Question about Marijuana and Christianity

[civicmandx94]

Mods if I did not put this in the right forum then please feel free to move it there, thanks. I really do not know where to start with this subject here, I just want to know some Christian opinions on the subject. I do believe that God put everything on this earth for us to use. Now here is the tricky part. I know that we should not do things which would make our brother stumble, and that we must obey cesar's law so to speak. I am caught riding the fence on this one and was looking for a little help. Thanks and God Bless!

 

[urbanfaerie]

hmm...

i look at marijana the same way i look at any other form of self destructing..

its a sin to smoke it.

God gave you lungs, do you think he likes to see you abuse them by inhaling that stuff? not to mention the effects it could have not only on you, but the people srrounin you, you might accidently do something stupid, endangering urself, and perfectly innocent people.

Goddid put it on earth, does that make it ok to use?

no. no itdoesn't.

God also had man make knifes and such, does that mean its ok to cut urself? no.. that would also be destroying the body God gave you.

God also made men to make guns, does that mean its ok to blow ur brains out? i think not.

i could go on and on and on.. but whati'm tryingto say is anythingyou do to the body Christ gave yu that is harmful, is wrong. its sin.

marijauna, not only illegal, its a sin. do yourself a favor and avoid the temptation to be a bad @ss. not only do many peple dissaprove with it, God does as well, and thats what reallly counts, now doesnt it.

 

[Mr.Cheese]

I don't think we're supposed to try and smoke or eat everything we can get our hands on.

It is also illegal.

 

[AndOne]

A very good question.

I would never use MJ - as I have seen how it affects the mind and the body. Perhaps if I was dying of cancer and in a lot of pain and IF IT WERE LEGAL - it might give it a try - if it helped the pain. But I digress.

The big issue here (as was alluded to) - is the legality of the substance. I believe that as Christians we are bound to follow the laws of the land and should not partake of it until it is legalized. The legality of using MJ makes the decision an easy one. If you use it - you are putting yourself at risk financially (court costs, legal fees, etc) not too mention the possibility of going to jail. All this on top of embarrasing the faith just doesn't make it worth it.

Once legalized (and I believe it will be eventually) it comes down to a personal choice - and how convicted you are concerning it. Me personally - I would never use it - but I would not judge you if you decided to use MJ if it were legal. Just as I do not judge people who smoke or drink. I may think they are complete idiots - but I would not judge them - its between them and God. I also realize that these can be addictive (and yes there are studies that show THC has addictive properties) and many times people are in a battle to expunge these substances from there lives. These people I encourage and pray for.

Even with MJ currently illegal - I still would not judge you for using it - however it is my job to put people who deal/smuggle illegal drugs behind bars - and I have no problem doing it.

 

[lostangel]

Yes, God says that we should follow the laws of the place where we live if they do not oppose the laws given to us in his Word. So I would say using mj is wrong becuz it is illegal.

 

[1John5:3]

Legality aside, can you imagine Jesus asking John for a light?


WHAT IS MARIJUANA?

Over 300 scientific studies into the harmful effects of Marijuana have been published in scientific journals since 1975. These effects include personality damage, abnormal cell nuclei in both size and development, injury to sperm and ova, disorganized protein pro*duction, reduced oxygen and heightened carbon monoxide content in tissues, irregular cell division, cancer, and heart, lung, glandular, nerve and brain damage.

All Marijuana comes from a single plant: the cannabis sativa, commonly called "Indian hemp." "Cannabinoids" are the chemicals found only in this plant. Todate, 61 have been isolated. They are very dangerous. These 61, plus 360 other chemicals, provide us with a total of 421 presently identified chemicals in the cannabis plant. The most active of the cannabinoids is THC (tetrahydrocannabinol).

Hashish, prepared from cannabis in a different way, is much stronger than Marijuana. Marijuana is smoked in pipes or cigarettes. Hashish is taken orally or mixed with a food and eaten.


GOING TO POT
TWENTY-ONE WAYS
see next post

 

[1John5:3]

BRAIN, TESTES AND OVARIES

Pot has its preferences and these three are it. It puts a drag on them and dulls them for regular use.

Marijuana has 61 spectacular chemicals. They are called cannabinaids, for they are found only in the cannabis plant. Each one is soluble in fat. This means they like to go to the fatty organs of your body and stay there. It takes 5 to 8 days for half the THC in one joint to clear out. The remainder hangs around for months; some of it for years.

