In those States where the use and sell of Marijuana is illegal, the answer is straightforward. The Christian must abide by the laws of secular government (Romans 13:1-2, 5) which means that the use and sell of Marijuana is clearly prohibited.
As our Nation moves closer to the legalization of recreational use and sell of Marijuana, we Christians must understand that there are other Scriptural principals which forbid us to be involved in the usage and sell of Marijuana. Allow me to provide those important principles:
1. Christians Cannot Serve Two Masters: God and Marijuana.
In Matthew 6:24, Jesus declared “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.” Even though the pro-legalization lobby denies it, the truth is that marijuana is an addictive drug. What is addictive about marijuana is the 'high' it gives. The level of mood-lifting varies widely from person to person. But, the vast majority of users look forward to re-experiencing that feeling of euphoria. Thus, one of the risks of even casual usage is the ease into which it can become an addiction.
The movement from casual, recreational use to hard core use is often faster than expected. In fact, some are going to get hooked from the very first use. No one knows ahead of time their susceptibility. Research suggests that about 1 in 11 users becomes addicted to marijuana. This number increases to 1 in 6 among those who start as teens. Among people who use marijuana daily, the figure rises to between 1 in 4 to 1 in 2. Many casual users believe they can stop using pot anytime they choose to do so, but find themselves unable to do so for any significant period of time. What one needs to understand is that, over time, the amount of marijuana needed to achieve the 'high' grows. After awhile, the addict becomes so enslaved to marijuana that, in stead of using marijuana to obtain the 'high', they must have it just to feel 'normal'. The desire or need to re-use marijuana becomes a high priority and, for some, an obsession.
Every Christian needs to adopt the attitude of the Apostle Paul, who took the position: “Everything is permissible for me—but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me—but I will not be mastered by anything” (1 Corinthians 6:12). The Christian is to submit to one Master – God. To submit ourselves to the god marijuana (becoming addicted by seeking it's gratification of our mind and flesh) rather than to the Spirit of God brings only death – Romans 8:4-8, we are not to “walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” The best way to prevent addiction is never to begin using marijuana.
2. Our Source of Joy and Peace is to Be the Holy Spirit Rather Than Marijuana.
As we have noted, the initial use of marijuana can provide a sense of euphoria and even a measure of inward serenity. But, such a pleasurable experience is short-lived and ends with a feeling of emptiness or worse. (Regular users of pot eventually experience anxiety and, within six months, suffer from bouts of depression and manifestations of paranoia.) Only in God and His Kingdom can be found full and lasting joy and peace....a joy and peace that transcends all our earthly circumstances. Romans 14:17, “For the kingdom of God is...righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” The fruit of the Spirit includes “love, joy, peace” (Galatians 5:22).
Any satisfaction that might be derived from marijuana or any other drug including alcohol is always inferior to that which comes from a close relationship with the Lord. The fact is that it is a sin to seek relief or escape from the stresses of life through any drug because we are commanded to find relief from only God: Philippians 4:6-7, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. and the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” 1 Peter 5:6-7, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” Seeking joy and peace from any source other than the Lord, is not only vain but an affront to the Lord. I am reminded of the Lord's sad words to the Jews, in Jeremiah 2:13, “My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the Fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” Christians are guilty of forsaking God by building their own broken cistern of marijuana use.
3. The Christian's Body is Owned By God and is to Promote His Glory.
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit Who is in you, Whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” Our bodies have been purchased by God with the blood of Christ to be His dwelling place and, being such, are to be devoted to glorifying and honoring Him. 1 Corinthians 6:13, “The body is meant for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.” Romans 12:1, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God.” Since our bodies are sacred, Christians must avoid partaking of anything that is physically harmful or would diminish its ability to glorify God and do His will.
There is no doubt that marijuana is destructive to one's physical body. The plant contains the chemical delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and other harmful compounds. (The amount of THC in marijuana has been increasing steadily increasing its toxicity.) When a person smokes marijuana, THC quickly passes from the lungs into the bloodstream. The blood carries the chemical to the brain and other organs throughout the body. Eating foodstuffs laced with pot delays its effects by 15 minutes to a half hour.
Within a few minutes after inhaling marijuana smoke, a person’s heart rate speeds up, The heart rate—normally 70 to 80 beats per minute—may increase by 20 to 50 beats per minute or may even double in some cases. There is growing evidence that, for some, this sudden stress placed on the heart can cause a heart attack.
Marijuana smoke, like tobacco smoke, is an irritant to the throat and lungs and can cause a heavy cough during use. Researchers found that the smoking of three to four marijuana joints a day is associated with the same degree of damage to bronchial mucus membranes as twenty or more tobacco cigarettes a day. According to the Mayo Clinic, marijuana smoke contains 50 to 70 percent more carcinogenic (cancer-causing) hydrocarbons than tobacco smoke and has the potential to cause cancer of the lungs and respiratory tract. Marijuana's unique toxic compounds weakens the body's immune system, especially the respiratory system’s immune response. This increases the likelihood of developing chronic respiratory infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia. Prolonged usage of marijuana can lead to emphysema and other forms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Other effects of marijuana upon the body include diminished libido in both men and women. In men, marijuana use decreases the production of sperm and damages its cellular make-up. Also, weed can cause impotence. There is a clear link between marijuana use in adolescence and increased risk for an aggressive form of testicular cancer (non-seminomatous testicular germ cell tumor) that predominantly strikes young adult males. The early onset of testicular cancers indicates that even a few years of marijuana use can lead to developing this potentially lethal form of cancer.
