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Emilio Morenatti / AP file
Pat Robertson isn't the only religious leader who supports legalization of marijuana.
The Rev. Pat Robertson says America should legalize marijuana. Would Jesus agree?
Msnbc.com put that question to a few theologians and religion experts, and the answer is … decidedly hazy.
Robertson, the outspoken Christian evangelist and host of “The 700 Club,” made national headlines this week when he told The New York Times that pot should be decriminalized and treated like alcohol because the government’s war on drugs has failed miserably and is costing taxpayers billions of dollars.
“I’ve never used marijuana and I don’t intend to, but it’s just one of those things that I think: this war on drugs just hasn’t succeeded,” he told the newspaper.
Scholars disagree on whether the Bible lays down the law on use of mind-altering drugs such as marijuana, also known as cannabis.
"It’s not so simple that you can just go to the Scriptures and say, 'Hey, that (passage) says marijuana should be illegal,' or 'that says marijuana should be legal.' There is no such passage," says Father Thomas Reese, S.J., senior fellow at Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University.
Some pro-pot Christians refer to Genesis 1:29 and interpret it to mean God does not frown on ingesting plants such as marijuana:
And God said, Behold, I have given you every plant bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, which has seed in its fruit; to you it shall be for food.
Indeed, several websites have sprung up contending that it’s OK for Christians to smoke pot to get high, including God Gave Us Cannabis, Christians For Cannabis and holyhemp.org.
But Todd Johnson, associate professor of theology at Fuller Theological Seminary, an evangelical institution in Pasadena, Calif., says the more relevant biblical passage is 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 in the New Testament, in which the apostle Paul writes about wrongdoers and ills affecting the early church:
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor sexual perverts, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God.
Paul goes on to describe food and the body, and concludes:
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
“Paul is addressing the issue of morality. One of the concerns he has is drunkenness. He concludes your body is in fact a temple of the Holy Spirit,” Johnson says.
“What substances do you put in your body? I think Paul implies there is a connection there.”
“I think the issue is, are you doing something in excess that could damage your body, that is not reflective of the holiness that God invites you to love?”
Reese says because the Bible doesn't refer directly to marijuana, theologians can only draw moral analogies based on biblical references to the drug of choice at the time -- alcohol.
"Just as abuse of alcohol is sinful because of its weakening of character and our ability to do good, so too we look at drugs and can come to moral conclusion that if drug use is leading us to do things we wouldn't do if we weren’t on drugs … then the use of these drugs is also bad."
Casting out demons
Carl A.P. Ruck, professor of classical studies at Boston University and co-author of “Apples of Apollo: Pagan and Christian Mysteries of the Eucharist,” contends there’s evidence biblical figures used cannabis as an ingredient in holy incense and anointing oil, as well as medicinally.
Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., discusses televangelist Pat Robertson's surprising pro-marijuana stance.
He says cannabis was widely cultivated throughout early Christian times, and contends Jesus himself used it. Jesus’ anointment with chrism, a cannabis-based oil, may have caused his spiritual visions, he adds.
“Residues of cannabis, moreover, have been detected in vessels from Judea and Egypt in a context indicating its medicinal, as well as visionary, use. Jesus is described by the apostle Mark as casting out demons and healing by the use of this holy chrism,” Ruck wrote in a 2003 newspaper column titled "Was there a whiff of cannabis about Jesus?” “Earlier, from the time of Moses until the later prophet Samuel, holy anointing oil was used by the shamanic Levite priesthood to receive the ‘revelations of the Lord.’ The chosen ones were drenched in this potent cannabis oil.”
In an email Friday to msnbc.com, Ruck says there are also references in the Bible to the use of mandrake, a poisonous and mind-altering plant.
“The Bible … claims that Leah paid some mandrakes to Rachel in order to spend a night sleeping with her own husband that Rachel had stolen away from her. Understandably, some scholars would like to not identify the plants as mandrakes,” Ruck says.
“The Bible also speaks of 'strong wine.' There was no distillation known in antiquity to fortify the alcoholic content of wine. The strength comes from the fact that wine was usually the medium for administering a variable mixture of intoxicating additives.”
NYT: Pat Roberston says pot should be legal
Several Christian organizations, including the Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Methodist Church, and the Episcopal Church, have issued statements supporting medicinal marijuana use, according to a 2007 story on slate.com. But none of them seem to endorse smoking pot recreationally.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops didn’t immediately return a call to msnbc.com for comment on where it stands on the legalization of pot. But the Vatican has said that the use of drugs causes “very grave damage on human health and life” and adds that “their use, except on strictly therapeutic grounds, is a grave offense.”
Legalize or not?
So is legalization of marijuana the Christian thing to do?
Reese, who like Bill Clinton says he's "never inhaled," supports legalization. "There’s a tradition within Catholic theology that the purpose of law is not to outlaw every sin. Prohibition was a classic failure of trying to do that," he says.
"I think because of the terrible impact on society of these criminal gangs that control marijuana, we’d be better off legalizing it and putting a decent tax on it and having it branded like we brand cigarettes."
Scholars all agree on this much: Drugs are tearing apart America’s neighborhoods and society and current solutions aren't working.
"The war on drugs has been lost and like the war in Vietnam, maybe it’s time to cut and run," Reese says.
“Prohibition merely manufactures criminals. There should be an approach that tries to evolve an etiquette for the correct use, similar to the designated driver for alcohol parties,” says Ruck.
Adds Johnson: “In some ways I have to applaud Pat Robertson for posing that question. I think Robertson, agree or disagree, has raised a question about a very relevant topic. We as a society have to wrestle with that.”
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News
Leave a Comment:
Jesus would do nothing as Jesus doesn't exist nor god. What a waste of time discussion. Mine too!
People that say for certain god doesnt exist are as nutty as the people who say for certain he does.
Baddog -
Wrong. To not believe in something that has not one bit of evidence does not make one nutty. To use your reasoning, if a person claims there is no such thing as the tooth fairy, the Easter bunny, or Santa Clause they must be "nutty".
One can prove the things you mentioned doesn't exist, but no one can look at the energy and synchronicity of the universe without pondering what intelligence may have created it. To say for sure one way or another is nutty.
Actually there is some historical evidence for the existence of a person named Jesus. What he was is up to your beliefs.
Baddog. Yeah it does make you think and I think the world and universe could just as easily have been created with out any grand design. Given enough time anything can happen and billions of years seem like enough time to me.
Sheeeesh, linking marijuana use with religion.
Mr. Eng.....
Thank you for confirming my negative option of current Journalists and seeders.
"This is my body you eat. This is my blood you drink. This is my corpse you smell." It's all right there in the bible. Bread, wine and pot! Sounds good to me.
He would grow his own and give it away........
What would Jesus do? He'd probably smoke a big ol' doobie, sitting quietly on a giant rock for a few minutes, and when he'd stand, everybody would listen intently as he said to the faithful who'd gathered....."My Brothers and Sisters. Who among you has the Doritos?"
Let's see, long hair, beard, sandals, lives with his mother, no job, always hang out with his unemployed buddies. I think we all know what he was doing.
