stunning statistics. while blacks make up roughly 13% of regular drug users, they make up 62.7% of drug users admitted to prison. In seven states, blacks constitute 80 to 90 percent of all drug users in prison.This seems hard to believe considering our government’s supposed concept of racial equality and toleration.

More reasons why the government says marijuana should remain illegal is the fact that it causes cancer, is addicting, kills brain cells and impairs judgment.

The reality of the situation is that it does none of these things and has been proven again and again that none of these accusations are legit. The only websites that say marijuana does have these harmful effects are government websites (propaganda).

They continue to spew out these lies because every year industries such as the alcohol, tobacco, timber, plastics, gas and others that would be financially devastated by legalization and fight tooth and nail to keep it illegal.These same industries pay millions of dollars to the government to keep this plant illegal and that is solely the reason why it is illegal today.


Marijuana is proven to help with treating or alleviate symptoms associated with the following: Alzheimer’s disease, pain management, anorexia, Bipolar Disorder, Crohn’s Disease, ADHD, depression, glaucoma, hepatitis C, nausea, migraines, multiple sclerosis, hypertension, ulcers, arthritis, schizophrenia, seizures, osteoporosis, Parkinson’s disease, gastrointestinal issues, and most surprisingly, alcohol addiction, cancer, and asthma.



This seems ironic considering the DEA claims that marijuana causes cancer, despite numerous studies that have proven otherwise. Recently, a scientific study by Dr Donald Tashkin, a UCLA pulmonogist, studied marijuana for 30 years found this statement not only wrong, but also the opposite of what effect the government claims. The study showed that there was no correlation between smoking marijuana and getting cancer, and on the contrary, that smoking marijuana has some protective effects from cancer. Furthermore, marijuana is known to help stop cancerous tumor growth and can cut their sizes in half.

Marijuana is not physically addicting either. (like alcohol, caffeine, cigarettes) Although it can turn out to be psychologically habituating (like anything with excessive use), it is no more psychologically addicting then television, chocolate, video games, gambling, food or anything else that can become an idol. It is rather, what you make of it and does not have the physical and psychological attributes in itself like the extremely strong cravings that alcohol and tobacco users are aware of.

Continued on next post....

[liquid1187]

It is also safe in regard to affecting the brain (it does not cause any long-term damage and does not kill brain cells), unlike alcohol which is devastating to your brain and is known to cause brain shrinkage. I am one of the top students of my class and I know many others who smoke marijuana and are very intelligent individuals. Comparing cannabis to tobacco, marijuana also has the advantage. Tobacco is the number one cause of cancer, and increases your risk of heart disease and stroke. As far as health is concerned marijuana is arguably better in every aspect when matching up against these legal drugs.


Tobacco kills around 435,000 people a year, with prescription drugs and alcohol trailing at roughly 32,000 and 85,000 deaths per year respectively. Surprisingly, even non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin, kill roughly 76,000 a year. To overdose on marijuana one would have to consume 1500 pounds in half an hour, which is physically impossible. THERE IS NOT ONE CASE OF MARIJUANA OVERDOSE OR DEATH CAUSED FROM LONG TERM MARIJUANA SMOKING.

Marijuana does not make people aggressive or inhibit the users decision-making abilities like alcohol often does. Many people I know use it to enhance the pleasure in everyday activities that they would normally do. On the other hand, using alcohol in this manner is usually destructive and would prevent you from doing anything to the best of your ability. Although marijuana obviously gets you "high" it does not impair you and only makes you see things in a different perspective. I have found that marijuana does in no way impair my judgment or ability to do whatever I chose. I find that it only increases my focus and can honestly say I am better at basketball, skiing, video games, and basically whatever I do. For example before smoking marijuana on the skiing slopes I was only able to go on the green and blue difficulties (easy and moderate) and then I smoked and went down the double black diamonds perfectly without falling once which before I was not able to do...

The main reason I smoke marijuana is to relax, think more deeply about different things and enjoy everything God has given me to the fullest extent. While other drugs would prohibit one from doing this, marijuana promotes creativity and enhances everything I do in life. It has made me more sympathetic to others feelings and allowed me to express myself towards them in a more loving way. Alcohol on the other hand promotes violence and rash behavior that while sober the user would never do. I cannot say I have ever made a decision differently while high that I would not have made sober.


