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Consuming true medicine: Why Catholics should oppose legalizing marijuana

Drugs offer a false medicine that cover over difficulties without truly addressing their cause or providing any strength to overcome them.

(Image: Chase Fade/Unsplash.com)

Within this multiyear Eucharistic Revival, we should not only foster devotion to the sacrament we recognize as the source and summit of our faith, but we must also remove the obstacles that keep us from benefiting from this “medicine of immortality” (St. Ignatius of Antioch, “Letter to the Ephesians,” c. 100AD). We believe that we have found the true medicine that recreates us, transforming us into what we consume, the very body of our Creator, and, therefore, must oppose all false substitutes. False medicine poisons the soul.

We become what we consume. Eating healthy food makes the body strong, while eating junk food leads to disorder within the body. Even worse, consuming things that blatantly damage our health and impair our mind constitute a grave sin, harming both body and soul. As a remedy, however, God has given us his own life to consume. In the Eucharist, Jesus provides his own body and blood to consume under the appearance of bread of wine so that becoming what we consume, we may share in his own life — one with him in body, mind and soul. Through the communion with Christ it offers, the Eucharist enables us to face the temptations and difficulties that come along with our daily bread.

A false eating or consumption of what is harmful to body and soul, however, presents us with a temptation to escape from difficulties. Drugs offer a false medicine that cover over difficulties without truly addressing their cause or providing any strength to overcome them. While the Eucharist transforms us, drugs deform us into a shadow of ourselves, not more but less alive. Young people turn to drugs out of boredom or distress, looking for something more, seeking a feeling that transcends ordinary life through its intensity to cut through suffering and meaninglessness. This lasts only for a time, as, when the feeling leaves, the second state is worse than the first. The Eucharist, though often received as if ordinary bread, truly satisfies the transcendent longing in us that pulls us beyond the mundane.

The devastation of drugs can be seen without much effort anywhere you turn in our country. Overdoses, addiction, homelessness, destroyed lives — all of these things have only become worse in the push over the last decade to legalize drugs, especially but not exclusively marijuana (see the city of Denver and the state of Oregon for the most extreme examples). The growing tolerance to this destruction comes from a false compassion and individualism, allowing people to choose a means of seeking relief from suffering. We are not helping people, however, by indulging this false freedom. We are misusing drugs both medicinally and recreationally, while thinking that we are helping people avoid suffering.

Are drugs true medicine? Medicine leads to healing and promotes a right ordering of the body. The use of drugs for medicinal purposes does not fulfill either of these goals, because instead of improving a problem, they lead the mind to avoid the issue. The “side effect” is impairing our rational faculty, the highest aspect of who we are, through which we know the truth and relate to God. Likewise, we can ask, do drugs really provide recreation? Although we view recreation as an enjoyable activity, its etymology, to be recreated, points to a renewal of body and mind through leisure. Recreation pulls us out of frenetic activity to what is more important — prayer, family, the beauty of nature and culture. Drugs do no such thing, but trap us within ourselves, breaking our relationship to God and others, making it harder to engage in the actions that matter most.

The Eucharist is the true medicine that re-creates us. But to receive the graces of the Eucharist, we have to die to ourselves. Many of us do not experience its transforming effects because we remain attached to the world, seeking other self-made remedies, if not drugs, then attachments to comfort, distractions, entertainment and success. Legalizing marijuana and other drugs, which we once again see on the ballot this November, offers a false solution, an anti-medicine that will only further degrade our society. Although we find ourselves more and more at odds with our culture, it would be a tragedy to support something that’s so clearly harmful for people.

Living in Colorado, I have seen firsthand the harmful effects of legalizing marijuana: increasing ER visits even for children, more teens and adults experimenting with drugs (marijuana is a gateway drug), higher rates of car crashes, increased (not decreased as we were promised) activity of cartels and a general deterioration of culture. The results are in if anyone cares to observe. Legalization fits with the general tolerance of our culture, although this kind of toleration quickly turns into chaos. As Catholics, we have the answer to our culture’s problems, and the Eucharistic Revival gives a chance to showcase the true medicine of human life.