Wow, talk about people making god in their own image. A god in your own image isn't god - because you are going to die.
The appropriate time to take something that dulls your senses is if you are having surgery or suffering continuous pain, or about to die. That is what anyone will find in the Bible.
Doing otherwise, yes, you can do it, but you will pay a price somewhere down the road.
Did Jesus drink wine? At least "new" wine - which is non-alcoholic in nature. He also turned water to wine at a wedding, it was said to be the best, but is not clear if it was alcoholic. Do you really want to go out on a limb and say it was alcoholic in nature given everything else?
You go on living your fantasy more2bits. I will always believe. If the article was a waste of your time....why bother commenting and wasting more time.
more2bits,
Keep on smoking. They've already proven Jesus existed. Perhaps he wasn't the son of God, but his existence is historical FACT.
.... smartest thing I've heard Robertson say, EVER! But CBN still sucks a$$.
Oh more2bits go back to sleep!
This is a debate for another time. Here, we're talking about whether Jesus would have smoked weed, assuming he existed and behaved just like he did in the Bible.
Seems to me that David thought Bathsheba was...........Smokin.....
That's good enough for me.
The good old days, huh?
The question is irrelevant, America isn't a Christian Nation (although Christians will tell you this is so) and this was made clear from the beginning. Pot prohibition was put into place to protect rich men's fortunes and industries that were threatened by hemp products and had nothing to do with religious dogma.
his picture is on a book of zig-zags what would you think he would do
Sorry to burst your bubble, More2bits, but you are incorrect.
There is incontrovertible evidence that Jesus did, in fact, exist. Much of his life has been well documented.
Now, if you are contending that Jesus was not the "Son of God", born of the virgin Mary, well, you are not alone in your beliefs. Billions would probably agree with you.
For the believers and non-believers, they are just that ... beliefs. (Or Faith, as some might say.)
But to unequivocally state that neither Jesus, nor God for that matter, exist is quite presumptuous, don't you think?
@concerned-memphian, to burst your bubble, as far as I read this thread, the existence of GOD, not Jesus, has been denied. Now if you eaual god to Jesus you are talking faith again.
To the posters, arguing against Jesus' approval, frankincense is heavily used in the catholic church. According to Johns Hopkins University it is considered a psychoactive drug. What about alcohol a more potent drug than cannabis?
Besides all that, it is quite irrelevant what the bible or Jesus says. Those are words spoken millennia ago. Whatever the bible says about ANY subject has to be seen in context of the time and circumstances, which were fundamentally different from today.
Pot's caused less problems in this world than religion has...
What would Jesus do? He'd take a toke and hold his smoke then pass the doobie over to Mary Magdalene after she told him the password. The question- What is a toker's favorite body part? Password- Ear! Ear!
It always amazes me what the clueless believe about Marijuana. It doesn't make you do things that you wouldn't normally do, and it doesn't give you visions. It isn't LSD or Tequila.
Using falsehoods to justify intolerance isn't the Christian way either, is it? I wish people would bother to get the facts before they decide what is best for everyone else.
If you want to base your argument on religion, then keep in mind Jesus never imprisoned anyone, he was tolerant when others were ready to throw stones, and he made exceptional wine.
Jesus did not follow the clueless religious leaders of his time, so I doubt he would care much what Father Thomas Reese or the Pope said either. He said “Judge not lest ye be judged”. Why not act like this is a free country and let God decide later if we lived a good life.
You ALL MISS THE BIG PICTURE HERE
Pat Robertson, a staunch Republican and vocal supporter of Richard Nixon....the man that DECLARED WAR ON DRUGS
Pat Robertson has LOOKED AT THE RESULTS AND COST OF THIS WAR......and Praise The Lord....A LIFE LONG REPUBLICAN HAS CONCLUDED THAT POT SHOULD BE LEGALIZED!!!!
OMG a ray of hope.....As a moderate Republican....going extinct....I see some HOPE FOR THE PARTY OF LINCOLN.......and dare I say it out loud......Compromise based on factual data and research-able information.
That is the Head Line...A Republican seeks to compromise.
Jesus fed the masses...now we know why...MUNCHIES!
"In the name of the Father, The Son, and The Holy Smoke...Amen"
Yeah, should totally open the door for all the societal problems caused by by legalized (and thus more readily available) drugs, when we haven't gotten close to addressing the societal problems we already have from that other legal mind-altering substance, alcohol
Sign it...
https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions/!/petition/legalize-marijuana/l3TChtzy
last time i talked to jesus...he said ...he'd bring me back a kilo from mexico...
Whoever dreamed up your imaginary friend was definitely smoking something.
The war on drugs is way more dangerous than minority of Americans who would be regular users.
Legalize it and just like prohibition, crime will plummet.
BTW - Anyone who remotely thinks Pot is worse than Alcohol is delusional and hasn't taken the time to do a little research.
Conservative Christians overwhelmingly support continuing the "war on drugs" that is tearing this country apart. Whether Jesus was a man, a god, or just an idea, close examination of the ideals that he stands for in the minds of his followers can only help. Although I consider myself an agnostic, I aplaud this avenue of discussion because it has the potential to split that support and make real change possible.
Baddog! High five me!
Just what this country needs right now, more school dropouts and minds corrupted by mind-altering substances. There's a reason why we never went back to the moon after the 60s-70s generation, why the debt has exploded and why our space program slowly degraded so that we can't even get into space anymore today without asking the Russians for help....
W. Mcarthur:
Could you please explain how minds are "corrupted" by mind-altering substances? Are you scared some people might expand their horizons and start to question, say something like, religion?
Let me guess...it was those evil hippies that you despised so much?
And that reason is...?
Again, and that reason is...?
The US debt started with George W, didn't it? Clinton had a balanced budget! He also killed NASA with some help from Obama!
No, the debt did not start with W, it's been steadily worsening for scores of years, under both Dem and Rep leadership.
And yes, Clinton balanced the ANNUAL budget, but didn't make much progress into the national debt before BushCo threw out the baby with the bathwater.
Obviously the people that wrote the bible were high, how else would one come up with talking snakes and living inside a whales body?
Now that is funny Baddog40...lol Love it...teehee
They were trippin on mushrooms too, I'm convinced of it.
A talking bush, a sea parting down the middle.......
Good one :)
Don't forget the talking donkey story or the story that a man and his three sons built a ship the size of a WW2 aircraft carrier out of wood in a desert country.
Just thought of a quote:
"I think you might be eating the wrong kind of mushrooms, Dale".........that would apply to the people who wrote the bible.
Baddog,
I don't know if the writers of the Bible were high. I suspect the writers of this article were!
It does not matter what Jesus would do or would not do. It is what we do as a society that matters. Legalize the stuff. The money we spend housing someone in a jail, who got caught with a joint could, be spent on real issues, and there are many !
The writers of this article aren't hight, just intentionally fixing their survey by using the word recreational rather than spiritual use. Break down the word recreation to what it used to mean, and this would be more accurate. The spiritual use of marijuana would be for re- creating and pondering creation itself.
