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Hello, I'm Skeptaleptis and I'm new to Christian Chat so forgive me if my writing isnt spot on. Something I want to talk about is something that has popped up frequently in some Christian communities and that is the subject of marijuana smoking. Because of the popularity of both the enjoyment and opposition of smoking cannabis, it is something that has shown up a lot in popular media and is the pastime of many Americans, especially people in their teens(that or we just like to talk about it more than other age groups). Before I start, I'd would like to state something somewhat typical of the Christian response to the question “Is smoking pot a sin?": smoking is sinful. But it is not the initial act of smoking that is sinful, it is the resulting action of the person who is stoned. Let me elaborate: a stoned person, because of their now impaired judgement, is more likely to fall into sinful thoughts and actions then when sober. Smoking ganja, as popularized by stoner culture, is known to cause increased appetite and therefore lead to gluttony. Cannabis is a known aphrodisiac and can produce lustful thoughts and actions that a sober person would normally not engage in. Weed, as preached by anti-marijuana protestors, causes a person to become less motivated especially after extended use. Though I have not experienced this myself, a lot of people I've observed while high begin to exhibit abnormal levels of aggressiveness I have not seen while they're sober. Now you may be saying “But Skeptaleptis, what if you are able to control these thoughts and actions and just experience the euphoria of the high?". The answer to that is that it is often impossible or very difficult to control these emotions while high and that the temptation of sin is much more intense while under the influence. Another question maybe “Even though marijuana is mostly illegal in the U.S., it is an immoral law and shouldn't be obeyed." I must agree with you when it comes to the legal status of the hemp plant. The almost countless beneficial uses of the plant from paper to concrete to food for both livestock and humans to biofuel to especially medicine, it makes you question the legality of this plant. If you use it for medicine than more power to you; God gave this herb medicinal properties for a reason. But if you use the drug just when hanging out with friends or to blow off steam, then you are sinning. Though this may not apply to you, if your parents are against smoking, then you must honor and obey their word( Exodus 20:12, Colossians 3:20, Ephesians 6:1). Another reason is that God wants us to obey our countries laws (see such verses as Titus 3:1, Romans 13:1-5, 1 Peter 2:13-17). A most important decision God wants us to make is keep our minds sober so as to better serve Him (see 1 Peter 1:13, 4:7, 5:8, Romans 12:3, 1 Thessalonians 5:8) and to uphold the temples to Him that are our bodies(1Corinthians 6:19-20). In conclusion, smoking weed is a distraction from God and is another way that Satan can tempt us with sin. I hoped you enjoyed my poorly written first article-Skeptaleptis