The human brain, testes and ovaries are especially high in fat content. So grass goes there, and much of it stays. Gradually, as it builds up, the memory begins to suffer; normal thinking becomes more shallow. When not up on a Jay the happy feelings of life seem drained out. The emotions don't seem to work right. Life becomes a bummer.

NERVE CELL CHANGES

Pot changes brain cells. It changes them structurally; it changes how they act inside you.

Due to a number of interlocking effects of reefers, Marijuana works earnestly to put your mind back to that of a seven-year-old. It may not do it very fast, but it keeps working at it. In most cases it requires a number of months before the gradual changeover is obvious to others. But you won't know about it for you are part of the change. You probably will deny it is taking place.

WIDENING OF NERVE GAPS

Did you even know you had any? Well, they're there. Here is what is taking place inside you:

Nerve impulses travel from nerve cell to nerve cell across little spaces called “synoptic clefts”. This space widens after taking marijuana. And more: The smoke from the weed slowly lays down abnormal deposits of solid material into those spaces.

DAMAGE TO CHEMICAL ACTIVATOR SACS

More big words, but the damage is still there, and it isn't pleasant:

Each nerve cell in your body has attached to it several endings, or little threads. It is inside these endings, in little sacs, that the chemical activators for your brain are located. Without them your mind cannot work right. The cannabinoids you breathe in when you smoke Marijuana do strange things to these small sacs. They begin clumping together. And then they start malfunctioning. Doesn't sound too good, does it?

LOADED NUCLEI

The heart of each nerve cell in your body is its nucleus. And the nucleus has to stay clean in order to organize its work load:

But that grass smoke that people take into their lungs is pretty big stuff. The 61 chemicals travel to each and every nerve in their body and carry with them foreign matter into the nerve-cell nucleus, and then leave it behind as the cannabinoids gradually dissipate over the coming years. It is like handing the key over to a man to unlock the door of your house each day so he can dump garbage inside. But when he leaves, he takes the key with him. And how you are going to get all that rubbish back out is quite another matter. Let’s face it; those 61 cannabinoids are smarter than you are. They can tear things up in ways that you cannot easily undo. A good plan is to lay off the weed now; the mess in your body will only be worse tomorrow.

SHORT-TERM MEMORY DAMAGE

Well, you say, "What does a person need short-term memory for?" Let me tell you: it comes in very handy-every minute of the waking day. Short-term memory enables you to recall what you did half a minute ago, or on up to several days ago. Long-term memory is your memories of a number of years back. But the last 5 or 10 minutes can be the most critical for short-term memory loss. Short-term memory is more crucial than long-term in day-by-day work. Chronic pot smokers grad*ually lose short-term memory. Many have to drop out of school. They have to give up employment in which thinking and decision-making is required of them,-because they cannot recall the decision long enough to make sure it is carried out.

WANDER SYNDROME

Over a period of time on Marijuana, the mind becomes disoriented enough in relation to feelings, enjoyments and regular living, so that many do not want to return to normal living.

They just start wandering. First, they wander around town. Never really knowing what they want to do or who they want to be with. No fixed purpose; No goals; And no real happiness. Just time for another stick, and off again down the road. Then the road lengthens and they leave home-base for other lands. But they take themselves with them. But they have nothing. You know people who are living this way. Is this what you want for your life?

JUDGMENT AND-COORDINATION IMPAIRMENT

There is no question but that high doses taken frequently will impair mental judgment and coordination.

It is the THC in pot that does this. The principal psychoactive, or mind-altering, cannabinoid in Marijuana is a chemical by the name of 9-THC. What 9-THC does to your mental ability and coordination is no laughing matter. But because it works quietly, insidiously and slowly, you are not alerted to what is taking place within you. Radioactive tracing of 9-THC reveals that it normally requires 5 to 9 days for just half the 9-THC in a single marijuana cigarette to clear out of the body. The rest hangs around for a long time after that. And a sizable amount of it can stay with you for years. But research has proven that the damage can remain, even though the THC residue has finally been expelled.

DANGEROUS CONDUCT

Outward conduct as a result of Marijuana inhalation is much more unpredictable than is the inner physical degeneration that takes place.

But dangerous conduct can and does occur. Who wants to go to prison because he gunned down a friend while under the influence of grass? Because of the vivid hallucinations and exhilaration which often result from pot-smoking, men and women occasionally lose all restraint and act in a manner that is both dangerous to themselves and to others. Antisocial behavior, stemming from the weed can be the forerunner of the use of harder drugs.

ACCIDENT PRONENESS

While under the immediate influence of Marijuana, a person has a tendency to disorientate in relation to time and space around him.

