Against.
Eating or smoking marijuana changes the brain in psychotropic ways. It does not just mitigate pain. It alters one's consciousness. As Christians the basement fact is that God gave us the consciousness He wanted us to have and except in cases where normal emotional responses are healthily experienced consequent to life's circumstances, or possibly that which occurs in episodes of deep prayer, we should not be messing with our states of consciousness artificially. Doing so is an indication something is wrong inside. Physically, long-term inhalation of any hot gas, especially that also containing particulate matter is injurious to the lungs and cardio-pulmonary system.
It is also unnecessary. The analgesic components of marijuana can be extricated from the plant in various forms that do not require smoking or eating the whole plant. They can also be synthesized and for all but a very, very, very small minority of people the body cannot tell the difference.
Although a minority of all users, marijuana use leads to dependence. Studies vary (anywhere from 10-30% of all users) but dependency increases with frequency of use, and this increases when Marijuana is used from analgesic purpose. Keep in mind marijuana is now artificially bred and the breeding makes it more potent as time passes. The psychotropic effects of modern marijuana are exponentially increased in comparison to what musicians smoked in the 40s or hippies smoked in the 60s. Perhaps of significant import but yet unknown is the cultural and societal impetuses
and consequences of marijuana use for pain. I could easily persuade my doctor to write me a prescription for "medical" marijuana because I have had chronic pain and a variety of otherwise "normal" medications either are not effective or come with side-effects of long-term use. Additionally, we do not have a lot of data on how often these scripts are misused or abused, but as a former drug dealer I can assure you they are being abused.
The above pertains mostly to medical use. As far as recreational use goes, I've known many people who smoke pot on occasion and manage to live otherwise perfectly normal lives. In that sense I might include them in the group of people who occasionally use alcohol without any detrimental effect. However, those seem people would not be any worse off if they did not use and might even be better.
I say all that from diverse points of view. I had a good upbringing, but both my parents would have qualified clinically as alcoholics. I myself began using drugs as a teenager and was successful enough as a drug dealer that I made more money than I could spend without holding any other job. I was once arrested for felony distribution. There are three ways any behavior can be measured: frequency, intensity, and duration - and that includes drug use. There is no drug I have not used daily, a lot of, for long periods of time. None. I used to be poly-friendly
. At my worst I drank a case of beer daily, smoked an ounce of pot daily
plus whatever other drugs happened across my path on any given day. Eventually, I lost everything and ended up homeless. Lost ten years of my life in my addiction, including the many years spent in treatment and recovery. Do not remember most of it. Poof! It's just gone. Now
that is an extreme case because most users do not do what I did. Use is not misuse and misuse is not abuse, and abuse is not dependence or addiction (clinically speaking). I attended AA and NA for many years and lived totally abstinent of any and all drugs (except those medically prescribed) from 12 years. During that time I went to college and grad school and became a counselor. I did my internship in a residential drug treatment facility where the men lived there for one whole year (not a 30-day program). Afterwards, when I went into private practice I stopped treating addiction* and specialized in treating trauma. That specialty was a natural progression consequent to my studies, practice, experience, and skill set in the addiction center because
most drug users have experienced some form of trauma. The "textbook" explanation for any abuse of any drug is there is some emotional content the user wants to consciously or subconsciously reduce and make manageable. Most deny it. Now I am retired. In my forties I began using alcohol occasionally - a glass or two on special occasions like Thanksgiving or Easter. After many years of sobriety, I am able to use in moderation and self-control and I am able to
not use. I've walked both sides of the drug-use fence and done so diversely, but I don't assert my views solely based on my personal anecdotal experience. I know the research. And I know Jesus
.
Smoking marijuana hurts the body and the soul. It may be a lesser evil than some others, but it is not a good thing.
*
Clinically speaking the correct term is Dependence. The term "addiction" is not a diagnosis found in the DSM.
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