Is marijuana a drug?

[Jamdoc]

It's kinda sorta both. It's a multipurpose plant and it is is why it is one of the first cultivated plants. Cannabis sativa literally means in Latin "Cultivated Cannabis" it produces strong fibers, its seeds are a historic source of oil, and it has medicinal properties. God created it to be good and to be used, which, we wouldn't have an endocannabinoid system in our body, and Cannabis designed to work with it, if God did not have that as part of its intended use. It fails the "it's poisonous" test as.. it has a very high safety threshold, people don't die directly of THC intoxication. They might die after decades of heavy smoking, or get into an accident while inebriated, or through high levels of abuse affecting their emotions, do something like suicide... but there's nothing to suggest that simply consuming the plant itself, kills you.

The problem is not the plant. the plant is good.
The problem is men, men are depraved. Men take what is created for good, and abuse it, and through our artifice, make something evil out of something good. The original plant has much less THC, much more CBD, and was designed to be cooked into food (the active compounds are activated by heat, so it is designed to be cooked rather than eaten raw) rather than smoked.

Man takes it, and finds the medicinal properties can be abused for recreational or "spiritual" purposes if bred for an imbalanced chemical composition, and inhaled rather than ingested.

It's not unlike sex. Sex was created to be good, and God deliberately made it pleasurable. That is not a wrong thing, to enjoy pleasure through sex in the right context. God wants you to enjoy sex with your spouse.
But man takes that good gift, and perverts it. Uses it instead of as a means of expressing love, at procreating, at bonding with your spouse and enjoying intimacy.. to just a cheap thrill for physical pleasure with people that they don't really care about. People find deviant ways of expressing what is normally a good God given desire, that's where fetishes come from. People even weaponize it, Rape is generally not even about sexual fulfillment. Rape is most often used as a form of power over someone else, it's more used to hurt the victim than pleasure the perpetrator.

Now because rape is an awful, ugly sin, that doesn't make sex any less of a good gift from God. It just shows the depravity of man in spite of the goodness of God.

 

[dqhall]

It's kinda sorta both. It's a multipurpose plant and it is is why it is one of the first cultivated plants. Cannabis sativa literally means in Latin "Cultivated Cannabis" it produces strong fibers, its seeds are a historic source of oil, and it has medicinal properties. God created it to be good and to be used, which, we wouldn't have an endocannabinoid system in our body, and Cannabis designed to work with it, if God did not have that as part of its intended use. It fails the "it's poisonous" test as.. it has a very high safety threshold, people don't die directly of THC intoxication. They might die after decades of heavy smoking, or get into an accident while inebriated, or through high levels of abuse affecting their emotions, do something like suicide... but there's nothing to suggest that simply consuming the plant itself, kills you.

The problem is not the plant. the plant is good.
The problem is men, men are depraved. Men take what is created for good, and abuse it, and through our artifice, make something evil out of something good. The original plant has much less THC, much more CBD, and was designed to be cooked into food (the active compounds are activated by heat, so it is designed to be cooked rather than eaten raw) rather than smoked.

Man takes it, and finds the medicinal properties can be abused for recreational or "spiritual" purposes if bred for an imbalanced chemical composition, and inhaled rather than ingested.

It's not unlike sex. Sex was created to be good, and God deliberately made it pleasurable. That is not a wrong thing, to enjoy pleasure through sex in the right context. God wants you to enjoy sex with your spouse.
But man takes that good gift, and perverts it. Uses it instead of as a means of expressing love, at procreating, at bonding with your spouse and enjoying intimacy.. to just a cheap thrill for physical pleasure with people that they don't really care about. People find deviant ways of expressing what is normally a good God given desire, that's where fetishes come from. People even weaponize it, Rape is generally not even about sexual fulfillment. Rape is most often used as a form of power over someone else, it's more used to hurt the victim than pleasure the perpetrator.

Now because rape is an awful, ugly sin, that doesn't make sex any less of a good gift from God. It just shows the depravity of man in spite of the goodness of God.

A Swedish study concluded teens who used marijuana heavily were 40% more likely to die by the age of 60.
Heavy teen marijuana use may cut life short by 60

 

[timothyu]

A Swedish study concluded teens who used marijuana heavily were 40% more likely to die by the age of 60.

Thank God for alcohol.

 

[Jamdoc]

A Swedish study concluded teens who used marijuana heavily were 40% more likely to die by the age of 60.
Heavy teen marijuana use may cut life short by 60

That's not plant toxicity that is at most due to smoke inhalation over a long period of time, and ultimately.. correlation is not causation. What were the other factors in their health? The article noted a correlation of poorer diets and increased frequency of tobacco use.

That's not the plant itself, that's the person's lifestyle as a whole.
and it goes back to abuse vs God designed use.