People have been known to fall off cliffs and out of buildings because of reefers. Highway accidents have been traced to this source. Do not think you can muffle part of your brain for a while and always come out of it safely?

GLANDULAR CHANGES

Important changes in major glandular functions take place over a period of time because of the continued use of Marijuana.

In the limbic area of your brain is a small piece of tissue that hangs down into the center of your skull: the hypothalamus. Just below it is one of the most important ductless glands in your entire body-the pituitary. It only takes one-billionth of a gram of THC to touch off a new output pattern in the hypothalamus. I n consequence, signals are sent both to the pituitary (which regulates all physical endocrine function) and the reproductive hormones (which regulate sexual function and the entire reproductive process). Inability to have children, inability to carry them to full term, inability to produce milk to nurse them, -all these are problems facing pot-smoking women.

SEXUAL MALFUNCTION AND IMPOTENCE

Men and women who stay with Marijuana eventually lose their sex drive. Sexual activity falls off and fewer [bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse] take place. This pattern is best seen in men and women who have been smoking pot for five years or more. I n addition, research has shown that a lowered sperm count in men will occur. Frequently this is accompanied by a larger number of abnormally shaped sperm. Another ominous factor is the observation that the majority of the sperm moved slower and appeared weaker. Is this what you want for your future? -degenerate children?

OVARY DAMAGE

If you are a woman and wish to have healthy children someday, then consider what Marijuana can and will do to your ovaries-and stay away from this powerful drug.

Radioactive tagging of THC reveals that it accumulates in the ovaries, as well as in other organs in the body. A woman only has a certain number of eggs (about 400,000), Once damaged, nothing can be done to restore them to their original condition. And research has proven that Marijuana damages the ovaries and the ova (eggs) within them. Rhesus monkeys were selected because their reproductive systems so closely resemble those of humans. Those in the control group received no THC; the other group received a monkey equivalent of two cigarettes a day. 44 percent of the THC mothers produced dead or dying young.

Pathology tests on the dead offspring revealed subtle developmental abnormalities in the tissues and organs. Then the babies that had not died were observed and found to behave differently than normal babies. Behavior was erratic, and seemingly with less self-control. The attention span could not be as readily maintained. All this is symptomatic of marginal brain damage prior to birth.

(It should be mentioned that researchers, through analysis of THC blood levels, are able to very accurately ascertain a "monkey equivalent" of the amount of THC a human would obtain in a reefer.)

DNA DESTRUCTION

DNA is the genetic material that is the heart of every cell nucleus in. the human body. If it is not present in the correct chemical arrangement, normal cell function*ing and division cannot take place. In 1974 it was discovered that Marijuana injures DNA content and placement.

Dr. Gabriel Nahas of the Medical School at Columbia University has done extensive research into Marijuana for decades. In 1974 he discovered that THC intrusion into cell nuclei reduces the ability of the individual cells to maintain life functions in accordance with the genetic code that is built into cellular molecules. This is because THC interferes with the formation or DNA in cell nuclei. The result is cellular death or abnormality. Without DNA coding, the cell mutates into new patterns.

MIDDLE AND OLD AGE PROBLEMS

Yes, its all yours if you want to smoke pot:

Here is part of what it will hand you as a free gift: severe chest pain, certain respiratory conditions, short-term memory loss. All these are factors that normally only the elderly have trouble with. Why get old while you're still young? Get off the junk weed and get back into real life.

RESPIRATORY PROBLEMS-

A whole list of chest troubles can be yours if you will take the time to stick by Marijuana: Research studies were made of U.S. Army men stationed in West Germany. It was discovered that heavy Marijuana smoking produced bronchitis, asthma, sinusitis, pharyngitis and a number of other respiratory diseases. And it was found that anyone of these conditions could occur within less than a year or; so after starting on pot. The extent of the problem was far more severe among users of grass than among men who had been heavy smokers for over ten years.

LUNG DIGESTION

Sounds pretty disagreeable, doesn't it? Here are some of the details:

It was found that a major reason marijuana users are so prone to lung disease is due to "airway resistance." Marijuana increases by 200 percent the occurrence of certain enzymes that occupy them*selves with eating, or digesting, the walls of the thousands of passages in the lungs. This results in lung malfunctions of various kinds.

REDUCED OXYGEN INTAKE

We all need oxygen to keep going. Consider the problems of those who try to climb Mount Everest if you think you can do without a proper amount of it. But on a pot diet you are headed for oxygen trouble-that may last the remainder of your earthly life.

