Created for destruction?

What do you think about Cannabis?

  • It's evil and rightly prohibited.

  • We should take advantage of this gift from God.

  • Use it, but abstain from the intoxicant.

  • I don't know/What's Cannabis?


Results are only viewable after voting.
This will get me a lot of flame, maybe kicked off, but I'd like to see what other Christians think about...*gasp* CANNABIS! "The devil weed with roots in hell." (I would refer everyone to http://www.jackherer.com , no one can deny that he is biased, but much of his documentation seems more than reliable, and it sure is interesting! Might also check out http://www.christiansforcannabis.com )
It seems like Christians poison their own well with this one. Christians generally believe that nature is a deliberate and conscious creation of God for the well-being of humanity. I am aware that the Fall has corrupted various things, but can anyone explain why God would give us such a useful plant, supplying protein and essential fatty acids (both these are in the seeds which are not psychoactive), clothing, paper, renewable fuel, wood-like and concrete-like construction material, oil, cosmetics, plastic, even dynamite, in a plant that is easy to grow, good for the soil, and used to abound/could abound--all this, at the same time expecting us not only to abstain from its relatively benign intoxicant (while we manufacture ethanol, our own addictive, lethal and violence-inducing NARCOTIC [medically, not legally, it is a narcotic]) but to go to such lengths as to prohibit the plant for any use and attempt to eradicate it from the face to the earth at a direct cost of over $10 billion per year in the United States alone? Are we REALLY supposed to shun it and anyone who advocates it? Is cannabis prohibition based on the will of God or on its threat to several modern industries?
 

erichmess_

Christian War Hawk
Jun 26, 2003
141
4
40
Florida
Visit site
✟7,786.00
It's not legal, and maybe it's unfair that it is, but the law should prolly stay that way. I really can't see too many positive outcomes from letting people use drugs. As for the other uses you mentioned, the materials we have now are fine and we don't really need any alternatives to them.
 
Upvote 0
Thank you for responding, but no one has addressed my original question: Why did God put cannabis on the earth, consciously? Was it a test to see if we could destroy it (why didn't He ever command us to in the Bible) or was it to be something we could make use of?
1) Caffeine Socialism: Aside from cotton, think of all the other industries cannabis could compete with. Also, if non-psychoactive strains of the plant have been developed, why are THESE still illegal? Evidence suggests that cannabis is illegal due to potential market competition! Why was it prohibited just after the hemp decorticator made efficient mass production possible?
2) Administrator: Your concern is well-intentioned. You see the worst of the worst: the use of many drugs among children with psychological, social or other similar problems. First think how cannabis compares to all other abused drugs in the harm its caused (including legal ones like alcohol, or tobacco which kills 400,000+ per year). Now think whether cannabis prohibition is effective at keeping them from getting it. If the market and social climate under which cannabis is used and sold becomes legitimate, then reasonable controls can be imposed, making sure that responsible adults get it. The black market is lawless - corner peddlers don't ask for I.D. or get visits from the health inspector. Also, if it's illegal, then one's culture cannot encourage moderation, as ours can with alcohol for those over 21. For those under 21, alcohol serves as a perfect example of this: since we are not allowed to teach our teenagers to drink, although our per capita alcohol consumption is lower than many other countries, our alcoholism rates and death rates are higher. (A lot of people object to this last statement, but very very few [i don't say "none" for the benefit of the doubt] who have actually lived in another country (not been through as a tourist) with a lower drinking age have disagreed with me - and I am also aware that this statement is inherenty fallacious due to being based on ignorace: take it as an anecdote, like it is; I know it's not logic).
3) Erichmess: First off, we don't "let" people use drugs: they do or they don't. We can only choose whether to imprison the few users that get caught, and whether to allow drugs on store shelves or keep them on the street. As far as how useful cannabis products are, its true that we have many similar products. However, the advantages of cannabis are that it is farm-based, potentially domestic, and annually renewable. We don't need alternatives to petroleum yet, but will soon, and cannabis (any biomass can, but cannabis is the best as far as tonnage per acre) promises to allow American farmers to grow fuel - we won't have to mess with other countries or worry about dwindling supply. Cannabis could save trees by producing more than four times as much paper per acre, and this paper need not contain acids, allowing it to last for 1500 years instead of the normal 75. Cannabis cloth is more durable, flexible, lightweight, and versatile (as far as the different types of cloth that can be made from it) than cotton, and you might want to know that about half the U.S.'s pesticides are used on cotton; about 5% of the crops grown in the U.S. are cotton. In short, imagine jeans, sweaters, and t-shirts that feel better, weigh less, and last four times longer than cotton. I have some. Before you say that we don't need alternatives, use the link I provided in the first post to read about what cannabis has to offer. Many products that can be made from it are superior to ours, or more easily produced.
Even if you think the drug it contains is horrible (PLEASE read more about it for yourself- dont believe ME), is it necessary to prohibit even industrial cannabis hemp, which is non-psychoactive? What do people have against this plant, and how can Christians be the most adamant about it? Do churches have a lot of stock in oil companies or something like that, that I'm not aware of?
 
Upvote 0

ReUsAbLePhEoNiX

Liberated from SinComplex
Jun 24, 2003
2,524
80
51
Earth, MilkyWay Galaxy
Visit site
✟10,562.00
Faith
Taoist
Pray4Isrel said:
Having worked for the past two years as an Admin. Asst. to the Principal of an alternative school, a school for criminal, emotionally disturbed and at-risk youth, I have seen only negative effects of drug use. The stories I can share are horrendous. Why would we wish to justify something that is so damaging?
As a former pot head, I agree with you on some points, chronic pot is not good for the student who needs to focus on education, as it does interfere with concentration during this critical time.

But I would nt blame pot for all the social problems of youth. From the persective of an Adult I've had a lot of experience with pot, and truth is the stereotypes that non users apply to users and the effects is incorrect. Ive smoked with people from all walks of life, many of them happy non dyfunctional contributers to society. Ive also smoked with people who have alot of personal problems, but I havent observed that pot has any worse effect on peoples quality of life than bad credit. I even smoke(d) pot with a good friend of mine whose a child phycologist, who works with the dysfunctional youth destined for a life of crime. He is one of the most, respected, gifted people I know, organizations even pay him to fly out of state to give workshops to others in his field. And yes he smokes weed on a weekly basis. Ive even smoked with a few cops, a university proffesor, a few semiconductor engineers, a state geologist. These people are intelligent, happy, non dysfuntional taxpayers.
 
Upvote 0