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About Dr. R. Jared Staudt 75 Articles
R. Jared Staudt PhD, serves as Director of Content for Exodus 90 and as an instructor for the lay division of St. John Vianney Seminary. He is author of How the Eucharist Can Save Civilization (TAN), Restoring Humanity: Essays on the Evangelization of Culture (Divine Providence Press) and The Beer Option (Angelico Press), as well as editor of Renewing Catholic Schools: How to Regain a Catholic Vision in a Secular Age (Catholic Education Press). He and his wife Anne have six children and he is a Benedictine oblate.

44 Comments

  1. Nobody can deny the Medical effectiveness of Medical Marijuana.

    Below is a small sampling of quotes and a list of just a few of the many Professional Medical Organizations Worldwide that attest to Medical Marijuana’s effectiveness and Support Legal Access to and Use of Medical Marijuana.

    Along with over thirty U.S states that have already legalized medical marijuana.

    Are they ALL wrong?

    “[A] federal policy that prohibits physicians from alleviating suffering by prescribing marijuana for seriously ill patients is misguided, heavy-handed, and inhumane.” — Dr. Jerome Kassirer, “Federal Foolishness and Marijuana,” editorial, New England Journal of Medicine, January 30, 1997

    “Therefore be it resolved that the American Nurses Association will: — Support the right of patients to have safe access to therapeutic marijuana/cannabis under appropriate prescriber supervision.” — American Nurses Association, resolution, 2003

    “The National Nurses Society on Addictions urges the federal government to remove marijuana from the Schedule I category immediately, and make it available for physicians to prescribe. NNSA urges the American Nurses’ Association and other health care professional organizations to support patient access to this medicine.” — National Nurses Society on Addictions, May 1, 1995

    “[M]arijuana has an extremely wide acute margin of safety for use under medical supervision and cannot cause lethal reactions … [G]reater harm is caused by the legal consequences of its prohibition than possible risks of medicinal use.” — American Public Health Association, Resolution #9513, “Access to Therapeutic Marijuana/Cannabis,” 1995

    “When appropriately prescribed and monitored, marijuana/cannabis can provide immeasurable benefits for the health and well-being of our patients … We support state and federal legislation not only to remove criminal penalties associated with medical marijuana, but further to exclude marijuana/cannabis from classification as a Schedule I drug.” — American Academy of HIV Medicine, letter to New York Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, November 11, 2003

    “The AAFP accepts the use of medical marijuana] under medical supervision and control for specific medical indications.” — American Academy of Family Physicians, 1989, reaffirmed in 2001

    “[We] recommend … allow[ing] [marijuana] prescription where medically appropriate.” — National Association for Public Health Policy, November 15, 1998

    International and National Organizations

    AIDS Action Council
    AIDS Treatment News
    American Academy of Family Physicians
    American Medical Student Association
    American Nurses Association
    American Preventive Medical Association
    American Public Health Association
    American Society of Addiction Medicine
    Arthritis Research Campaign (United Kingdom)
    Australian Medical Association (New South Wales) Limited
    Australian National Task Force on Cannabis
    Belgian Ministry of Health
    British House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology
    British House of Lords Select Committee On Science and Technology (Second Report)
    British Medical Association
    Canadian AIDS Society
    Canadian Special Senate Committee on Illegal Drugs
    Dr. Dean Edell (surgeon and nationally syndicated radio host)
    French Ministry of Health
    Health Canada
    Kaiser Permanente
    Lymphoma Foundation of America
    The Montel Williams MS Foundation
    Multiple Sclerosis Society (Canada)
    The Multiple Sclerosis Society (United Kingdom)
    National Academy of Sciences Institute Of Medicine (IOM)
    National Association for Public Health Policy
    National Nurses Society on Addictions
    Netherlands Ministry of Health
    New England Journal of Medicine
    New South Wales (Australia) Parliamentary Working Party on the Use of Cannabis for Medical Purposes
    Dr. Andrew Weil (nationally recognized professor of internal medicine and founder of the National Integrative Medicine Council)