Jesus absolutely was annointed with cannabis following in the messianic tradition. Had some people not intentionally mistranslated the hebrew kaneh bosm (what word does that sound like?) as callamus in the original greek translation of exodus, this would all be common knowledge. The tradition of annointing people with cannabis goes a long ways back, as does the tradition of the anointee going on to teach and introduce others to the healing herbs. We know from the tombs in northern China that there were red headed caucasians using marijuana about a thousand years before Jesus. We also know from the bible that Hebrews had red hair (king David) and used cannabis.
Well if it helps Jesus turned water into wine so Himself and his buddies could get loaded at a wedding
They was tripaaaaan, alright.
his picture is on a book of zig-zags.
Jesus had to be stoned to think he's the son of God.......
I said no in the vote simply because it asked if Christians should smoke. If Christians really believe their body is a "temple of the Holy Spirit" then smoking (In my opinion) is disgracing your body. It is harmful. Not very harmful. But it is.
Oh whatever. the jesus creature is mythical. not one shred of proof that a god exists, or that the jesus-myth is the son of any god.
get over it already! grow up!
AMEN, brotha!!! LOL!! Excellent!!!
Well a lot of born again christians won't smoke or drink. But legalizing pot isn't for them. It is so we can quit fiddling around with the pot smoker and deal with them only when they break other laws. Then maybe a 4 year sentence in California wouldn't really mean you never get past county jail and your out in less than two. But legalizing pot can't be done at the federal level it has to be done individually in each state. Then the "mules" wouldn't have to carry those big bundles across the river. The smaller ones are easier to carry you know cocaine. heroin, and meth.
DMorgan, how does accepting that a man, who actually lived, used cannabis oil in an ancient tradition require one to also accept God and the Jesus story?
Wow, a well known Christian like Roberts sides with legalizing Marijuana and all you can do is ridicule his faith. Christians believe obedience to the law, is obedience to God. If the law makes Marijuana legal, then it's legal. A lot of self-described Christians lambasted same sex marriage, while many argued it be allowed as other laws are, state by state. Rev. Roberts sides with legalizing pot and no one gives him any credit for enlightened thinking. What a collection of self-righteous bigots this discussion attracted.
Jesus would:
DO BONGS!
Sign it...
https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions/!/petition/legalize-marijuana/l3TChtzy
Jesus would either have died laughing at the silly things human beings get themselves worked up about, or he would have turned water into lunatic asylums to house all of the crazy people who worry about whether people should be allowed to grow, eat, or smoke plants created by God his own father.
couldn't agree more
We don't have to export jobs or have trade packs that give away the store. All we have to do is let people smoke marijuana for a few generations and let them dumb themselves down and their relatives dumb down faster.
Pat Robertson is no scientist and I doubt he has read more about marijuana then some headlines.
Remember when smoking cigarettes was promoted on tv and proclaimed "HEALTHY" for you. It was even stated on the "I LOVE LUCY SHOW" : SMOKING IS GOOD FOR YOU! It wasn't until years later that the effects were correlated with cancer, emphysema, heart attacks, and strokes.
Now it is the same with marijuana. Marijuana alters the DNA in a persons body and that altered DNA can be passed onto children. But don't worry, we will still need janitors, check out girls, bag boys, and car washers.
And of course the pro marijuana users are going to ignore the global 25 year study on the effects of marijuana as they want to go off into that dizzy daze.
"For adolescents who are engaged in marijuana use and substance use, to the extent that that decreases or limits the academic achievement they would have achieved otherwise, that would limit their employment opportunities," said Kimberly Henry, from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, who has studied marijuana and truancy in adolescents.
Hyggen said that it's not a bad idea to stay away from drugs including marijuana.
Still, she told Reuters Health, "I think like many of these kinds of behaviors, there is kind of a spiral cycle where one reinforces the other."
He also found that those who only reported recent smoking on one survey -- the "experimenters" -- tended to be as committed as abstainers as they got older. That wasn't the case for participants who repeatedly acknowledged marijuana use: their work commitment continued to decline into adulthood, and remained significantly below that of never-smokers."
In other words smoking marijuana decreases your work ethic and desire to increase your productivity and salary. It just smooths you out and lets you float along without any need or desire to better yourself.
LONDON — People who use marijuana before driving are nearly twice as likely to cause a car crash as those not under the influence of alcohol or drugs, according to a Canadian analysis of previous studies."
Experts at Dalhousie University in Canada reviewed nine studies of more than 49,000 people involved in accidents on public roads involving one or more motor vehicles, including cars, trucks, buses and motorcycles. Marijuana use was confirmed by blood tests or self-reporting.
Researchers found drivers who had used marijuana within three hours of beginning to drive had nearly double the risk of causing a collision, especially those that were fatal."
By all means go out and get a minimum salary job. We still need bus drivers, sales clerks, street cleaners and don't forget, if you cause a car accident when you are high, your insurance doesn't cover you.
If you wear sandals, have shoulder-length hair, wander around with a bunch of other guys that dress the same way, and have no visible means of support .... you might be a stoner.
There is no question that marijuana has risks, to both the user and society. The question is, what are those risks and how serious are they? Another question is whether society is better off fighting the war against marijuana, with all the criminality that prohibition creates, or legalizing it, regulating it, and taxing it. Modern history is replete with examples of marijuana smokers who worked hard and achieved great things. Carl Sagan comes to mind. Besides, I know a lot of people who would be better off floating along, as you call it, rather than pursuing their manic obsessions. It's a complicated issue with no easy answers. I do know that the restrictions against growing non-psychoactive hemp should be lifted.
Marijuana alters DNA? Right... Sorry, bookworm12, no scientific study has shown marijuana to be a carcinogen, or even to damage the lungs. That's what I assume you mean by altering the DNA. And trust me, the studies have been done. The best ones actually suggest an inverse relation between marijuana use and cancer. By the way, the DNA in somatic cells do not get passed onto offspring. I'm not quite sure if you were demonizing marijuana for the sake of it or if you meant for that to be taken seriously.
And marijuana use three hours before driving increases the chance of collision by twice as much? Compare that to cell phone usage- 4 times more likely to be in a crash that causes serious injuries. And alcohol- you're 11 times more likely to crash with a BAC between .05 and .09. Keep in mind that it's legal to drive up until .08. And if you're above .15 you're 380 times more likely to crash. Yes, that was 380.
Meanwhile, it's impossible to overdose on marijuana. At .40 BAC you'll be in a coma and undergo respiratory arrest if you drink alcohol. As an added bonus, marijuana is also not chemically addictive, but alcohol is not chemically addictive either. Lastly, there's a link between alcohol consumption and violent or aggressive behavior. Not so with marijuana.
Of all the illegal drugs, marijuana just doesn't fit in that group. It doesn't cause psychotic behavior or hallucinations, isn't chemically addictive, isn't carcinogenic, can't be overdosed on, and isn't linked with violent or aggressive behavior. Considering that cigarettes are legal and are a known carcinogen, it's a misnomer to say that marijuana isn't safe by comparison. Considering the effects of alcohol (a known drug) and cell phone use (not a drug) on driving, marijuana's effects on driving barely deserve attention.