As far as it being destructive to your body I believe this is a bunch of bologna and the ONLY harmful effect is to your lungs which is pretty minor because it opens your airways and allows the phlem to be coughed up which in comparison with tobacco does just the opposite. This is totally avoidable if you eat the MJ or use a vaporizer which eliminates 95% of all smoke. From smoking marijuana you cannot get bronchitis, emphysema, or cancer, which is all possible with smoking tobacco.


A study by NHTSA (National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration) in 1992 found that marijuana is rarely involved in driving accidents, except when combined with alcohol. It concluded that drivers that had THC in their blood stream actually had a lower accident rate than those that were drug- free While the difference was not significant enough to prove that driving under the influence is safer than not, there was absolutely no evidence to prove that cannabis is a contributing factor in crashes. Another massive study was done by University of Adelaide and Transport South Australia in 1998 which analyzed the blood of 2,500 accidents, and found that people with THC in their bloodstream were actually slightly less likely to cause accidents than drivers which were not under the influence of anything. The study also found that pot users were less likely to pass cars and drove at a slower, more consistent speed. This is just the opposite of drivers with alcohol in their systems who drive rashly and took more risks. Even at the higher amounts of smoked marijuana, the impairment never exceeded those of someone who .08% BAC, which is still under the legal limit in stricter states like California. There is no evidence that the marijuana prohibition reduces the risk of accidents. On the contrary, a study by Frank Chaloupka found that the twelve states that had decriminalized marijuana had lower accident rates than the ones which did not. In Alaska, where personal use of marijuana is legal, accident rates have also fallen.

All in all marijuana is better for you then all legal drugs including caffeine and as I have smoked it many times I can testify first hand that I have not noticed one negative effect from it and has only been beneficial to me in numerous ways.

Now, I cannot say that marijuana cannot become evil depending on why or how it is used. If one neglects his/her duties and simply smokes all day, of course that is sinful. My belief is that it is not evil in itself and in moderation it is not sinful in the least as long as you are using it in a way that gives glory to God. Please post your opinions on this subject.

All this information I have given you is all factual and I spent hundreds of hours researching this topic for a 20 page paper for my english class.

[Publisher]

I am a volunteer for hospice. Many of my AIDS and cancer victims that I visit use marijuana to increase their appetites and help control some of the discomfort their medications cause.

Those I work with are on fixed incomes or their families assistance...pot is cheaper than some of the meds used to control pain and induce appetite.

I can't in good conscience speak against it's use in these cases...they are living out the last months and in some cases weeks of their lives the best way they can.

[theistgal]

The late, great William F. Buckley was also an advocate of medical marijuana - he wrote very movingly in this article about the death of Peter MacWilliams and how marijuana might have prevented it.

[Believe_85]

Every substance that enters the human body has some sort of impact. True, maybe smoking one joint probably doesn't cause irreparable damage in most, and I think I've heard the argument that marijuana is "safer" to smoke than cigarettes because a joint isn't full of tar and fiberglass...etc. If someone smokes several joints a day over several years, that smoke will destroy the surfactant and stop alveoli in the lungs from opening; smoke also paralyzes cilia in the trachea making it hard to cough up mucus so then you have old air trapped in the lungs with mucus plugs and poorly working alveoli...AKA COPD. It's not a fun way to live. I've also heard that marijuana nowadays can be bought laced with other drugs and harmful fillers. I hope that's not true.

What concerns me most about the legalization of marijuana is the fact that it makes people high.

Yes, alcohol and Rx drugs are legal and people abuse them and are irresponsible and drive and kill people. So, a double standard. I think getting drunk is a sin for many reasons but we saw prohibition didn't work...that's probably for another thread. My point is, there are already too many people on the road intoxicated, high, and tired. I feel legalizing pot will make drug trafficking easier and allow more people to smoke and destroy their lungs or irresponsibly operate heavy machinery and hurting self/others, thereby leaving me (a nurse) to care for them.

Also, could someone get high from heavy side stream pot smoke?! That is terrifying. I wouldn't want to go in public.

[marty1818]

Like alcohol, marijuana I would say is not sinful in moderation and used responsibly. However, as Catholics, we have an obligation to follow laws that the government makes as long as they do not infringe on our religious rights.