    State and Local Organizations

    Alaska Nurses Association
    Being Alive: People With HIV/AIDS Action Committee (San Diego, CA)
    California Academy of Family Physicians
    California Nurses Association
    California Pharmacists Association
    Colorado Nurses Association
    Connecticut Nurses Association
    Florida Governor’s Red Ribbon Panel on AIDS
    Florida Medical Association
    Hawaii Nurses Association
    Illinois Nurses Association
    Life Extension Foundation
    Medical Society of the State of New York
    Mississippi Nurses Association
    New Jersey State Nurses Association
    New Mexico Medical Society
    New Mexico Nurses Association
    New York County Medical Society
    New York State Nurses Association
    North Carolina Nurses Association
    Rhode Island Medical Society
    Rhode Island State Nurses Association
    San Francisco Mayor’s Summit on AIDS and HIV
    San Francisco Medical Society
    Vermont Medical Marijuana Study Committee
    Virginia Nurses Association
    Whitman-Walker Clinic (Washington, DC)
    Wisconsin Nurses Association

    Additional AIDS Organizations

    The following organizations are signatories to a February 17, 1999 letter to the US Department of Health petitioning the federal government to “make marijuana legally available … to people living with AIDS.”

    AIDS Action Council
    AIDS Foundation of Chicago
    AIDS National Interfaith Network (Washington, DC)
    AIDS Project Arizona
    AIDS Project Los Angeles
    Being Alive: People with HIV/AIDS Action Committee (San Diego, CA)
    Boulder County AIDS Project (Boulder, CO)
    Colorado AIDS Project
    Center for AIDS Services (Oakland, CA)
    Health Force: Women and Men Against AIDS (New York, NY)
    Latino Commission on AIDS
    Mobilization Against AIDS (San Francisco, CA)
    Mothers Voices to End AIDS (New York, NY)
    National Latina/o Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual And Transgender Association
    National Native American AIDS Prevention Center
    Northwest AIDS Foundation
    People of Color Against AIDS Network (Seattle, WA)
    San Francisco AIDS Foundation
    Whitman-Walker Clinic (Washington, DC)

    Other Health Organizations

    The following organizations are signatories to a June 2001 letter to the US Department of Health petitioning the federal government to “allow people suffering from serious illnesses … to apply to the federal government for special permission to use marijuana to treat their symptoms.”

    Addiction Treatment Alternatives
    AIDS Treatment Initiatives (Atlanta, GA)
    American Public Health Association
    American Preventive Medical Association
    Bay Area Physicians for Human Rights (San Francisco, CA)
    California Legislative Council for Older Americans
    California Nurses Association
    California Pharmacists Association
    Embrace Life (Santa Cruz, CA)
    Gay and Lesbian Medical Association
    Hawaii Nurses Association
    Hepatitis C Action and Advisory Coalition
    Life Extension Foundation
    Maine AIDS Alliance
    Minnesota Nurses Association
    Mississippi Nurses Association
    National Association of People with AIDS
    National Association for Public Health Policy
    National Women’s Health Network
    Nebraska AIDS Project
    New Mexico Nurses Association
    New York City AIDS Housing Network
    New York State Nurses Association Ohio Patient Network Okaloosa AIDS Support and Information Services (Fort Walton, FL)
    Physicians for Social Responsibility – Oregon
    San Francisco AIDS Foundation
    Virginia Nurses Association
    Wisconsin Nurses Association

    Health Organizations Supporting Medical Marijuana Research

    International and National Organizations

    American Cancer Society
    American Medical Association
    British Medical Journal
    California Medical Association
    California Society on Addiction Medicine
    Congress of Nursing Practice
    Gay and Lesbian Medical Association
    Jamaican National Commission on Ganja
    National Institutes of Health (NIH) Workshop on the Medical Utility of Marijuana
    Texas Medical Association
    Vermont Medical Society
    Wisconsin State Medical Society

    • I submit there are two separate and independent questions here: 1) the morality of the medically-supervised medically-prescribed use of THC as therapy, and; 2) the morality of the medically-unsupervised use of over-the-counter THC by the general public for any reason or for no reason, in the quantity and frequency of the individual’s choice. I say, let the scientists keep close watch over #1, ever ready to modify their judgment of what constitutes appropriate use. But I am very worried and against #2. There has been a rush to judgment here, and I’m not sure that science is really having anything to do with it.