Honestly, I just don't hear any informed opinions when it comes to people arguing against the legalization of marijuana.
Well said Noah R. I suppose when opponents are forced to manufacture falsehoods and list tired old propaganda mantras it gets discouraging, however, it seems to me that there are fewer and fewer mis-informed people out there. These costly and ineffective wars cannot continue if for no other reason than there just isn't an unlimited supply of money to throw at it. It won't be long and these times will just be another lesson in the history books about prohibition's ineffectiveness.
Since this about what would Jesus think. I shall refer to Genesis 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
I don't see anything about except for this, and except for that, and certainly not that certain plant. And now for a quote from Albert Einstein:
Nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced.
I smoke Marijuana when I want, period.
The only time I ever saw a stoner get violent is when someone tried to take his pot away.
sheeeee, there's more than one person who didn't get a gun, didn't take it to a public place, and didn't take out all the fn jerks that make life toooooo hard. They were smokin pot! Thanks for the good info in some of the posts. If it's a God question, how dare anyone question plants? Alcohol is made by men, coke is refined by men...along with white sugar (I might add). Control those all you want, leave God's creations alone!!!!
and if you wear a gown, and are never seen with a female companion by the time you're in your thirties, then you're probably gay, too. and that fact makes xians spin off into orbit. they probably wish that somewhere in the NT, the jesus-myth would mumble or even make some small mention of his desire to munch on a biscuit, but nope! nada. not even a hint. of course, there was that time jesus was in the garden with a naked boy...
eh... good thing for xians it's all just an unprovable, mythical story of cult nonsense and other rubbish.
You forgot they are native weeds in north america so the farmers wouldn't have to worry if some turned up in a field. My kid 30yrs old and I got drunk burning the weed we found and watching the crows fly funny.
in the bible it says that whatsoever enter in to the body thru the mouth doesnt defile us but what comes out of the heart does roman 14
marijuanas been around for a long time it was used for insence under a different name coptic christians use it
folks just want to be judgeful and hateful so they use it as a excuse for those kind of things
Well... This is the first time I have ever totally agreed with Pat Robertson about anything!!
"Robertson, the outspoken Christian evangelist and host of “The 700 Club,” made national headlines this week when he told The New York Times that pot should be decriminalized and treated like alcohol because the government’s war on drugs has failed miserably and is costing taxpayers billions of dollars."
Today, far too many people know little or nothing about the "founding fathers" of the United States of America. Most of them were farmers and grew crops in order to sell or trade so they could have food and earn money. Most of the founding fathers grew HEMP.
Hemp was a very common and viable commercial crop at that time. It was used to make clothing, rope, ship's sails, and many other things. MORE LIKELY THAN NOT, the founding fathers smoked it as well. They brought hemp seeds from Europe to be planted in the colonies.
Pot should be legal, but restricted, inspected for purity, quality, and taxed. Legalizing pot would put a big dent in criminal smuggling activity and organized crime. Most states and the federal government would be helped by the added taxation revenue from pot.
Anyone 18 years or older should be able to walk into any pharmacy and buy a package of pre-rolled "Big Sur Red," "Maui Wowie," "Golden Happiness," or "Purple Haze."
First off you are asking people who believe in a made up thing, if smoking a joint and dreaming up something is ok? You are already High.
LOL.....Ok, so the question on the poll is, "Is it ok for Christians to smoke pot recreationally?" What about the Jews, the Mormons, the Muslims, and the Amish? Can't just let the Christians have all the fun......lol. Oh yeah, and aren't we a Christian nation?....so let the results speak for themselves....lol. 76% BABY.....stick that in your pipe and smoke it......lol
I wonder would the press ever post an article about whether or not Jesus would support abortion?
Christ said something on the order of "it is not what you put into your body that is evil but what comes out of ones mouth and their actions that displeases the Lord". Like I said it may not be exact but anyone can look it up.
We shouldn't need some religious hack to get weed legalized--but we'll take whatever help we can get. I need 2 knee replacements and the VA states that they only last around 10 years and to "wait until I can't take it any longer." They give me 120 Vicodin a month and any narcotic within reason that I could imagine. I don't take the Vicodin. The prescription goes unfilled. Last week, the VA asked my to sign a VAPHICS form--agreeing to random urinalysis for cannabis as part of their subcontracted to the private sector "pain management team." . Seriously, weed works better and I have a state issued license to smoke. So--when the VA does a UA and it's positive, the terminate pain treatment of any kind.
The longstanding drug policy in this country is a joke. It's below 3rd world and has no bearing to rights within a democracy. My body is basically shattered and it happened while in service of my country. Now, they want to control my personal decisions? Screw em!
Jesus and God want pot legalized....maybe the weakest and most inane argument yet by the stoner crowd. LOL
The BIBLE is a big book of rolling papers.
@dewenright I am sure any book is a pack of rolling papers to you. Legalize it and buy some zig zags you cheap skape.
Sign the petition:
https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions/!/petition/legalize-marijuana/l3TChtzy
Frankly I’m amazed that an influential Christian spokesperson like Pat Robertson is actually capable of this level of rational thought. Its great to see that he is though. As for what Jesus would say about legalizing pot I cannot say for sure and I am not a religious person myself nor am I a drug user. I have read the bible though and I can say with relative certainty that he would not see any difference between alcohol and marijuana. And he would definitely be intelligent enough to know that the legality or illegality of drugs has no effect on how many people use those drugs. He would also see that making drugs illegal only allows drugs cartels to rise to power and to then kill thousands of innocent people to protect their empires. From what I read he was actually a pretty smart guy.
scientific studies need to be verified, accuracy, assumptions, conclusions, as well as, other criteria. All this considerations clarify the validity of a study.
Robertson is just following the GOP agenda of (Smokescreens) to rile up anyone who has something to lose in the next Presidential election. He gets the ball rolling,by flushing out the druggies, and sits back and watches people fight over the stupidest of things. Then he speaks of how wrong it is to do drugs. The Republican party is a joke, and Pat Robertson is their richest religious spokesperson who uses members money like it was his own. Go ahead Pat, light up, and burn one for the Gipper.
Pat Robertson has been right on a couple of issues. Not only this one, but he had a show about the benefits of being a vegetarian. As for the information and quote from the Bible by St. Paul, puleez! Paul never even KNEW Jesus! He was born years after Jesus death and then converted. He was very very radical and some called him crazy. It is St. Paul who put the entire spin on sex being bad and that the ideal way to live a Christian life is really celibacy, with marriage a sad second choice. There is 0 in the Bible regarding cannabis - 0!! There are some passages - and I am not a Bible scholar so cannot quote, that indicate Jesus did use cannabis oil and maybe in other ways too. There are also theories that Jesus studied in the East/Himalayas during those missing teen years of his life. In the eastern traditions, Hindus and Sikhs have used cannabis forever. It is a healing plant for all of those of you who are crazed to continue this insane war on drugs. READ the Bible and find one passage that prohibits cannabis and please stop quoting Paul, a known zealot who would probably be locked up in today's world. I am amazed anyone really took him seriously even then - he was against everything!!