 

[sparow]

“And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭1:29‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Cannabis-sativa or marijuana is classified as an angiosperm, meaning a seed-bearing plant. This by biblical definition means cannabis is food.

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.”
‭‭I Timothy‬ ‭4:1-3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The word “drug” is a word used for cannabis that tells us it is “not good to eat.” Later in this same chapter Paul insists that Timothy teach these things to everyone (verse 11).

A common argument is, what about poisonous plants, or what about opium? Poppy plants are angiosperms so does that mean that is good to eat? Not so fast..

““Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, that you may distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean,”
‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭10:9-10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

We are being formed into a kingdom of priests that will reign on the earth (Revelation 5:9-10) and so it is our job to distinguish what is holy (acceptable to us) and unholy (not acceptable). Jesus, our Messiah, paved the way.

“they gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when He had tasted it, He would not drink.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭27:34‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Gall is understood to be a type of opiate that was given to ease the pain. At His crucifixion He refused, clarifying not all plants with seed are good to eat.

But for those who believe..

“You love righteousness and hate wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭45:7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Cannabis is commonly consumed in the form of oils or waxes

“Let God arise, Let His enemies be scattered; Let those also who hate Him flee before Him. As smoke is driven away, So drive them away; As wax melts before the fire, So let the wicked perish at the presence of God.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭68:1-2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations— “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men?”
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭2:20-22‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

I think you are compounding the Law of God with the Law of man; the two are different; with the Law of men, anything may be allowed.

 

[Jamdoc]

I think you are compounding the Law of God with the Law of man; the two are different; with the Law of men, anything may be allowed.

the law of God is essentially silent on a lot of things, including use of cannabis. You have to make gumby level stretches to find scripture to try to apply it, and those same gold medal winning mental gymnastics like "your body is the temple of the holy spirit so don't do anything that damages it" would mean getting vaccinations, using many medications (most are toxic, it's dose that's important), necessary life saving surgery (since you have to cut into the body first) and even strenuous exercise are sin (since to build muscle first you damage it then it rebuilds stronger)

I think the important word of wisdom on the matter is to a degree, similar to alcohol. Use vs Abuse, and intent of use is important. There's a lot of medications that can have mind altering effects, many painkillers for instance, but a person using a narcotic analgesic to handle pain after a surgery or an accident is far different from someone using it specifically to get high. Someone taking a dose of cough syrup that contains codeine for a serious cough that keeps them up at night might get a minor buzz out of it, that doesn't make them the same as someone shooting heroin, and that I think is the difference that needs to be made.

If you're using cannabis as a medicine, for a legit reason, and the aim isn't trying to get high, and you may be moderating your use, maybe using preparations that are lower in THC, not smoking, and under a doctor's supervision it's not the same as the pothead who's smoking a quarter ounce a day baked in front of his TV.

 

[sparow]

the law of God is essentially silent on a lot of things, including use of cannabis. You have to make gumby level stretches to find scripture to try to apply it, and those same gold medal winning mental gymnastics like "your body is the temple of the holy spirit so don't do anything that damages it" would mean getting vaccinations, using many medications (most are toxic, it's dose that's important), necessary life saving surgery (since you have to cut into the body first) and even strenuous exercise are sin (since to build muscle first you damage it then it rebuilds stronger)

I think the important word of wisdom on the matter is to a degree, similar to alcohol. Use vs Abuse, and intent of use is important. There's a lot of medications that can have mind altering effects, many painkillers for instance, but a person using a narcotic analgesic to handle pain after a surgery or an accident is far different from someone using it specifically to get high. Someone taking a dose of cough syrup that contains codeine for a serious cough that keeps them up at night might get a minor buzz out of it, that doesn't make them the same as someone shooting heroin, and that I think is the difference that needs to be made.

If you're using cannabis as a medicine, for a legit reason, and the aim isn't trying to get high, and you may be moderating your use, maybe using preparations that are lower in THC, not smoking, and under a doctor's supervision it's not the same as the pothead who's smoking a quarter ounce a day baked in front of his TV.

The Law of God talks about drunkenness, and foolishness.

 

[ViaCrucis]

Yes, it is a drug. And so is caffeine.

"Drug" doesn't mean "bad". What makes a drug harmful or beneficial is determined by a lot of different factors. Many drugs have a beneficial use when used properly, such as when used medicinally as a prescription under the care of a trained physician. It's when there is an improper use that can lead to there being a detrimental effect. Whether we are talking opioids or caffeine, proper use can be beneficial and improper use can be detrimental.

Now, is cannabis harmful or beneficial? Again, it comes down to usage. Just like alcohol.