    • Your post is dishonest and manipulative and constitues a straw man argument. No one here is talking about prescribed medical marijuana. People familiar with the issues know that you don’t use it to get high. The chemical processes that produce the high have been removed, providing temporary pain relief but no high. Like Don Quixote, you are fighting windmills here.

    • God’s creation was made good even he said so . So I find the whole condemning God’s creation being contentious which is,what’s that called adversarial?

    • Something is seriously wrong with these institutions in favour of weed. Do you mean CBD or THC? You didn’t say. I’ve been hospitalized twice for gastric and gallbladder problems due to cannibis. Specialists gallore tell me the revealing health problem weed does to the lungs, stomach, brain, etc. And it IS addictive. I don’t trust these sources. I’ve been through a lot. CBD or THC? a huge difference. It is a psycho active drug leading to others. It should not be legalized nevermind the huge money grab it makes.

  2. Cannabis consumers deserve and demand equal rights and protections under our laws that are currently afforded to the drinkers of far more dangerous and deadly, yet perfectly legal, widely accepted, endlessly advertised and even glorified as an All-American pastime, alcohol.

    Plain and simple!

    Legalize Nationwide Federally Now!

    What we certainly don’t need are anymore people who feel justified in appointing themselves to be self-deputized morality police.

    We are very capable of choosing for ourselves if we want to consume cannabis, a far less dangerous choice over alcohol, and we definitely don’t need anyone dictating how we should live our own lives.

    We can’t just lock up everyone who does things prohibitionists don’t personally approve of.

    • You went from justifying marijuana for medical purposes to arguing for a general “right” to get stoned in just two minutes! That’s a pretty steep slippery slope. BTW, name-dropping all sorts of professional and governmental organizations does not prove your point. You could come with similar lists for all kinds of causes – legalized abortion, acceptance of homosexuality, sex change mutilations on children, etc.

    • Two words: Big Weed.
      There’s so much money to be made selling cannabis products that it’s reminiscent of the Big Tobacco era. Health risks are swept right under the carpet.
      If you want to get stoned & you’re an adult-go for it. But be honest about the risks to your health & to society. Just like tobacco & alcohol consumption.

    • To paraphrase: “What we certainly don’t need are anymore drug seeking people who feel justified in abdicating their responsibility to face themselves and their lives honestly, who hide behind drugs and alcohol as coping strategies, and who have appointed themselves the morality police, calling evil good.

    • Okay as long as I don’t have to pay for rehab or for any of the ill effects. Sure go ahead and get high. But as a tax payer please don’t look for help for all of the bad outcomes.

  3. No, the principle of double effect applies here. If someone is legitimately prescribed a substance that can and/or does impair reason, the intended end is to treat the condition, thus the ensuing intoxication is no sin. Same logic applies to treating ectopic pregnancies, or using artificial birth control for the management of an illness. Not to mention, you’re being sloppy with your use of terms here, using the word “drugs” in a loose, colloqiual manner to refer to narcotic/”stupefacient” drugs, while trying to make a scientific/philosophical argument. By your logic, ADHD-afflicted children and adults are all going to Hell because they’re using “drugs”. Try being more precise with your terms, because as it stands now, it sounds like you’re conflating your cultural and political objection to “drugs” with your religion; not even the catechism goes as far as you’re going, as the Latin states that *stupefacient* drugs are impermissible for recreational use, but *permissible* as medicine. Which comes full circle to my original point, that the principle of double effect applies. Let the scientists determine what legitimate medicinal effects a narcotic has, not moralizers who panic over “drugs” — a broad category that includes things ranging all the way from antibiotics to Desoxyn (prescription methamphetamine [which, yes, does have legitimate therapeutic uses.])

  4. Not even the Latin catechism goes as far as you are here. It states that stupefacient drugs (narcotics, essentially) are permissible for legitimate medical uses, just not for recreational ones. It falls under the principle of double effect — i.e. shooting up ketamine for fun is a grave sin, but recieving ketamine infusions to treat unrelenting suicidal depression is morally licit.

    Let’s leave the determination as to which “drugs” (a broad category if there ever was one) are of medicinal use, and in which ways, to the scientists.