The problem of "airway resistance," mentioned above, results in a reduced amount of oxygen to the lungs. If you stay with hemp, the day is coming when you will live in semi-oxygen starvation all the time. Not so good. Not only is less oxygen available to your body, but excess carbon dioxide is retained,-and carbon monoxide in the smoke replaces more oxygen. You feel all "done in" and don't know why. Your initiative seems collapsed. Try quitting grass while you can still get air.

CANCER PRODUCING

Yes, cancer producing! A number of separate research studies are all pointing the same way: The use of Marijuana is cancer-producing.

The mechanics of this is similar to cigarette smoke and lung cancer. An unfiltered tobacco cigarette contains about the same amount of carbon monoxide, benzene, acetone and ammonia. These are all highly irritating and dangerous. But the two important cancer-producing chemicals, benzathracene and benzoprene, occurred in a 55 to 70 per-cent greater concentration in the smoke of Marijuana.

Both tobacco and Marijuana will produce cancer. Both produce squamous-metaplasia cells in test persons. Both condensates produce cancer tumors. But Marijuana smoke is more harmful to the lungs than is tobacco smoke, and it will produce lung cancer more quickly.

HEART PROBLEMS

Anyone with heart trouble-or who wants to avoid it-should stay away from reefers.

It increases the heart rate by 30 beats per minute, putting a strain on it in a resting position. But the heart, now needing additional oxygen to handle the increased load, is denied that, as we have seen above.

HEART ACTION REDUCED

Here is another way to stop your heart a little earlier: Start using pot.

Marijuana directly weakens the heart muscle, through a reduction in its ability to pump blood: A complicated series of factors underlies this problem. But take it from me: Get far away from pot before it gets you.

But the smoke of Marijuana also weakens the heart in two other ways: At the very time a person is smoking Marijuana, he is taking surprising amounts of carbon monoxide into his body. But the CO 1 damage is multiplied in two ways: First, the carbon monoxide chemically replaces oxygen in the body, greatly weakening all of its functions. Second, the Marijuana smoke itself also contains factors, not as yet fully understood, that keep oxygen from the body. -These two factors combine into an insidious combination to slowly but permanently weaken physical functions, and at the same time aid in the work of organic brain damage.

 

[troodon]

I do believe that God put everything on this earth for us to use.

Would that include syphilis?

 

[1John5:3]

"Today's pot smoker may not only be damaging his own mind and body, but may be playing genetic roulette and casting a shadow across children and grandchildren yet unborn."-Dr. Gabriel Nahas, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Nahas has done extensive Marijuana research into its effects for years.

"Marijuana is not the innocuous drug many would have us believe . . all agree that it is a drug, which acts on the brain. In sufficient doses this drug induces confusion, disorientation, hallucinations and delusion. In my long experience working with Peace Corps returnees and other patients in their teens or early twenties, Marijuana in sufficient doses, has the capacity to trigger serious mental illness in susceptible persons.

"These psychotic episodes, some of them lasting for months, would never have occurred had the person not been exposed to substantial amounts of Marijuana. . The emotionally unstable young who use it are playing Russian roulette." -Dr. Zigmond M. Lebensohn, Emeritus Chief of Psychiatry at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D. C., and Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Georgetown University, School of Medicine.

The experts say it’s time to stop being a crack-pot:

"The THC exposed babies that survived [Marijuana taken by their mothers] acted differently from the others. They didn't seem to have normal 'brakes' on behavior. They showed deficits in attention. This kind of subtle behavioral difference is characteristic of marginal brain damage in early development."-Dr. Ethel Sassenrath, researcher at California Primate Research Center, University of California at Davis.

If you don't break pot, it will break you later on:

"1 saw chronic bronchitis and emphysema, -generally found only in 45-or 50-year-olds, -in hashish-smoking soldiers who were only 18 years old."-Dr. Forest S. Tennant, Jr., former director, U.S. Army Drug abuse program in West Germany. "We never used to see teen-agers with chest pain. In fact, we hardly used to see teen-agers [in here with such problems as these at all]; they're over the childhood diseases and usually in the prime of health. But now young pot smokers show up with a variety of symptoms, some of which, -like severe chest pain, certain respiratory conditions and short-term memory loss, -are normally associated with middle and old age. Many pediatricians, and I am one of them, are convinced Marijuana is the single most dangerous health hazard facing American youth today:' -Dr. Ingrid Lantner, clinical pediatrician, Cleveland, Ohio.