"What would Jesus do?" Bet he start singing.
Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honah Lee,
Little Jackie paper loved that rascal puff,
And brought him strings and sealing wax and other fancy stuff.
I am pretty sure he would have said something important like:
Don't bogart that joint
Wow i never thought i would agree with pat robertson on anything ever... This supposed and ridiculously costly "war on drugs" facilitated by the somehow wonderful president reagan is absolutely a complete failure. Over here in CA, marijuana charges have been limited to a fine as punishment because there are soooo many people in jail that they are letting those offenders off that are convicted of non-violent crimes. We are spending millions a year on fighting the evil greedy drug cartels that are benifiting from this "dangerous war on drugs." Where are our civil liberties? Marijuana is natural and in my opinion god given. IT has been used since its discovery for religious purposes as well as pain alleviation. Because this drug is illegal, hundreds of thousands of cartel are making millions on the citizens. I am still in disbelief he said this i think i have to read the article again... Lets spend the money on our schools and to create jobs instead of worrying about drugs as harmless as marijuana.
Goddess of Happiness....this bud is for you. A friend with weed is a friend indeed.
Wait, where did you hear that THC alters your DNA? I would like to see that source.
Smoking weed alters your DNA??? BWahahahahaaaaaahahaha What moron told you that? And are you dumb enough to believe it?
Exodus says Kaneh Bosm is the main ingredient in annointing oil. Unless you are a moron you know that sounds suspiciously like cannabis. But then again there are still idiots who think marijuana will give them retarded mutant offspring. I'm guessing someone would have noticed those effects at some point in areas where every generation for many centuries has used the stuff.
The Bible teaches us to obey the law, no matter how we feel about it or want it changed. Therefore, Jesus would not be in favor, because it's against the law. You can't take one scripture and twist it around to meet your desires and then apply it without applying the rest of scripture too. But even if it was legal it would still be wrong because you are never to be in an out of control situation in your mind, which is why it's OK to drink, but not to get drunk. Pot puts you into a foggy state where you can't be totally rational or reactive to situations at all times.
What a narrow view of who God is. And what an ignorant view of what pot does to you. It is medicine, it is mind opening, it isn't destructive, it doesn't cause you to lose control.
So then the "laws" like slavery, it being ok to beat your wife/kids within an inch of their lives were ok because they were "laws"?
I think the bible teaches us to treat others as we would like them to treat us, therefore if they want to enjoy a drink or a smoke in the safety of their own home, more power to them, unless they can't control how they act while under the influence.... be it caffeine, alcohol, sleeping pills or mj.
To each their own..
The Bible also teaches that the laws of god are greater then the laws of man. Just because the law says so doesn't automatically mean that God agrees. Jesus drank wine as did all his apostles. Now we don't know if any of them got drunk but one can assume its possible. Alcohol is so accepted in the Bible it is used as a substitute for the blood of Christ. In my opinion from personal experience alcohol is far more dangerous and mind altering then pot.
If the bible teaches us to obey the law no matter how we feel about it, then all the Nazis in World War II were just good citizens. Considering the human toll that the marijuana laws have taken in numbers of people killed in drug wars and numbers of people needlessly put in prison, the marijuana crime farce has been one of the greatest crimes against humanity that the world has seen. This is not even counting all the people that could be helped by this amazing plant, who have been robbed of that benefit.
Oh please. So according to you Jesus would have been for slavery, burning women at the stake, and the holocaust? The quicker people start living in reality and weening themselves away from a fantasy book the better off we'll all be.
Fact: Marijuana helps me feel closer to God & gives me a better understanding of his Love.
Fact: Neither church nor alcohol do this.
Haha I think you have stumbled onto one of the markedly Roman influenced parts. If you want to have a good understanding of Christianity you need to understand the historical context of it. There was early Christianity and then Roman Christianity (from which all other modern Christianity descends from). By the time of Constantine the empire was crumbling, the powers that be were losing their grips, they were facing invasions from all sides, and worst of all was that they no longer shared a religion with the majority of their population who now followed early Christianity. But what could be done? Christianity was decidedly anti-Roman and anti-statist in nature which was contrary to the goals of the Romans.
Enter Roman coopting of Christianity. They took up the religion but only in a form that forced allegiance to the Roman state. All other older forms of Christianity were wiped out because they lacked that allegiance to Rome and the state. Next thing you know Christianity has all the same days of observance as pagan holidays and the head of it all has the same title as the head of Roman paganism. Oh and apparently Jesus (who was executed for running afoul of somebody's law) now tells people to obey all laws, no matter how wrong.
Let me ask, if the state decided to ban Christianity on all levels, from baptism, to practice, the bible, etc. would a person then be considered Christian by following that law? Would God welcome them to heaven because they observed the law that prevented them from doing the things which are allegedly required of a person to be a "Christian?"
Oh yes Jesus was a model Roman citizen who obeyed all the laws. Sure.
Reese, who like Bill Clinton says he's "never inhaled," supports legalization. "There’s a tradition within Catholic theology that the purpose of law is not to outlaw every sin. Prohibition was a classic failure of trying to do that," he says.
Yeah, because we all know pot is so much safer than birth control.
Why do you think smoking marijuana would cause you to lose control of yourself? Because you have swallowed the propaganda, hook, line and sinker. Educate yourself instead of spouting nonsense.
So, bring back slavery? That was against the law. Phooey. Ridiculous thinking. Light 'em up. Grow hemp for multitudes of worthwhile and revenue generating products, here in America. We did it for years. When are people going to be allowed to be people, risks and all. Life is a risk. Take it.
So that means if it was the law to torture mentally retarded people, Jesus would have followed the law
Let me see, isn't there something in the bible "new testament" someting like it's not what goes in your mouth but what comes out, and in Philippians, something about "you can do all, but not all is good for you" come on people twist one up and chill
Really? Because that's what mainstream American christians do all the time!
Wow. Honestly, I couldn't give a goddam what the child-raping Roman Catholic Cult says about ANYTHING. That they think they can hold themselves up as some Moral Compass is a joke. That people think the BuyBull is a Moral Compass is an even bigger joke.
"You can't take one scripture and twist it around to meet your desires and then apply it without applying the rest of scripture too."
Christians do that all the time. If you selectively apply quotes from the Bible, you can find support for pretty much any position you care to take on anything and Christians are masters at selective application.
WWJD Translation: People who, through their personal, political and social filters of our time, use religious passages, that were written and translated through the personal, political and social filters of the writer's times, to rationalize and justify whatever behaviour, belief, or policy that is currently in fashion.
IMO, if pot is to be used for medicinal purposes, then have it regulated the same as the other 5,000+ controlled substances. If pot is to be legal for recreational purposes, then have it regulated the same as tobacco and alcohol.
Heartlight3 - I agree with you. Most Christians and Bible thumpers use the King James version of the Bible
Yet, most of them do not know anything about King James, other than he edited the Bible. As an example, very few people today know that King James was either an outright homosexual, or a very active bi-sexual; and he really liked alcoholic beverages. That is not my opinion, it is historical fact.