  5. Every Democrat initiative — including this one — is an attack on children, families, America and/or humanity.

    And that’s no coincidence, since today’s Democratic Party is always doing the will of leftism’s founder and master, satan.

    Drug legalization is a prime example.

    “Recreational” drug use cuts a person off from the rest of humanity. Every drug user is totally alone in his intoxication, even if he’s in a room full of stoners.

    And regular drug use ensures that the user’s life and family is, to a significant degree, neglected and in chaos.

    Drugs are also a huge reason that children in this country are no longer safe.

    Parents who are stoned are incapable of loving and caring for their children. They’re focused totally on their own “high.”

    How many children left to die in hot cars have stoners as parents?

    Democrats aren’t satisfied with killing roughly a third of all children before they’re born. The children who do survive till birth must suffer unimaginable neglect, the grossest degree of sexual exploitation and whatever other insane social engineering schemes the evil one and his minions can come up with.

    And yet — incredibly — half of “Catholics” fail to connect the dots and somehow persist in voting Democratic.

    • Well stated, legalized, except for sound and made up medical reasons, marijuana another example of the ongoing, never ending reasons for downfall of America and Western Civilization. As Rush L. would say liberalism in todays meaning is a mental disease. Also marijuana is another example of deadly pill liberals want to entice Americans to accept, like abortion.

  6. Mr. Kelly,

    Your logic is a tad lacking.

    You think that, because alcohol is destructive, society needs to green light an entire panoply of additional harmful substances, including marijuana?

    Well, let me run this past you.

    Since high-cholesterol diets are unhealthy, should we urge people to eat more sugar? Because that’s exactly like what you are arguing.

    And you dislike legislating morality. Fine.

    So, in your world, would the professional hit men be licensed, or could they operate with total impunity?

    After all, the injunction against murder is moral. Because it’s undeniable that, from a practical standpoint, the world would run far more smoothly if we could rid ourselves of several of the people I find most annoying.

    BTW, for the record, marijuana is not necessarily one iota less damaging than alcohol.

    True, alcohol is hard on the liver and is clinically linked to depression.

    But perhaps you’ve spaced out on the fact that marijuana is associated with psychosis. Delusions. Insanity.

    The following couple of paragraphs are taken from a Mayo Clinic website:

    “Marijuana use may trigger schizophrenia or detachment from reality (psychosis) in people who are at higher risk of psychosis. The symptoms of diagnosed psychotic illness may be aggravated if marijuana use continues.

    “There also is some evidence that teenagers who attempt suicide may be more likely to have used marijuana than those who have not made an attempt.”

    Suicide is bad, right? Or is that one of your dreaded moral mandates?

    So, by all means, Mr. Kelly, as you follow the non-moral (immoral?) recommendations of the Montel Williams Foundation and the Jamaican National Commission on Ganja, you might want to consider that the voices you’re hearing in your head are not actually those of the Von Trapp Family Singers.

    • I hear of more & more young men using high potency cannabis products & suffering the onset of psychosis. One of my friends has a son in his mid-twenties who was/is a heavy user & is basically out of commission at home now. He cannot hold a job, becomes paranoid & violent during psychotic breaks, & his medications only do so much.
      The high THC cannabis products young people use today are not what their parents or grandparents used to get mildly high. This stuff is dangerous.

  7. As to the argument for the principle of double effect, much of what is said regarding the use of medication [drugs that otherwise are considered immoral because they effect mind alteration and so forth] is valid.
    Although, double effect, the allowance of an evil for a given good cannot in any instance permit an act that is intrinsically evil, that by its nature is offensive to God in any and every instance. For example abortion is never licit, changing a person’s sexual identity for a presumed emotional good, masturbation to obtain sperm for in vitro fertilization. Whereas, as an example, the use of morphine for a terminal, suffering ca patient even at the risk of death is permissible. The reasonable use of marijuana [as an alternative if standard meds are not as effective] for medical treatment is permissible.