Adolescent usage can retard normal growth of the body. Marijuana causes muscle atrophy at all ages; that is, the reduction of muscle strength.
The physical organ that suffers most from marijuana use is the brain. The drug damages neuron connections in the brain which causes decreased coordination and motor skills. In States that have legalized 'recreational' use of marijuana, the number of traffic accidents caused by marijuana intoxication have skyrocketed. Marijuana causes brain lesions which leads to short-term memory loss and impairment in learning. A study showed that people who started smoking marijuana heavily in their teens and had ongoing marijuana use lost an average of eight IQ points between ages 13 and 38. The lost mental abilities did not fully return in those who quit marijuana as adults.
For a Christian to indulge in marijuana is to damage the body that rightly belongs to God and is meant to glorify Him. Such self-destructive practices are inappropriate for a consecrated child of God.
3. The Use of Marijuana Violates the Command to Be Sober and Alert.
Every Christian who is under the influence of marijuana is disobeying the numerous commands to keep one's self sober and alert (e.g., 1 Peter 5:8, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the Devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” 1 Thessalonians 5:2,6, “For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night...so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.”)
One of the most alarming effects of marijuana use is its profound impact on cognitive abilities. THC is not only mood altering but also mind-altering. The part of the brain that processes sensory information becomes over-stimulated resulting in distortions of what the user actually sees and hears. There is also an altered sense of time. The individual is unaware that their perception of things around them is distorted. In fact, the individual erroneously believes that their perception is better on marijuana than without it. On top of sensory distortions, THC greatly impairs the user's ability to concentrate, think rationally, and problem solve. In this condition, the Christian is neither sober nor alert to detect Satanic attacks and schemes. Without sound judgment, the Christian on pot leaves themselves wide open to be devoured by their adversary, the Devil.
[A fact that is often overlooked is that one can drink a minimal amount of alcohol and not become intoxicated. However, you cannot smoke or ingest pot and not get high. You cannot use pot without having it affect significant neurological function.]
The loss of judgment caused by marijuana leads to uninhibited speech and behavior, which is the very opposite of the Lord's command to practice self-control. 2 Corinthians 10:5 commands that “we take every thought captive to make it obey Christ.” This is very difficult if not impossible to do on marijuana as it disorganizes thought processes and hinders rational thinking. With the inability to control the mind, the user is much less likely to be able to control one's speech and actions. A drug-fogged mind can keep us from properly seeing what's right and what's wrong in many situations. The user then becomes the slave to the desires or lusts of the flesh. This is unacceptable for the Christian. Romans 6:19, “For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.” Romans 13:14, “put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.” Under the intoxicating effects of marijuana, the individual is creating a significant obstacle toward cooperating with the Holy Spirit to destroy the works of the flesh. We are admonished, in 1 Thessalonians 5:19, “Do not quench the Spirit.” Galatians 5:16, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” Romans 8:13, “if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”
Again, we really must do all we can to adopt the attitudes of the Apostle Paul. I Corinthians 11:1, “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 9:27, “I discipline my body and make it my slave.” Philippians 1:20, “I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body.”
4. Marijuana Greatly Hinders Spiritual Growth.
The Christian is commanded to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). Growth is dependent upon taking-in the Word of God, retaining it in our minds, and then applying it to our daily lives. 1 Peter 2:2, “like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation.” James 1:21-22, “In humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.”
One of the most well-known and least debated effects of marijuana is that it cripples the ability to learn and retain information. Individuals under the influence of marijuana have no trouble remembering things they learned previously. However, they display an incapacity to learn, organize, and recall new information. This negative impact can last for days or weeks. In one study, a group of heavy marijuana users were asked to recall words from a list. Their ability to correctly remember the words did not return to normal until as long as four weeks after they stopped smoking. These lasting effects are due to the fact that THC stores itself in the body's fatty tissues and hangs around for weeks, possibly months, depending on the length and intensity of usage.
Another way in which marijuana hinders spiritual growth is that it blunts motivation to undertake tasks which require much effort. Pot often causes one to become apathetic toward advancing in life. There develops a lack of desire to better one's self. The Christian is to be diligent in becoming more Christ-like and bearing more fruit each and every day. 2 Peter 1:5-11, "Applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.” 1 Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”
Using marijuana makes it harder to maintain a desire and willingness to apply one's self to spiritual growth and productivity. It is an encumbrance. We are commanded to “lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us" (Hebrews 12:1).
Finally, the Christian needs to remember that Satan is the great liar and deceiver. He always wants to help us rationalize and justify sinning against God, almost making it seem like is the right thing to do. We have provided principles that clearly makes the use of pot a sin. If pot use is a sin for the Christian, how can a Christian justify selling it to others? Romans 13:10 states, "Love does no wrong to a neighbor."