God Bless,
Matt

[Holly3278]

I have personally never touched any illegal drugs but I do feel that marijuana should be legalized as it is in Canada. It should be legal to own a small amount of marijuana for personal use. Marijuana isn't very harmful to your health if at all. The only thing I can see about marijuana that might make it harmful to your health is the idea that it could be harmful to your lungs.

[Hastrman]

Originally Posted by Publisher

I am a volunteer for hospice. Many of my AIDS and cancer victims that I visit use marijuana to increase their appetites and help control some of the discomfort their medications cause.

Those I work with are on fixed incomes or their families assistance...pot is cheaper than some of the meds used to control pain and induce appetite.

I can't in good conscience speak against it's use in these cases...they are living out the last months and in some cases weeks of their lives the best way they can.

Medical marijuana, sure.

But then, we use medical opium (Vicadin, for instance), all the time.

I'm also in favor of Rastafarians being permitted it, since it's a part of their (admittedly rather odd) religion. Ditto Peyote Way (Native American Church, outside of Arizona) and their peyotl buttons.

But otherwise, marijuana is about five times as bad for you as tobacco, so nobody otherwise healthy, who hasn't been commanded to smoke it by the Mighty Jah, should use it.

[mlldrl]

Originally Posted by marty1818

Like alcohol, marijuana I would say is not sinful in moderation and used responsibly.

Just how does one use marijuana in moderation? Smoke a joint and you get high. Drink a (one) beer and you're not drunk. The problem isn't the use of either it's getting drunk/high. One you can use in moderation the other you can't. And I know the pot heads out there will tell me it's not true...sorry, seen it first hand too many times to buy that line.

My 2 cents.

M

[liquid1187]

well the reason being is because although smoking a joint gets you high it impairs you about as much as 1 beer (mabye 2) so that is why i believe it is not bad. Drink 4-5 beers on the other hand and that obviously impairs you...I dont think that the effect of the drug is a sin but how much it impairs your reasoning/judgment/body

[liquid1187]

Although I am confident smoking pot is not a sin I wonder about buying it since it is a co-operation in evil because it supports crime? Am I right that this would be a sin? If it is, is it a venial or mortal?

[Holly3278]

Originally Posted by liquid1187

well the reason being is because although smoking a joint gets you high it impairs you about as much as 1 beer (mabye 2) so that is why i believe it is not bad. Drink 4-5 beers on the other hand and that obviously impairs you...I dont think that the effect of the drug is a sin but how much it impairs your reasoning/judgment/body

I agree. It should be judged based upon how much it impairs a person. That said, I have never smoked marijuana and don't intend to ever do so.

[mlchance]

Originally Posted by Holly3278

Marijuana isn't very harmful to your health if at all.

Despite the lengthy protestations of the self-confessed drug abuser above, marijuana is indeed at least every bit as harmful to one's health as cigarettes, if not moreso. There is no reason to use marijuana, and as someone who grew up in a household of drug addicts, I can readily attest to many detrimental effects.

-- Mark L. Chance.

[Holly3278]

Originally Posted by mlchance

Despite the lengthy protestations of the self-confessed drug abuser above, marijuana is indeed at least every bit as harmful to one's health as cigarettes, if not moreso. There is no reason to use marijuana, and as someone who grew up in a household of drug addicts, I can readily attest to many detrimental effects.

-- Mark L. Chance.

I never said that marijuana is not harmful. What I said (or meant anyway) is that marijuana is not as harmful as some other drugs. In fact, I'd be willing to say that more than likely it is not even as harmful as alcohol abuse. If you smoke marijuana in moderation, I doubt it'd be much more harmful to you than a cigarette would be.

[Newbie2]

Originally Posted by marty1818

Like alcohol, marijuana I would say is not sinful in moderation and used responsibly. However, as Catholics, we have an obligation to follow laws that the government makes as long as they do not infringe on our religious rights.

God Bless,
Matt

Really, when you think about it, is the "legitimate" medical use of weed any more likely to be a problem, in terms of abuse, than any other narcotic used for pain control?

Part of the problem is availability, as I see it; one can buy weed just about anywhere but one needs an Rx to get narcotics. Well, I suppose those can be readily had as well, but my point is you can't easily make narcotics like you can grow some pot.

Nonetheless, it's still illegal.