      • Not good at acronyms I went to the Mayo Clinic for explanations and benefits.
        CBD a derivative doesn’t contain the element that alters the mind like Cannabis. My comment would favor CBD. I’m against recreational Marijuana. It’s alters the minds functions and induces hallucination. Cannabis builds up in the system of the user and eventually produces detrimental effects sometimes irreversible. Alcohol if used moderately [Christ and the Apostles drank wine moderately]. Wine [red] has excellent beneficial effects.

  8. Grateful that our Lord has again reminded us of the medicine needed for our times as mentioned in the article too – the simple Precious Blood prayers also part of same , to free hearts from the hardness and loss of faith of our times –

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOghQCAeqrE

    Bl.Mother to be invoked to bring the Precious Blood grace of deeper relationship in holiness in all God ordained relationships, to also renew the marriage vow – to be true to each other by conveying the truth that each of us is ‘infinitly loved’ by God and meant to requite that Love with His own Will and Love given us in The Eucharist ,to be in ever increasing holiness – a blessing for generations .. set free from the spirit of Cain who was blinded by the spirit of envy , could not fathom the depth and meaning of the sacrifice as the clothing his Parents were given – the Lamb that was slain .. Abel requitting the Love in the best manner he could with the offering of a lamb …

    https://spiritdaily.org/blog/news/putin-named-chief-exorcist-by-russian-church

    ‘Putin named as an exorcist ‘ – to the long list of calling evil as good , as part of the flood waters of the dragon being spewed forth in our times ..enemy having blinded him too to the truth as to how efforts to curtail the shedding of innoccent blood and its effects as addictions in own lands as well as in honoring The Father and Mother , in acknowledging the role of the Catholic Church and Holy Father could have brought forth much good long while ago , all the while preserving much that is being destroyed ..promotion of drugs that could lead to evils in the long term a step in line with the above ..

    ‘Precious Blood of Jesus Christ, save us and the whole world ‘ – with our Bl.Mother , to bring the goodness in same to all, to be recieved with ever increasing joy and gratitude …
    FIAT !

  9. Despite the attempts of some to defend the Church’s attitudes towards alcohol as being valid, because alcohol is, after, all nutritional, I remain unconvinced by the argument that marijuana is fundamentally different. Most people that consume alcohol, particularly hard liquors, do so simply in order to get high. When the Church condemns alcohol is when I’ll take its condemnation of recreational drugs seriously. Yes, it is better not to use consciousness-transforming substances, but to say that because prayer should be enough one cannot use other means to make one temporarily feel better is unconvincing. If prayer doesn’t relieve my physical pain, should I not take an analgesic. If prayer doesn’t relieve my mental pain, should I be denied something that will help reduce it?

    • “If prayer doesn’t relieve my mental pain, should I be denied something that will help reduce it?”

      Should you be denied drugs as a way to cope with life? Absolutely, especially when lots of healthy and responsible alternatives are available. You are defending the indefensible here.

    • Go for it get stoned; however, I do not want to have to pay for all of the bad social outcomes. If you can go along with that I am good with total legalization. If you commit vvehicular manslaughter while high, off to jail with you. If you have to be admitted to a mental hospital due to Psychosis; I don’t want my Health Insurance cost to go up.

  10. What our man-made governments deem as legal or illegal matters not. Followers of Christ get their moral compass from the teachings of Christ. Catholics must ignore the teachings of man-made governments and only look to the Church for guidance.

  11. A problem with this article is that it lumps marijuana as generalized as part of the bad “drugs.” “The devastation of drugs can be seen without much effort anywhere you turn in our country…” “Drugs offer a false medicine that cover over difficulties without truly addressing their cause or providing any strength to overcome them…” Or this: ” We become what we consume. Eating healthy food makes the body strong, while eating junk food leads to disorder within the body. Even worse, consuming things that blatantly damage our health and impair our mind constitute a grave sin, harming both body and soul.” The problem is that there are drugs that “blatantly damage our health and impair our mind that constitute a grave sin and there are “drugs” that do not blateldy damage our health and impair our mind that constitue a grave sin. For example Meth in unnatural and chemicals and does blatenly damage health. Yet, placing drugs like Meth and Marijuana on the same as “drugs” that harm the body and soul is no comparison. Using something like Meth would constitute a grave sin as Meth does blatantly damage the body and one’s life. Marijuana, on the other hand, is completely natural from God and the majority can use it properly without it harming the body (or soul). Marijuana use does not cause “devastation.” In fact, it is much less harmful on the body then alcohol which the Church accepts to use in moderation. Can Marijuana be used in moderation? Sure. Moreover, while Marijuana use can be used as an “escape” from reality, most use it not as an escape. Those who do use for escape go on to harder stuff because Marijuana use does not cut it.

