Opinions?. I''m asking for a friend. Thank you
There are three reasons why smoking marijuana is a sin.
#1. It destroys your health in a way that is critically life threatening by destroying your lungs.
#2. It is associated with decades of illegal activity and drug users who abuse this substance (i.e. like pot heads, and weed lovers who have done jail time).
#3. Be sober minded. It's a command of God, and not being sober minded can lead you into other kinds of bad sins (that you would not have normally done if you were sober).
Reason #1 (Explained):
Here is a quote from a medical article:
Heavy marijuana smokers also are likely to develop lung damage because marijuana smoke contains many of the same harmful chemicals as tobacco smoke. We do not know if smoking a small amount of marijuana (for example, light users who smoke an amount equal to 1-2 joints a month) over a long period of time increases your risk for developing COPD. We do know that in some people (especially those with lung problems), smoking marijuana can make their breathing worse.
Smoking marijuana also can cause large air sacs, called bullae, to develop in the lung. This is more likely to happen in younger marijuana smokers (less than 45 years old). It is not clear why some marijuana smokers develop bullae while others do not. Bullae
can cause you to be short of breath and may rupture (“pop”). Air leaking from a ruptured bullae leads
to a collapsed lung; a potentially life-threatening condition also called a pneumothorax.
Marijuana can also make many existing lung conditions worse. For example, if you have asthma, marijuana smoke can cause an asthma attack leading to hospitalization and even death. Smoking marijuana is not recommended for anyone with an existing lung disease. Furthermore, if you have a serious lung condition and need a lung transplant, marijuana use can make you ineligible to receive a transplant.
What symptoms may indicate that smoking marijuana is affecting my lungs?
Marijuana smoke (like tobacco) causes coughing, increased sputum (“phlegm”) and wheezing. Also, marijuana can cause shortness of breath and swelling in your throat. When you stop smoking, you can expect your symptoms to improve and possibly go away completely.
Does smoking marijuana increase my risk of getting lung cancer?
Marijuana smoke may increase your risk of lung cancer. Marijuana smoke contains over 450 unique chemicals including many cancer-causing chemicals (carcinogens) similar to tobacco smoke.
If you have lung cancer and are on treatment, smoking tobacco increases your risk of dying and decreases how well the cancer treatment works. This may be true for marijuana as well.
Can smoking marijuana increase my risk for lung infections?
Marijuana smokers can develop a lung infection from a mold called “aspergillus” (read about Aspergillosis at
Patients patient-resources/). Aspergillus lives on marijuana plants and is inhaled in marijuana smoke. Aspergillus causes pneumonia and even death. People with weak immune systems, such as those who have
had an organ transplant, are on chemotherapy or take drugs that weaken the immune system are at increased risk for this infection. Smoking marijuana is not recommended if you have cancer, are taking chemotherapy, have had a lung transplant, or have a weak immune system.
Hasn’t marijuana been used to treat people with health problems?
Marijuana has been used to treat many conditions such as nausea and chronic pain. Several states allow health care providers to prescribe medical marijuana for health reasons. However, marijuana is not approved by the FDA (Food & Drug Administration) for any known medical condition. The FDA has approved medications containing marijuana’s active ingredient THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) for treatment of pain and nausea that may be prescribed by your health care provider.
Is there a way to smoke marijuana safely?
Marijuana can be inhaled in many different ways, including joints, electronic cigarettes, water bongs (read about Hookah Pipes at
http://www.thoracic. org/patients/patient-resources/) and vaporizers. None of the available delivery devices have been studied in detail to safely say they will protect you from the harmful effects of the smoke. No method of inhalation can therefore be considered safe.
Source:
https://www.thoracic.org/patients/patient-resources/resources/marijuana.pdf
Surely if one is destroying their lungs with smoking anything, they are defiling their body or the temple of God.
Scripture says,
“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and
that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which
temple ye are.” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).
Many in Eternal Security or Belief Alone Camp will say you can sin and still be saved, and say that God may destroy your physical body because of your sin, but you will still be saved. This is not true. Paul essentially says be not deceived, the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God (See 1 Corinthians 6:9-10).
Reason #2 (Explained):
It is associated with decades of illegal activity and drug users who abuse this substance (i.e. like pot heads, and weed lovers).
This is problematic because God's Word tells us to avoid having any appearance of evil.
“Abstain from all appearance of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:22).
In fact, believers are called by God unto holiness (1 Thessalonians 4:7) (1 Peter 1:16).
For after we are saved by God's grace, we are to live a holy life pleasing unto God.
The word “
holy” means “
set apart.”
In other words, we should be “
set apart” from the rest of the world in our conduct.
Reason #3 (Explained):
It's simply a fact that you are less sober minded when you smoke marijuana.
Certain states have THC level blood test in order to determine in their view that you were impaired while driving under the influence of marijuana.
See this article here:
Can I Get a DUI for Driving High on Marijuana?
You can even do jail time after the first offense if you are impaired while driving.
So this drug is associated with criminal activity that is very serious.
But the point here is that it makes you less sober minded so you cannot think clearly if you smoke a lot of it (of which “
pot heads” do).
Yet, the Bible says this:
“
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
Smoking marijuana can easily lead a person to getting high. However, being high on marijuana is a direct violation of Scripture that commands Christians to be sober (
1 Peter 1:13) (
1 Peter 4:7) (
1 Timothy 3:2) (
1 Timothy 3:11) (
Titus 1:8) (
Titus 2:2) (
Titus 2:4) (
Titus 2:6) (
Titus 2:12) (1 Thessalonians 5:6-8). For God's Word wants us to be sober minded for our adversary the devil, is a roaring lion, who walks about, seeking those whom he may devour (
1 Peter 5:8). Not being sober minded by marijuana is similar to being drunk with alcohol. Paul warns that drunkenness is the type of sin that will cause someone to not inherit the Kingdom of God (
Galatians 5:21). The same would apply if somebody is high on marijuana. They are no longer sober minded, and they are controlled by a substance. One can do other sinful or bad things while one's judgment is impaired. For example: One could more easily commit sexual immorality, and or drive wrecklessly and kill another person on the road if they are high on marijuana.
Side Note:
Those who argue that they never get high on marijuana and they can control their use of it, this is simply splitting hairs. One is less sober minded before they smoked just even one joint. So it's still a violation of being sober minded according to Scripture. Believers are called out to be different and holy and separate from this sinful world. All examples of drunkenness in the Bible (Which is the equivalent of being high) led to major sinful problems that effected others.