By allowing themselves to be impaired by the use of marijuana, a person insults the gifts of reason and intellect that man receives as a benefit of being created in God’s image and likeness.
The recreational use of marijuana is a mortal sin, as is the habitual use of any mind altering substance that impairs the capacity for moral reason and free will.
Unlike alcohol which may be used in moderation and without impairing the ability to reason, the sole purpose of using marijuana recreationally is to get high and achieve a sense of separation from reality.
The altered state of mind that marijuana produces is a poor substitute for interior life that comes from a sound relationship with God and a life of prayer.
The fact that marijuana is a natural substance or that recreational use is legal in some areas does not change the fact that it is immoral. The illegal sale and distribution of marijuana is also a sin.
The use of marijuana for medical treatment is only considered appropriate if safer or more effective treatments are unavailable.
Individuals who experience an addiction to marijuana or other drugs should avoid using altogether and seek treatment.
The use of marijuana is a mortal sin:
“Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.”
Luke 21: 34-36
Judgement of right and wrong is impaired by marijuana:
Marijuana prevents functioning as an authentic human:
The new forms of slavery to drugs and the lack of hope into which so many people fall can be explained not only in sociological and psychological terms but also in essentially spiritual terms. The emptiness in which the soul feels abandoned, despite the availability of countless therapies for body and psyche, leads to suffering. There cannot be holistic development and universal common good unless people’s spiritual and moral welfare is taken into account, considered in their totality as body and soul.
Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate, 29 June 2009
Submit to a relationship instead of a substance:
Marijuana is a pretend mysticism:
An interior life of prayer is better than marijuana:
The use of drugs inflicts very grave damage on human health and life. Their use, except on strictly therapeutic grounds, is a grave offense. Clandestine production of and trafficking in drugs are scandalous practices. They constitute direct co-operation in evil, since they encourage people to practices gravely contrary to the moral law.
Catechism of the Catholic Church 2291
Being natural does not justify marijuana’s use:
Medical marijuana is allowed only when appropriate:
The Truth, Goodness, and Beauty of the Catholic Church
Seeing God’s light in everything:
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