    • Oh please.

      Marijuana is a potentially dangerous drug which poses a serious threat to regular users.

      I refer you to this passage taken from the Mayo Clinic website:

      “Marijuana use may trigger schizophrenia or detachment from reality (psychosis) in people who are at higher risk of psychosis. The symptoms of diagnosed psychotic illness may be aggravated if marijuana use continues.

      “There also is some evidence that teenagers who attempt suicide may be more likely to have used marijuana than those who have not made an attempt.”

      The fact that alcohol can be problematic as well means nothing in this discussion. I don’t know why you pro-stone-o’s keep saying that.

      By the way, botulism is also perfectly natural and from God.

      But it will still kill you.

  12. It is amusing that you are opposed to marijuana legalization, when the Roman Church played a leading role in subverting the well-intentioned (but obviously seriously flawed) attempt to end alcohol abuse represented by Prohibition. There can be no debate that the deleterious effects of alcohol are far more serious than those of marijuana, and that alcohol is, in fact, the foremost “gateway drug” leading to further drug abuse. If the Church is OK with alcohol (whose “moderate use” even is questionable), it shouldn’t be having puppies about marijuana.

  13. Suicidal ideation, teens prostituting & overdosing around marijuana use, schizophrenia…all these societal pathologies are being seen in emergency rooms due to marijuana/THC products. Here, an emergency room doctor in Colorado details those occurrences. https://mgahouse.maryland.gov/mga/play/4b22e772-da01-49dc-916f-b14044acab97?catalog/03e481c7-8a42-4438-a7da-93ff74bdaa4c&playfrom=13540000

    But Big Marijuana interests have spent $150million to promote weed and snuff out the truth. So individuals need to get involved to stop this dangerous drug lobby.
    Not only are the drugs/products themselves dangerous, they are against the catechism.
    The “pushers” have promoted THC use, especially among youth, and framed a narrative that focuses on pretending that marijuana is medicine. It is not. There’s not a single respected white paper concretely detailing weed’s use or THC use as “medicine”.

    The “advocates” who recommend weed as “medicine” include an inordinate amount of liberal, anti-Church, anti-Christ organizations. Note that LGBTQ has OVER DOUBLE the amount of drug abuse as the normal population. Don’t believe these drug pushers.

    Vote NO to legalization, Maryland.

  14. Interesting comments and article. A couple of things to keep in mind before coming to conclusions. Today’s marijuana @20-25% THC compared to 1970s @ 4-6% THC is like comparing a glass of Merlot to a glass of EverClear. Also, there is a difference between legalizing the product on the shelf at your local CVS or Walgreens and decriminalizing a product in circumstances that does not infringe on public order. Finally the practical; it is quite easily grown in private environments. It will always be with us.

  15. Oh, but we can have alcohol — the most destructive one of the bunch, all points accounted for. Sacramental, no less. Utter baloney. It always was baloney and continues to be… big oil, big ag, big pharma, big alcohol BALONEY.

  16. More proof organized religion is literally out of touch with spirituality. So you’re telling me God messed up and somehow man who passed xenophobic and racists laws regarding the cannabis plant surpasses what nature/God created? You’re telling me Harry Anslinger (known racist and xenophobe who was afraid of Mexicans taking his timberland) was doing God’s work by prohibiting cannabis aka ‘marihuana’ in the 1930s?

    🤣🤣🤣

    No wonder why Catholicism is declining.

    • “More proof organized religion is literally out of touch with spirituality.”

      Yeah, because disorganized religion is doing so great. Ridiculous.

      “No wonder why Catholicism is declining.”

      False:

      The number of Catholics in the world grew by more than 15 million from 2018 to 2019, according to a census by the Vatican news agency Fides published on Thursday (Oct. 21, 2021).

      Try again.

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