James became King when he was 13 months old, when his mother, Mary Queen of Scots was forced to abdicate. He was raised by Calvinist Presbyterians - extreme religious conservatives. In 1604, at the age of 37, King James ordered the translation of the ancient Biblical languages, by about 54 scholars from Cambridge, Oxford and Westminster. However, King James was the final authority.
When the scholars learned that King James was tweaking the Bible to support his own prerogatives and beliefs, the put a clever disclaimer in the preface, where they stated amongst flowery praise for King James, that they "recognized this as the King's own work."
Fast forward to 2012. The conservative Christian Bible thumpers are running their lives on a Bible that just might be damaged goods. I wonder if they realize there are about 2,000 versions of the Bible, and all of them are different in some respects...?
Of course Jesus would legalize marijuana.He's been try'n to do it for years.Just ask his cousins,Jose and Ricardo.lol.........But seriously,Him and his father are probably smoke'n one right now.Sit'n back watch'n South Park or Animal Planet.
QUOTE: "Pot puts you into a foggy state where you can't be totally rational or reactive to situations at all times."
AND YOU KNOW THIS HOW?
Is this really in any doubt? Pot is not even close to as deadly, destructive, unpredictable, damaging as alcohol.
Of course it should be legal, unfortunately it is a threat to so many groups pockets like tobacco, alcohol, and the for profit prison industry.
Not to mention the corn, paper, cotton, and the industries that make the poisons that are passed off as insect control and fertilizer. It also uses much less water than corn and cotton, its much more sustainable than cutting down trees for paper, needs no fertilizer, and insects are repelled by the plant itself.
Hi Brett,
You forgot the automotive/fuel industry, The diesel engine was designed(invented) to run on cold pressed hemp seed oil, and it emits no soot! Henry Ford built a "hemp car" and showed it at the worlds fair. He was quoted while promoting hemp oil & fuel, as saying: "petroleum is as dirty as the ground it comes from, and should never be used in a automobile".
Who other than Satan would claim God's 1st gift to man to be "devils weed"?
yeah, let's sit around and discuss what mythical creatures would say to each other, and then base our laws upon this cult nonsense. sounds like a great idea!
Uhh Brett, corporations made profits off of marijuana just like they did when they refined cocaine, invented heroin and invented morphine.
Of course I'm sure you would like to outlaw alcohol and tobacco...uhh wait what was your argument.
drewbot7 - it is about freedom, and the will of the people verses special interest dollars. It is about the golden rule, and about limited government. I don't need the government to help me make the right choices.
The fact is that there is no reasonable scientific reason to criminalize pot. If the government tried to do the very same thing today to Datura or Hops, it would never get through. Pot was only successfully criminalized in the post-prohibition era as a gift to political factions. Do some research. We women are tired of stupid laws imposed by old white idiots for their personal gain. We could really use the windfall that would come to the state coffers from legalizing and taxing pot like any other product. Especially now as the GOPeeps in Congress are obstructing the Highway Bill and other job creation bills and giving all the $$ TO THE 1% in tax breaks. Time for the 99% to set things straight. Boycott the GOP! Vote in progressive women whenever possible! Obama 2012 - Now more than EVER.
Also here's another thing to consider. Lots of people think 'hey I don't use it personally so why should I care'? Well here's why you should care.
-Less of your tax dollars spent prosecuting nonviolent mj users in the courts.
-Less of your taxes spent locking them up.
-Less of your taxes spent funding DEA operations and task forces.
-LOADS of taxes brought in from legalized sales.
--It would help lots of people with medical conditions+less money for big pharma.
-Your friends and family wouldn't have their lives screwed up big time for enjoying a better and safer alternative to alcohol.
-Legalization largely would eliminate the whole gateway theory.
-Better education for your kids on the issue.
-Regulation would make it HARDER for your kids to get it. Drug dealers don't ask for ID. Liquor stores do.
-Alcohol use would probably go down(always a plus)
-Industrial hemp has huge applications. It would improve loads of everyday products that we use and make them better/cheaper. It has potential for bio-fuels, clothing, paper, construction materials and much much more./
-We could redirect the resources spent fighting mj to really crack down on the dealers and producers of the harder stuff like meth/heroin/coke.
Or hey let's just waste another trillion dollars fighting the 'devil weed' and ruin the lives of millions more.
The following people and organizations make a LOT of money from cannabis being illegal. They'd lose a TON of it was legalized.
-The DEA
-Pharma companies
-Textile/cotton/paper/and many other industries that legal
hemp would devastate.
-Law enforcement and private prisons
-laywers
-The makers of drug testing kits
-Alcohol companies.
-Drug dealers/growers
-The cartels/Paid off government workers.
You see why it's a bit tricky changing this law?
I challenge anyone and everyone to provide me with 5 sane, logical and non debunked reasons why Cannabis should be illegal when we have worse and more harmful legal substances like alcohol, tobacco and opiate pain meds.
If anything with it legal fewer people would indulge in alcohol which would be a positive for society. Also there's so much money to be made/saved from the taxes on it and not paying to incarcerate people. Then there's all the legitimate medicinal uses and the HUGE potential that industrial hemp has.
Thank you Pat Robertson for joining us in this worthy fight, at last.
Now that you've joined us, lets have a cup of something warming and talk about the right to marry the one you love.
WWJD? What He's done from the beginning: Let man choose.
He's not real, so for real, lets smoke up!
Filbert
"Satan doesn't believe in God. But he's afraid of him". You may not believe in God, but Jesus was a historical figure. He was a real person.
"Jesus was a historical figure. He was a real person."
Sorry, outside of the Scriptures, which are hardly reliable as history, there is precious little in the historical record about Jesus. And before you start listing all of the supposed historical references to Jesus, allow me to point out that almost all of the very few existing non-Christian references (about a half dozen or so) have been discredited by scholars as either outright forgeries (portions, if not all, of the Testimonium Flavianum in Josephus' Antiquities of the Jews) or consist mainly of references to early Christians rather than Jesus himself (Tacitus, Suetonius, and Pliny the Younger).
Ben, there are none so blind as those who refuse to see. It's impossible to argue with people on the facts when they are stuck on ideology. I finally had to just leave Christianity behind because I found no rationality within the walls of the congregation. And I pretty much checked them all out, Catholic, Protestant, Methodist, Baptist, and even Anglican and Orthodox.
In the end they all wanted me to be something other than myself, and they all tried to convince me with specious arguments based on multi-generation translations of old biblical texts and their biased interpretation of them that their God was the "real" one. Rarely was I even allowed to express my opinion, let alone have it listened to (Unitarians excluded). So what is so appealing about that as a place to find spiritual sustenance and community? The hypocrisy I encountered repulsed me.
Now I have a spiritual family that is based on the now, today, relationships with each other and all of God's ongoing, living creation. We pay attention to the words written on our hearts today, by the Creator, that lives now. We carry forward traditions and ceremonies that allow us to know the past, but we function on the knowledge of the now as it unfolds, evolving with reality as Creator has determined it to be, a living relationship. Think on that a bit, People.
Hmmm...
There is areference to a man attending an Eastern Monestary at about the right time with the same name. Maybe not Him but there are a lot of similarities to the teachings between the two.