"Our study shows that in the case of youngsters who abstain completely [from taking any more Marijuana] for an average of six months, there is often a return of concentration, attention and memory to expected levels.

"This is not true for older Marijuanaholics. In respect to short-term memory loss, in some cases, they do not appear to come back all the way. Furthermore, because older users are usually long-term users, they have made subtle changes in their lives that are hard to undo. For example, they slide into less-demanding jobs.

"Even if off the drug for a year, one or two joints can send them on a pot binge, and they relapse quickly into their former use patterns. And although it may have taken two years to reach their prior seriously disabled state, it may take only two weeks of renewed pot smoking to revert to the same level."-Dr. Mark Gold, director research, Fair Oaks Hospital, Summit, New Jersey. (Dr. Gold received the American Psychiatric Association's 1981 Foundation Prize for Research in Psychiatry.)

"By increasing either the heart rate or blood pressure, you increase the amount of oxygen needed by the heart muscle. With ten puffs of pot you increase both simultaneously. But that's not all. Marijuana increases the amount of carbon monoxide in the blood as well-thereby reducing the amount of oxygen delivered to the heart muscle.

"Not only could Marijuana precipitate a heart attack or cause sudden death in patients with known coronary disease, but people who might have sub clinical heart disease -without symptoms -could also be taking a risk. Remember that nearly 25 percent of persons dying suddenly from coronary heart disease have had no prior recognized symptoms of heart disease."-Dr. Wilbert S. Aronow, professor of medicine, and chief of cardiovascular research, University of California at Irvine.

"Five years ago I testified before the [California] State Legislature that Marijuana was harmless. I have changed my mind. At that time my experience with users was limited and literature was sparse. Most of what I had read and heard led me to the conclusion that there was no proof of long-term harm.

"But the Psychiatric Clinic in Berkeley sees approximately three thousand students a year. My thinking began to shift as I noticed that formerly bright students were finding it difficult to concentrate, to memorize and to think straight. They would insist that they were feeling things more acutely, getting unusual insights into situations and loving humanity more. But I could see no evidence that any of this was true when those students spoke to me. I heard patches of lucidity and sometimes brilliance. Suddenly they would fall into a hole of confusion and be unable to extricate themselves. A common statement from such a student: “I am lost”: Or: “I forget what I am trying to prove”:

"I have now come to believe that the effects of Marijuana are cumulative, that after a period of prolonged use, say, six months or a year, if pure Marijuana is used in frequent dosage, chronic changes can occur which are similar to those seen in organic brain disease."-Dr. Harvey Powelson, chief of the Department of Psychiatry, University of California at Berkeley.

"The most obvious impairments caused by chronic Marijuana use are in the area of Organic Brain Syndrome. These include impaired short-term memory, emotional flatness, and the amotivational-or dropout-syndrome. This can progress from dropping of sports, to dropping out of school, to dropping out of the family."-Dr. Harold Voth, Menninger Foundation's School of Psychiatry, and chief of staff of the Topeka Veteran's Administration Medical Center.

"No other drug has the staying power and broad cellular actions on the body that cannabinoids [the chemicals in Marijuana] do."-Dr. Carlton Turner, director of a research project at the University of Mississippi, conducted under the auspices of the National Institute for Drug Abuse.

Here are more pot shots:

"If someone smokes [Marijuana] twice a week or more, sobering up-in a total sense-never occurs. Even when not 'high: he or she remains in a state of sub-acute intoxication; in most cases, without even recognizing this 'holdover' effect."-Or. John Meeks, medical director, Psychiatric Institute of Montgomery County, Maryland.

Well, there's not much left in the pot after all that!

The inescapable fact is that unless our current pot-smoking habits are reversed sharply, Marijuana will have drastic long-term physical and psychological health effects on our young people and, therefore, on the future of our families and our nation." -Dr. Carlton Turner, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Marijuana Research Program, University of Mississippi.

 

[1John5:3]

IT'S TOO LATE TO BE CRACKED ON POT. HERE IS SOMETHING FAR BETTER: Marijuana is not your friend. It is a silent enemy. Once inside, it spends its time trying to injure, cripple and destroy your mind and body. Here is how to solve the problem:

First, decide that from now on you will choose only those people as friends who really desire your best good. Settle it in your mind that you will drop the hangers, and stay away from those who just want to use you, get your money, wear you out, and get you into trouble.

