Why do you think it's not a sin? On what do you base this belief?
Because it's not. By any definition you can pull from the Bible is dependent upon one thing and that is the presupposition that it's wrong.
Genesis 1:19 I believe tells us we're giving all of the herbs that have seeds and all of the fruits that have seed for food from that basis you can eat marijuana and if you cook it it's even more potent and you can eat that too and arguably since smoking the plant is less intoxicating than eating it cooked I think you know where I'm going
Second the comparison to being drunk or not sober where is that line if you say having a glass of wine makes you drunk then we need to accuse Jesus of sin during his last passover that was fermented wine
I know plenty of people who can function just as well after having smoked a joint as not having smoked one.
Probably the biggest thing is that God created all things good now it is you could question whether or not we have found an appropriate use for marijuana but even so we do know that it's good for medical reasons and we also know that it's good for certain psychiatric reasons as well as we know it is safer then alcohol in fact it was a 1967 study that proved this by the government it just didn't get much airplay.
We live in a western culture Where intoxicants Have Always Been looked at as negative or sinful but that is not the case in the Middle East I have another post along this thread that expands this so that you understand that the picnard wiped on Jesus's feet was psychoactive, as well as a number of the ingredients used to produce the smoke that goes into the holy of holies.
which arguably could literally have been psychedelic and I know that sounds horrible but if you actually look at these ingredients and do your research they all contain the chemicals to produce psychoactive drugs and effects. were they in enough quantity so that they affected the high priest we don't know however those plants were used just like they have found use in other venues in modern day America.
Another point would be moderation since we can't condemn Jesus for drinking wine there must be some truth to it being acceptable at some level without it Crossing into sin.
All drugs, but for purposes of this conversation marijuana alter the dopamine and serotonin receptors and here's the spoiler: Anything that is exciting and fun and by definition changing your mood by having a drink or smoking a joint or going down a water slide or having a baby or having sex inside the of a proper marriage all would be ruled as Sin because they cause the same effect more or less on the brain
An issue I think would be a better way to handle this entire topic is self-control if all one does is get up in the morning and smoke dope all day long I would have no issue with that being considered sin just like somebody who drinks from sun up to sundown
The only clear distinction in the Bible about intoxicants is it warns us against strong drink as well as being of sober mind in particular if you are in a leadership position which makes complete sense.
But since we have no definitive line that says obviously one glass of wine is probably not intoxicating and maybe two doesn't maybe one joint doesn't bring you to this theoretical level of intoxication where you can't think straight
While I am no longer a drug user I was extremely far off the deep end into it in particular psychedelics and there's not a person on this planet who can't tell me that there is not deep deep spiritual levels of insight about God and anything else that one can gain. of course it is very risky
To Simply say that smoking something a cigarette or a joint or glass of wine is sin is to make a false line in the sand and mis-understand the concept of Soberiety. I can hear the AA proponents now...
Sobriety is about being able to make appropriate decisions as you would before smoking a joint. For one person This may or may not cause this to be a problem and therefore is really more of an individual rather than a blanket covering all aspects
Having said this I am not a proponent that people should be taking drugs at all I think they overall harm Society except in a good controlled Medical or psychiatric scenario, or when used responsibly.
And riding on the coattails would be the elephant in the room which would be opiates it's hard to say that even with the minor opiates starting with hydrocodone that you're not intoxicated when you take one as a painkiller it is very effective and in no way in my opinion would God think that eating a painkiller to resolve pain is a sin.
Likewise marijuana even in recreational terms has several benefits dealing with relaxation anti-anxiety pain killing and helps One open themselves up to a little bit broader spectrum of thought if you get some good sativa
The one thing nobody can do here or anywhere else is tell me that my own personal experiences are invalid especially when they are not unique to me and are shared by a very large segment of the population.
And don't think for a minute that I didn't spend a lot of time with God discussing some of my views I am not alone and I'm not afraid to speak my mind. We would be walking on eggshells if every time something was exciting to us and affected our dopamine and serotonin receptors we decided it was sinful.
And since I'm already being long-winded there is one other aspect that some people bring up and that is the use of the Greek word pharmakopeia which in Hebrews and in Revelation are translated witchcraft
Having been deeply involved in the occult I can attest to the fact that drugs can be used in for many reasons however as stated in a different post somebody going home at the end of the day turning on the news and smoking a joint is not committing the sin of Witchcraft and therefore does not fall under that motif. Nor wood the person who goes home and has a glass of wine.
Peace