We don't need to come up with elaborate things like trying to reclassify cannabis as a food rather than a drug in order to have a more mature and healthy conversation about it over and against the stigma against it. I think we just need to have a mature and real conversation--one that recognizes that cannabis isn't the societal evil propagandists have claimed it is--and also that it's not some magical panacea that some of its more eccentric propagandists are claiming either. It's neither evil nor good. It's just a plant. How it is used, whether for good or harm, is the question.

I've seen the ways that cannabis has been very helpful, and I've seen the ways it can be harmful. Just like alcohol, just like proscription medications. I've seen pain medications be very helpful, and I've seen them become destructive. Because it's not about the drugs themselves, but their usage. Good things can be made harmful through abuse.

Scripture testifies to this when it comes to alcohol; it is both celebrated and warned against in Scripture. Because, it comes down to use. Sharing a glass of wine with friends at dinner can be a wonderful celebration of the joy of living; downing a bottle every night to try and avoid facing the problems in your life is self-destructive.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[Jamdoc]

The Law of God talks about drunkenness, and foolishness.

and there's a lot of medications that can make you "drunk", as a part of their normal use.
would you go into surgery without anesthesia?

 

[sparow]

and there's a lot of medications that can make you "drunk", as a part of their normal use.
would you go into surgery without anesthesia?

Well that covers drunkenness; there usually are laws that prevent such a person from signing documents for 24 hours and a need to have a carer present for 24 hours in case of complications.

 

[Jamdoc]

Well that covers drunkenness; there usually are laws that prevent such a person from signing documents for 24 hours and a need to have a carer present for 24 hours in case of complications.

That doesn't answer the question I posed.
for certain medications, they do make you drunk, and so you seem to be saying that it is sin to use those medications because they alter consciousness.
In the case of anesthesia, or even potent analgesics for recovering from surgery or an injury, getting "drunk" is kind of an unavoidable effect of those medications.
So to truly hold to the belief that you shouldn't use a medication if they get you drunk, that would extend to the scenario of refusing anesthesia for surgery.. good luck for that one.

 

[sparow]

That doesn't answer the question I posed.
for certain medications, they do make you drunk, and so you seem to be saying that it is sin to use those medications because they alter consciousness.
In the case of anesthesia, or even potent analgesics for recovering from surgery or an injury, getting "drunk" is kind of an unavoidable effect of those medications.
So to truly hold to the belief that you shouldn't use a medication if they get you drunk, that would extend to the scenario of refusing anesthesia for surgery.. good luck for that one.

Had I realised that was the question I would have answered indirectly, like what do they use for anesthesia in America - whiskey, like in the cowboy days.

 

[Jamdoc]

Had I realised that was the question I would have answered indirectly, like what do they use for anesthesia in America - whiskey, like in the cowboy days.

No but all anesthesia alters consciousness, I mean that's kind of the point. They're cutting into you, you don't want to be conscious of that.
and when you come out of surgery, they often prescribe narcotic analgesics, opioids, which, dull your consciousness and ability to perceive pain. You can still sense pain, you just don't perceive it as being very significant where without the medication it'd be the only thing you'd be able to think about is how much you hurt.

Cannabis works for very particular kinds of pain, wouldn't do much for surgery, but it does particularly well at inflammation, in my experience, I have taken before and after photos of joints that were all knobby and bruised looking and puffy and swollen and then within hours after using cannabis.. the bruised appearance was fading, the swelling went down, and they weren't hot to the touch anymore. I'll take being a bit inebriated (and to be fair, it is a lot less impairing than alcohol in my experience, you don't lose control of your body, but I do use lower THC strains) if it means it doesn't feel like little dwarves are mining my knees and elbows with pickaxes for weeks on end. I just wish I'd discovered it earlier before my joints were irreversibly damaged from the disease not being adequately treated so I'm stuck with bonespurs all over the place.

 

[sparow]

No but all anesthesia alters consciousness, I mean that's kind of the point. They're cutting into you, you don't want to be conscious of that.
and when you come out of surgery, they often prescribe narcotic analgesics, opioids, which, dull your consciousness and ability to perceive pain. You can still sense pain, you just don't perceive it as being very significant where without the medication it'd be the only thing you'd be able to think about is how much you hurt.

Cannabis works for very particular kinds of pain, wouldn't do much for surgery, but it does particularly well at inflammation, in my experience, I have taken before and after photos of joints that were all knobby and bruised looking and puffy and swollen and then within hours after using cannabis.. the bruised appearance was fading, the swelling went down, and they weren't hot to the touch anymore. I'll take being a bit inebriated (and to be fair, it is a lot less impairing than alcohol in my experience, you don't lose control of your body, but I do use lower THC strains) if it means it doesn't feel like little dwarves are mining my knees and elbows with pickaxes for weeks on end. I just wish I'd discovered it earlier before my joints were irreversibly damaged from the disease not being adequately treated so I'm stuck with bonespurs all over the place.