Second, go by yourself alone. Make sure you have a couple extra hours to spare. Get on your knees and ask God for help! And be serious about it. For the truth is that you desperately need help, and He is the only One who can give it to you. Talk to Him out loud. Tears won't hurt at all. Tell Him the mess your life is in. Ask Him for forgiveness. Stick with it. Ask Him to forgive your sins. Tell Him that, with His help, you choose not to go back to your old ways. Have a Bible there with you. Read John, chapters 18 through 21. Talk to God about what you read. It was written for you; And about you. Peter fell just as you did. And Christ forgave him, too. Then read John 14 through 17. Tell Him that you have sinned against Him and you want peace with Him. Tell Him that you want to give your life to Him and obey what He tells you in the Bible. Then, believe that He has forgiven you and that He will help you obey Him. By this you shall know it: the peace of forgiveness and acceptance with God will come into your heart.

Third, from that point onward, every day of your life must begin with time for God, in prayer and the reading of His Word. All through the day you must cling to His hand and send up silent prayers for help-and also prayers of thankfulness. Expect Satan to try to give you trouble through everyone and everything around you. But you are strong as long as in your weakness you hold Christ's hand tightly.

We live in a world in rebellion against God and His Law. Determine that you will be different. With the help of God, you will be loyal to Him, to high standards of conduct, to right living. Settle it that you will spend your time trying to help others instead of merely living for amusements and selfish indulgences. Decide that you will care for your body so you can better serve God and help others.

 

[Anthony]

This is like most subjects. We take one thing and make it bad. If the act of smoking MJ is a sin, then all forms of drugs taking is sin as well.

But this misses the whole point. Sin is not an event it is a life style. It isn't was sin does, it is what sin leads to. It leads to a dependance on things and oneselves and not God.

 

[oneiric]

The bible says intoxication is a sin.

The end.

 

[civicmandx94]

I would like to thank everybody for their input and I will say that it did not fall on deaf ears. I would also like to say that I am not a junkie or druggie at all. I guess to understand where I am coming from I will give a little background on myself. When I was 18 I was involved in a violent car accident caused by a drunk driver. By the grace of God I was not cut or bruised anywhere, in fact there was not a scratch on my body. My body had been thrown around so hard so fast that I have had severe muscle spasms in my back as a result of being jerked around so hard. My doctor said that the accident also triggered degenerative disk disease in my back. I have been in physical therapy since the accident and my back has only slightly healed. The pain still resides and I have spasms so hard sometimes that I cannot move and it becomes hard to breathe, it is also extremely easy for me to throw my back out these days so I must be careful. All this by age 21. I have done everything that the doctors have told me to do but my back is still not healed. I was given Soma when this first all happened but was soon taken off of it by my doctor due to the narcotic affects of the drug. Since then I have tried every pain reliever on the market and none of them help. But the one single thing that I have found to be beneficial for my back seems to be marijuana. Allthough I am not proud to say it does alleviate 75-80 percent of the pain making it mostly bearable pain. I am not some junkie with a monkey or anything, in fact I am just the opposite. I have dedicated my life to God and want to do what is right by him, I am just having trouble believing that God is going to send me to hell for using a plant that he put on this earth to alleviate the daily pain that I have. Oh and to the person that replied and apparently is in the profession of law enforcement I am not a smuggler or a dealer, I am a good christian man that is looking for some help in his daily walk with God. I mean to cause no anymosity or harm with my question, I only seek the opinions of others that are in my situation. Thanks for all the replies and may God Bless you!

 

[reggie]

I call it lie weed. Any lie the devil hands you you take. It seperates you from truth so is that what you want?

 

[Cosmic Charlie]

I'm very new here so maybe I should come out on wrong side of this issue but...

I really don't have a overarching problem with MJ. As general intoxicant its on par with alcohol. I daresay, a good number of people on this forum drink. The histrionics over the the substance seem a little over the top. Yes, MJ can be abused. So can water. The point I think is not how evil the substance is, it is in fact a neither good nor evil, but how it is used.

The main problem I see, from both a moral and practical matter, is the it is illiegal to culitvate, possess, tranport and sell. Therefore, inhaling MJ smoke puts you at great risk for jail and being seperated from your loved ones. Surely putting yourself in a situation that that keeps you away from you wife and children cannot be considered a moral act.

And they say you can't legislate morallity.

 

[ps139]

First of all, I don't give a **** whether something is legal or not. Man is fallible, and so are his laws. I think that an illegal activity such as smoking marijuana is much better than a legal activity such as abortion.

I believe that God made everything, and everything has a beneficial purpose. Things also have bad purposes. The tricky part is identifying each.