OK I thought about it. Your post is nonsense.
blah blah blah.. Stop posting long crap that is ignorant
Personally I think Robertson is a moron, he's said some pretty stupid stuff over the years, but this isn't one of'em. They, the government that is, should hav legalized pot year ago. drink'in is much worse and it's legal. + our government has spent millions, billions try'in to outlaw it, and they haven't been successful fro the most part. Legalize it already. Peace, sex, love, and rock and roll !
Even a blind hog can find an acorn once in a while...
dm
Obviously, from your comments, you haven't found yours yet
Also here's another thing to consider. Lots of people think 'hey I don't use it personally so why should I care'? Well here's why you should care.
-Less of your tax dollars spent prosecuting nonviolent mj users in the courts.
-Less of your taxes spent locking them up.
-Less of your taxes spent funding DEA operations and task forces.
-LOADS of taxes brought in from legalized sales.
--It would help lots of people with medical conditions+less money for big pharma.
-Your friends and family wouldn't have their lives screwed up big time for enjoying a better and safer alternative to alcohol.
-Legalization largely would eliminate the whole gateway theory.
-Better education for your kids on the issue.
-Regulation would make it HARDER for your kids to get it. Drug dealers don't ask for ID. Liquor stores do.
-Alcohol use would probably go down(always a plus)
-Industrial hemp has huge applications. It would improve loads of everyday products that we use and make them better/cheaper. It has potential for bio-fuels, clothing, paper, construction materials and much much more./
-We could redirect the resources spent fighting mj to really crack down on the dealers and producers of the harder stuff like meth/heroin/coke.
Or hey let's just waste another trillion dollars fighting the 'devil weed' and ruin the lives of millions more.
I've never used it but I think it should be legalized. Legalize it, tax it. Less money spent putting users behind prison bars and more money coming in taxing it like cigarettes.
Burning Brightly... how am I a cheap skate? Do you know how much weed it takes to fill up a bible paper? LOL
Dude you are twisted.....but i like it. Cheech & Chong would've been proud......
"I've never used it but I think it should be legalized. Legalize it, tax it. Less money spent putting users behind prison bars and more money coming in taxing it like cigarettes."
Ever bothered to look up the COST of cigarettes to the economy, and you want more people to be sick and hence a burden to the community?
Ummm,,, Marijuana does not have the health complications of cigarettes or alcohol.
NO ONE HAS EVER DIED FROM MARIJUANA, unless the cops shoot you or the cartels.
Alcohol is legal and not everyone drinks it. The same is true of Marijuana except it is classified as illegal. Legalizing marijuana would not lead to a nation of deadbeats just as legalization of alcohol did not lead to a nation or drunkards. Seems to me the war on drugs has been a collossal waste of resources and in itself quite damaging to society with the uneccessary destruction of peoples lives. We should be focusing on violent crime of any kind. That is the Holy Grail of a civil society.
The war on drugs was started by "Just Say No" Nancy at her hubby's behest for the express purpose of enriching the Military/Industrial complex (made up of a lot of their buddies) since we were running out of places for the "Great (ex)Communicator" -- Ronny Raygun, that is -- to blow up (Grenada notwithstanding). That she and Betty Floored were later exposed as pill heads and alkies just makes the irony that much richer... But isn't it grand that we've exported trillions of dollars worth of arms to every last corner of the Earth? And that we have locked up a large percentage of our population for the heinous crime of the equivalent of enjoying a cocktail or two?
The ultimate reason the capitalists -- and, by proxy, the government -- want pot illegal is because it opens the mind and makes one wonder why one should work one's ass off at jobs that make big bucks for the bosses while barely paying enough to keep one alive.
"Let him who is without sin be the first stoner."
Let he who is without sin be the first to be stoned.
let he who is without sin be the first to get you stoned
Stoners, don't throw your bong in a glass house!!
Stoners don't throw your glass bong in the house.
Stoners who live in glass houses, shouldn't...
Glass stoners living in a bong house throw potato chips.
Jesus would not be in favor of criminalizing a natural substance and causing those who enjoy it to suffer punishment. He was about love, nothing else,
"Why is marijuana against the law? It grows naturally on our planet, serves a thousand different functions, all of them positive. To make marijuana against the law is like saying that God made a mistake. Like on the seventh day God looked down, "There it is. My Creation, perfect and holy in all ways. Now I can rest. [Gives shocked expression] Oh my Me! I left pot everywhere. I should never have smoked that joint on the third day. Hehe, that was the day I created the opossum. Still gives me a chuckle. But if I leave pot everywhere, that's gonna give people the impression they're supposed to … use it. Now I have to create Republicans." " … and God wept", I believe is the next part of that story."
Blamoh1
he had to create republicans to fix all the evil that the spendocrats had already created before they were banished to hell with saul alinsky's leader satan
To simply say because marijuana grows naturally that makes it all right to use simply does not make sense. There are mushrooms that grow in the wild and will kill you so does that make it all right to use also? Nature has many things that will kill you so not everything is intended to be ingested inhaled or eaten just because it is "natural".
Blamoh, brilliant!
I like the part about the 'possum. My translation said it was the platypus that was created on the third day, but that's just a matter of semantincs :)
Jammers:
You are missing the point. There are many natural things in nature that can cause you harm or even kill you. No one is saying anything/everything that is natural should be consumed. Of course no one is going to smoke poison ivy, etc.
Point is, weed is the most natural of all the drugs available. Weed doesn't kill you and it isn't physically addictive compared to alcohol, nicotine, heroin, meth, etc.
if we gave all the heads of all the countries an oz of some really good stuff and put'em all in a big room I'd be will'in to bet $$ that most of the worlds problems would be solved and we all get along pretty good.
Make sure to provide plenty of munchies.
couldn't agree more.
I thought he penned, "Have another hit, .....!"
forget the religious aspect, though kudos to him supporting it.
pot is no worse or no better for you then alcohol. legalize it, tax it and move on. use the tax revenue and the money saved on now prosecuting and jailing these petty users and close our debt gap.
it is better for you than alcohol
And neither is better than either???
Same with prostitution.
I agree with Alim - and it must be mentioned there are interpreted references in the bible that Mary may have been a prostitute - and look where she was with Jesus!
Get real people!
If anyone is going to argue about a subject, either pro or con - get your facts straight first or risk looking like an idiot to the rest of us who HAVE read, have educated ourselves...
I watched a program last night about marijuana pharmacies in Colorado Springs.... some idget do-gooder is attempting to stand against legalization there - and he is spouting absolute nonsense! In the program he was confronted by people who were educated on the subject, telling him the facts - and he blew them off. He never educated himself before he opened his mouth, and as a result? He received his "15 minutes of fame" as an uneducated idiot.
The very same things happened during the first prohibition.... idiots with uninformed opinions held sway over the entire population of the USA and caused that prohibition to last 13 years.... despite obvious evidence it was not working.
We had the same problems then, rampant crime, gangs, murders, prison time for many - and hundreds of thousands, possibly millions simply ignoring the law (18th amendment). AND.... we had the "Great Depression". How is that time different than today? 15-25 million people out of work, no jobs, economy in a downward sprial and government demanding we obey a law that is not just.
