This article is mainly for Christians who adamantly oppose marijuana as I once did.
Romans 14:20: “Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to let his eating be a stumbling block. 21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything to cause your brother to stumble. 22 Your belief about such matters keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves.”
Now a few Christians say that the wine in that day was not potent, but then why did Paul say in 1 Corinthians 11:21, “For as you eat, many of you proceed with your own meal to the exclusion of others. While one remains hungry, another gets drunk. 22 Don’t you have your own homes in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God?”
Of course not. Some Christians also think it is a sin to drink wine. (It’s rather interesting with all the things going on that Paul and the apostles were only interested in getting people saved and that would change them, not trying to control or take out vineyards or whatever was going on in that day.)
First of all, I don’t believe we should drink wine or anything that would cause a brother to stumble but I think it best if you don’t do any of it, wine, smoking cigarettes, opiates, marijuana. There is such a divide with Christians. So many on prescription drugs die.
But let me explain that the younger generation looks at marijuana as being so much better than our generation with the vineyards. Alcohol is the No. 4 killer. Is it a gateway to drunkenness? I have heard that a glass of wine a day is good for your health. Is eating a gateway to obesity.
Marijuana is not like cocaine or meth. People coming off these drugs go through a terrible recovery period. Alcohol causes aggression, depression, fights, murders, accidents, brain damage, liver damage, etc.
When a report says that marijuana has been the culprit for someone dying, I would ask, “What was it laced with?” That is why legalization of marijuana cuts out the black market where kids can fairly easily get drugs and they don’t know what they are getting.
The marijuana industry holds the owners of these places to high standards; they cannot have a record. These places that sell marijuana are highly regulated. And of course, just like the alcohol industry, must not sell to minors.
I just wonder, where are the Christians against the drug industry? There is no record in the extensive medical literature describing a proven, documented cannabis-induced fatality. 20 million to 50 million Americans routinely, albeit illegally, smoke marijuana without the benefit of direct medical supervision, yet there are simply no credible medical reports to suggest that consuming marijuana has caused a single death. But aspirin, commonly used, has caused hundreds of deaths each year. Researchers have been unable to give animals enough marijuana to induce death. A smoker would theoretically have to consume nearly 1,500 pounds of marijuana within about 15 minutes to induce a lethal response. In practical terms, marijuana cannot induce a lethal response as a result of drug-related toxicity. Get the facts: drugwarfacts.org
Each year offers new examples of injuries and deaths caused by untoward dangers in prescription drugs. Vioxx, Fen-phen, Propulsid, Zyprexa and NSAIDs like aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, diclofenac, ketoprofen, and tiaprofenic acid. Cocaine MDMA, ecstasy and alcohol have a lethal dose that is 10 to 20 times the effective dose. The leading causes of death in 2000 were tobacco, poor diet and physical inactivity. A dagger symbol should be added to alcohol.
Where is all the uproar about these — opioids, etc.? Are bartenders held responsible for selling alcohol being it is listed at the No. 4 killer? It’s a person’s choice.
Should the vineyards be held responsible for drunkards, accident, deaths? Are all those in the business of selling cigarettes responsible for the individual?
This is the world’s, it’s not heaven. I am not saying I am for smoking marijuana, but I have looked at the opposing side and what I see right off what gives me a check is when the article says, “Marijuana a gateway to cocaine etc.” Then I realize all the rest is baloney. There is this stigma that adults who smoke marijuana are not good parents — well, then those that drink wine in moderation, I suppose, are not good parents. This is ridiculous. Anything can be taken to the excess, like eating, etc. I just think that marijuana out of all the vices is the safest and also has so many medicinal qualities of healing seizures, Parkinson’s, etc. It is given a bad rap and a politically social injustice.
“Be sober, be vigilant because your enemy like a roaring lion walks around seeking whom he may devour.” — 1 Peter 5:8 “…Keep yourself unspotted from the world.” — James 1:27
The fight should be against those things that cause death.