If marijuana helps your back pain better than anything else a doctor can give you, then I do not think it is morally wrong to do it. However, I think marijuana is a very dangerous substance, and I know that it can easily get out of hand.

One thing most people don't understand is that it affects people in very different ways. One of the most active and creative people I know has been a fulltime pothead for the last 4 or 5 years. On the other hand, if I smoked pot right now I'd probably become lazier than a slug.

There are many, many, serious dangers associated with habitual use of this drug.


And while it may benefit your back, it is also dangerous to have it become a habitual pain treatment. However, if there is REALLY no other option....

If you do decide to use it for pain, let me make one suggestion. Make a rule that you will NEVER use it recreationally, and NEVER break this rule. By recreationally I mean do not use it when there is no pain, and when you are high, don't smoke more to get higher. The minute you break your rules on use, the door to addiction opens. (I know you cannot be physically addicted to marijuana but you certainly can be mentally addicted and not even know it).
Take everyone else's considerations equally with mine, pray to the Lord about this, and feel free to PM me whenever. I believe I am giving good advice, but I don't know your personality (mine is an addictive one) and that could be a factor on whether this advice is good or not. The last thing I'd ever want to happen is that you get hooked. Marijuana is powerful and dangerous, it really is like playing with fire. You can warm yourself, or burn the house down.

 

[Bowser]

I believe any obsession is a sin.

Eating is not a sin, and gluttony is.

Drinking is not a sin, but being drunk is.

That's my take on it.

 

[SystemOfADOWN]

1John 5:3, sorry, that stuff you posted is pure bull ****. Sorry for the harsh language, but your mind is clouded with corrupt information that the US government spreads to make it seem bad.

MYTHS


Myth: Today's marijuana is more potent and more harmful than it was many years ago.
Fact: There is no medical evidence that shows high-potency marijuana is more harmful than low-potency marijuana. Marijuana is literally one of the least toxic substances known. High-potency marijuana is actually preferable because less is of it consumed to obtain the desired effect; thereby reducing the amount of smoke that enters the lungs and lowering the risk of any respiratory health hazards. Claiming that high-potency marijuana is more harmful than low-potency marijuana is like claiming wine is more harmful than beer.

Myth: Smoking marijuana can cause cancer and serious lung damage.
Fact: There chance of contracting cancer from smoking marijuana is minuscule. Tobacco smokers typically smoke 20+ cigarettes every day for decades, but virtually nobody smokes marijuana in the quantity and frequency required to cause cancer. A 1997 UCLA study (see page 9) concluded that even prolonged and heavy marijuana smoking causes no serious lung damage. Cancer risks from common foods (meat, salt, dairy products) far exceed any cancer risk posed by smoking marijuana. Respiratory health hazards and cancer risks can be totally eliminated by ingesting marijuana in baked foods.

Myth: Marijuana contains over 400 chemicals, thus proving that marijuana is dangerous.
Fact: Coffee contains 1,500 chemicals. Rat poison contains only 30 chemicals. Many vegetables contain cancer-causing chemicals. There is no correlation between the number of chemicals a substance contains and its toxicity. Prohibitionists often cite this misleading statistic to make marijuana appear dangerous.

Myth: Marijuana is a gateway drug--it leads to harder drugs.
Fact: The U.S. government's own statistics show that over 75 percent of all Americans who use marijuana never use harder drugs. The gateway-drug theory is derived by using blatantly-flawed logic. Using such blatantly-flawed logic, alcohol should be considered the gateway drug because most cocaine and heroin addicts began their drug use with beer or wine--not marijuana.

Myth: Marijuana is addicting.
Fact: Marijuana is not physically addicting. Medical studies rank marijuana as less habit forming than caffeine. The legal drugs of tobacco (nicotine) and alcohol can be as addicting as heroin or cocaine, but marijuana is one of the least habit forming substances known.

Myth: Marijuana use impairs learning ability.
Fact: A 1996 U.S. government study claims that heavy marijuana use may impair learning ability. The key words are heavy use and may. This claim is based on studying people who use marijuana daily--a sample that represents less than 1 percent of all marijuana users. This study concluded: 1) Learning impairments cited were subtle, minimal, and may be temporary. In other words, there is little evidence that such learning impairments even exist. 2) Long-term memory was not affected by heavy marijuana use. 3) Casual marijuana users showed no signs of impaired learning. 4) Heavy alcohol use was cited as being more detrimental to the thought and learning process than heavy marijuana use. Myth: Marijuana is a significant cause of emergency room admissions.
Fact: The U.S. government reports that marijuana-related emergency room episodes are increasing. The government counts an emergency room admission as a marijuana-related episode if the word marijuana appears anywhere in the medical record. If a patient tests positive for marijuana because he/she used marijuana several days before the incident occurred, if a drunk driver admits he/she also smoked some marijuana, or if anyone involved in the incident merely possessed marijuana, the government counts the emergency room admission as a "marijuana-related episode." Less than 0.2% of all emergency room admissions are "marijuana related." This so-called marijuana-causes-emergencies statistic was carefully crafted by the government to make marijuana appear dangerous.