I do not have a problem with it being used as a medicine but it would need to be controlled in the same way opioids are.

Biblically, it is one of the many instruments being used to destroy the minds of men and the world today.

 

[timothyu]

If you look in scripture you will see the priests in the temple used a drug concoction. Exodus 30:34-37

 

[chilehed]

“And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭1:29‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Cannabis-sativa or marijuana is classified as an angiosperm, meaning a seed-bearing plant. This by biblical definition means cannabis is food.

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.”
‭‭I Timothy‬ ‭4:1-3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The word “drug” is a word used for cannabis that tells us it is “not good to eat.” Later in this same chapter Paul insists that Timothy teach these things to everyone (verse 11).

A common argument is, what about poisonous plants, or what about opium? Poppy plants are angiosperms so does that mean that is good to eat? Not so fast..

““Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, that you may distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean,”
‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭10:9-10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

We are being formed into a kingdom of priests that will reign on the earth (Revelation 5:9-10) and so it is our job to distinguish what is holy (acceptable to us) and unholy (not acceptable). Jesus, our Messiah, paved the way.

“they gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when He had tasted it, He would not drink.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭27:34‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Gall is understood to be a type of opiate that was given to ease the pain. At His crucifixion He refused, clarifying not all plants with seed are good to eat.

But for those who believe..

“You love righteousness and hate wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭45:7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Cannabis is commonly consumed in the form of oils or waxes

“Let God arise, Let His enemies be scattered; Let those also who hate Him flee before Him. As smoke is driven away, So drive them away; As wax melts before the fire, So let the wicked perish at the presence of God.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭68:1-2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations— “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men?”
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭2:20-22‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

This reminds me of the absurd nonsense I'd tell myself when I was trying to come up with rationalizations for getting high all the time.

 

[Jamdoc]

I do not have a problem with it being used as a medicine but it would need to be controlled in the same way opioids are.

Biblically, it is one of the many instruments being used to destroy the minds of men and the world today.

It should be under a doctor's direction however I don't think it needs to be as tightly controlled as opioids (which are schedule II) as it is far less addictive and harmful than opioids. Opioids can kill from overdose and people are much more likely to become addicted to it. Cannabis.. most of the "addiction" is psychological. Few people actually get withdrawal symptoms from quitting it (aside from whatever they were using it to treat having symptoms come back, that's not the same as addiction withdrawal)

Under US scheduling it should be schedule III or IV, rather than II which is what most opioids are under.

I think part of the issue though would be administration. It doesn't work very well in pills, it was designed to be activated by heat, so it'd need to be cooked into food somehow.

 

[timothyu]

It doesn't work very well in pills, it was designed to be activated by heat, so it'd need to be cooked into food somehow.

It is refined into an oil which then with butter or the like can become part of chocolate or even foods. There is a huge market in legal territories for the chocolates. But again I have to ask what are those governments purpose in turning a happy drug into an all out sedative.

 

[Jamdoc]

It is refined into an oil which then with butter or the like can become part of chocolate or even foods. There is a huge market in legal territories for the chocolates. But again I have to ask what are those governments purpose in turning a happy drug into an all out sedative.

Right that's the thing, normally with pharmaceuticals they want pills or shots or something that can be absorbed through the skin like a patch or something, where cannabinoids work better if it's heated somehow, either processing into a food/edible, an ointment/oil, or vaporizing the flower (not the same as smoking, nothing is burned, there's no smoke, and also not to be mistaken with vaporizing "purified" compounds, with additives. What made vaping dangerous a few years ago was thickening agents added to oil cartridges so that people blow out bigger clouds of vapor, those oil droplets get caught in the lungs and cause that pneumonia like syndrome)

They'd need to accept some sort of cooked food product like gummies or candies or chocolates or caramels as the route of administration, which can be consistently dosed if produced right, or process it into oils and ointments as a topical, which could work for non systemic inflammation, I haven't tried that particular route myself, cause well, they certainly wouldn't like prescribing something vaporized or smoked.

It'd be nice if it was done more though, more consistent dosing with edibles. Right now since it's kind of a wild west market even in places where it's legal, dosage in edibles is kinda all over the place. It's compounded by the fact that just having 1 cannabinoid compound purified simply doesn't work as well as the full plant. That's another thing pharmacists and doctors don't really like, using a full plant, they want a single purified active ingredient, but cannabinoids have an entourage effect, where the chemicals complement each other (which points to God having made it best, this isn't something man can really improve on). I've tried pure cbd products and .. hasn't worked very well, pure THC, doesn't work well either. Needs a more balanced profile. Maybe it's not even THC or CBD that's helping me, or maybe it's a combination. I don't know, I just know that the whole plant works and I thank God for it.

 

[Jeff Saunders]

I have known people who eat the leaves in salad it’s healthy for you