Prohibition NEVER works, ignoring history is like the Chinese proverb about insanity.....
Uh huh, separation of church and state and now they're trying to turn this into a religious argument?
who cares what you believe, if you don't believe in it, don't do it.
And NOTHING comes close to how damaging alcohol is, oh yeah, except meth.
One other thing, there is a problem with drinking and driving, i've never heard of a pot head killing ppl while driving. Yet texting while driving is nearly as dangerous as DUI, therefore texting is more dangerous than marijuana, haa.
Sebuttpan - they actually did a study comparing DUI against "DUhigh" as they called it. They found that driving drunk is much more dangerous. Boiled down, they determined what is obvious to most of us:
alcohol makes you feel less inhibited, so you're less careful, and pot makes you feel paranoid, so you're more careful.
...except meth, and maybe pharmaceuticals. There is one main reason "pot" is illegal, and that is: It's too hard getting young people to fight a unjust war, kill and be shot at, after they have gotten high, and thought about it. Not so with meth and alcohol.
One has the right to make stupid choices everyday. Always have. But let's build homes for people, not prisons. Drug and alcohol addictions are medical concerns.
Meth is only damaging because people abuse it to get high. On the other hand, it's also prescribed to children (as Desoxyn-google it!). Alcohol is no different, it can be used responsibly. And the reason you never hear of stoned driving crashes isn't because they don't happen. Marijuana is undoubtedly sometimes a contributing factor in accidents reported as "drunk driving" because alcohol was also used.
Also here's another thing to consider. Lots of people think 'hey I don't use it personally so why should I care'? Well here's why you should care.
-Less of your tax dollars spent prosecuting nonviolent mj users in the courts.
-Less of your taxes spent locking them up.
-Less of your taxes spent funding DEA operations and task forces.
-LOADS of taxes brought in from legalized sales.
--It would help lots of people with medical conditions+less money for big pharma.
-Your friends and family wouldn't have their lives screwed up big time for enjoying a better and safer alternative to alcohol.
-Legalization largely would eliminate the whole gateway theory.
-Better education for your kids on the issue.
-Regulation would make it HARDER for your kids to get it. Drug dealers don't ask for ID. Liquor stores do.
-Alcohol use would probably go down(always a plus)
-Industrial hemp has huge applications. It would improve loads of everyday products that we use and make them better/cheaper. It has potential for bio-fuels, clothing, paper, construction materials and much much more./
-We could redirect the resources spent fighting mj to really crack down on the dealers and producers of the harder stuff like meth/heroin/coke.
Or hey let's just waste another trillion dollars fighting the 'devil weed' and ruin the lives of millions more.
This is so absurd. The whole idea that you would run this as a "story" is sad. It doesn't matter what someone in a book written years ago; would think. All that matters is what you do today.
To even think that any of you would live your life according to some book that was written by people you cannot even verify existed is nonsensical at best. Check yourselves. Who gave the go ahead to even run this story? Your Right Wing Zealot Boss? Your God and Religious Figures have nothing to do with a weed; do you realize how insane this article is? I'm sorry but flock on; sheep. You obviously cannot even think for yourselves. We don't care what PR thinks, or anyone else who attempts to tie in religion with weed. One has NOTHING to do with the other!
Sad state of affairs; this article proves that. Why don't you all try living your lives for yourselves? Oh; too painful? Too Hard to deal with life on life's terms? How sad. Just another attempt by CNN and conglomerates to shove religion down my throat. Baaaaaa
I think our nation and the world needs to legalize and smoke pot more than ever, and chill the f@#!$ out
The following people and organizations make a LOT of money from cannabis being illegal. They'd lose a TON of it was legalized.
-The DEA
-Pharma companies
-Textile/cotton/paper/and many other industries that legal
hemp would devastate.
-Law enforcement and private prisons
-laywers
-The makers of drug testing kits
-Alcohol companies.
-Drug dealers/growers
-The cartels/Paid off government workers.
You see why it's a bit tricky changing this law?
I challenge anyone and everyone to provide me with 5 sane, logical and non debunked reasons why Cannabis should be illegal when we have worse and more harmful legal substances like alcohol, tobacco and opiate pain meds.
If anything with it legal fewer people would indulge in alcohol which would be a positive for society. Also there's so much money to be made/saved from the taxes on it and not paying to incarcerate people. Then there's all the legitimate medicinal uses and the HUGE potential that industrial hemp has.
I most heartily agree!
Jesus followed the rule of law???? WTF??? Why was he crucified then, for obeying the law, get real. He was a rebel for his time.
Pot, Guns, Abortion, make them illegal and only illigal people will have them, you won't stop the use, just create crime and medical problems.
who are you who is so wise in the ways of science!?!?
Bookworm. Stop posting grenade trolling....
What the hell. Why not?
You cannot know God in a drug-induced haze.
LSD, maybe, not pot.
"You cannot know God in a drug-induced haze."
So what?
Let's think about this for a minute or so - the premise is that "one cannot kn0ow what a fantasy state of 'knowing the mythical supreme entity' while in a drug induced haze". Since it's "knowing a myth" I would propose that the ONLY was to "know the myth" is DURING a DRUG INDUCED HAZE. Whether a PLACEBO effect of peer association OR "brainwashing" from years of having the mental image INDUCED STATE pounded into someone day and night, it IS essentially a DRUG INDUCED STATE.
There is a REASON Marx referred to religion as "The opium of the masses." The EFFECT is the SAME
@Ben R: The thread is "What would Jesus suggest." Focus, doooooood.
Canary, so are we to understand that you are a Marxist? Do you not understand that the end of your game is "forced" collectivism and government control over every aspect of your life and the lives of your family....kids included? If you're OK with this for yourself then that's your choice. If you are hoping to impose this kind of slavery upon others then you are a criminal and a monster like Stalin and Obama. I can only hope you get what you deserve for trying to hurt others. Life is a circle and eventually it will catch up with you. If only I could see when it does. It would give me the greatest joy to see you suffer for your evil intent.
Good lord Mark, you need help. That someone finds merit in a single THOUGHT by Marx isn't sufficient reason for your rather unreasonable response.
Calling Obama a criminal and a monster? YOU. NEED. HELP.
I do not envy you your Karmic Retribution....
Says it all.....
Matthew 15:11 NIV
What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.' "
I agree with Pat. Marijuana should be treated the same as alcohol, regulated and taxed, but otherwise legal.
Time to stop wasting money, times, and lives with this pointless prohibition.
Take the money out of drugs and you eliminate the vast criminal enterprises associated with "drugs" because of the obscene profits. What we would be left with is the social problems associated with drugs (which we have now anyway).
All the murders, all the corruption of politicians, judges, etc. all that goes away....All the murders along the border are the result of drug cartels fighting over turf ($$$). De-criminalize drugs (anything that can be grown), control and tax it just like alcohol and tobbaco.
It is WAY past time to pull our heads out of our "ideologies" and deal with the issue on a practical basis. What we have been doing doesn't work.