How Harmful?
TOBACCO ........................ 400,000
ALCOHOL ........................ 100,000
ALL LEGAL DRUGS ................ 20,000
ALL ILLEGAL DRUGS .............. 15,000
CAFFEINE ....................... 2,000
ASPIRIN ........................ 500
MARIJUANA ...................... 0
----------------------------------------
Source: United States government...
National Institute on Drug Abuse,
Bureau of Mortality Statistics

Like any substance, marijuana can be abused. The most common problem attributed to marijuana is frequent overuse, which can induce lethargic behavior, but does not cause serious health problems. Marijuana can cause short-term memory loss, but only while under the influence. Marijuana does not impair long-term memory. Marijuana does not lead to harder drugs. Marijuana does not cause brain damage, genetic damage, or damage the immune system. Unlike alcohol, marijuana does not kill brain cells or induce violent behavior. Continuous long-term smoking of marijuana can cause bronchitis, but the chance of contracting bronchitis from casual marijuana smoking is minuscule. Respiratory health hazards can be totally eliminated by consuming marijuana via non-smoking methods, i.e., ingesting marijuana via baked foods, tincture, or vaporizer.

A 1997 UCLA School of Medicine study (Volume 155 of the American Journal of Respiratory & Critical Care Medicine) conducted on 243 marijuana smokers over an 8-year period reported the following: "Findings from the long-term study of heavy, habitual marijuana smokers argue against the concept that continuing heavy use of marijuana is a significant risk factor for the development of chronic lung disease." "Neither the continuing nor the intermittent marijuana smokers exhibited any significantly different rates of decline in lung function as compared with those individuals who never smoked marijuana." The study concluded: "No differences were noted between even quite heavy marijuana smoking and nonsmoking of marijuana." Marijuana does not cause serious health problems like those caused by tobacco or alcohol (e.g., strong addiction, cancer, heart problems, birth defects, emphysema, liver damage, etc.). Death from a marijuana overdose is impossible. In all of world history, there has never been a single human death attributed to a health problem caused by marijuana.

Read this:
http://www.nirvana-shop.com/untoldstory/#INDEX
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[Vedant]

God didn't 'say' obey the laws of your nation. Paul did, and God said it through Paul. Too often people miss the point of this whole command. Why do you obey the laws of your nation? Not just because the Bible said so. Because we are to be respectable people by obeying the law. If you have no respect, you have no chance of gaining personal connections with people who aren't saved. Blind acceptance of the law is ignorant. Some laws are simply wrong. For example, if we lived in a truly communist country, it would be against the law to have religion or believe in God. So that's just one blaring contradiction to this whole obey the law stuff. Some laws are so wrong that they need to be broken.

Alcohol is legal. Intoxication is not only legal, but encouraged by Christians on special occasions or whatever. There is a time and place for celebrating, and a time when substances take over you, including caffein, nicotine, and alcohol. I don't think Jesus turned water into wine to have people have just a sip of the best wine in the universe.

I don't think doing drugs is wrong as long as you understand that it is against the law and it is perfectly legal to be incarcerated and fined for it. You also need to understand what drugs do to you, perscription, over-the-counter, recreational, and illegal drugs. If you don't understand all these things, you're going at them in a very immature and dangerous way. Irresponsible use of ANY drug is wrong, and letting anything control your life. Any indulgence, is wrong.

Alcohol kills the most people of any other drug, and nicotine is one of the most addictive drugs available to people. The fact that they happen to be socially acceptable has nothing to do with Christianity.

 

[seangoh]

ok just read the background u posted. You were saying MJ helps to alleviate the pain right? So i believe it's prescribed to you then. If that's the case, maybe you could start seeking for alternatives to MJ and whether it's effective and doesn't give you any side effects. I wouldn't want to say God created everything so we have to use them. I would rather say God created people to be doctors and nurses to help others. And since the hospital is there, sometimes they're treatment is the best you can have. But of course try asking your doctor for alternatives besides MJ since you know its side effects.