Legalized Marijuana

“…after marijuana was legalized in Washington State, one of our congregants asked, ‘Is marijuana okay?’ We realized at that point that the typical answer—’No, it’s against the law’—would no longer suffice.” - C.Today

“A new study conducted by researchers at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) suggests a connection between marijuana use and suicide in young adults.” - Lifeway

“The vast majority of adults in the United States support allowing marijuana to some extent, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey. But opinions about whether and under what circumstances marijuana should be legal vary by Americans’ religious identity and their levels of religious commitment.” - Pew

“Mainline pastors (43 percent) are also more likely to believe marijuana should be legalized for any purpose than evangelical pastors (10 percent).

“Right now America is in a permissive mood that is legalizing controlled substances, legitimizing prostitution as ‘sex work,’ embracing gambling as economic stimulant, and accepting pornography as harmless pastime. This permissiveness will run its course, until its excesses will provoke a new more restrictive era. Social Puritanism may recede for a season but it never disappears.

“The Bible is silent on the subject of marijuana (but not intoxication). It is not the fruit from the tree of the garden in Eden, and it would be clever but mistaken to see a veiled reference in John 6:10: ‘Now there was much grass in the place.’” - TGC

Podcast: “Pastors Joshua Ryan Butler and Thomas Terry … agree that while the Bible never mentions marijuana, it does prohibit intoxication. If one hit of marijuana makes you high, there’s no way to smoke it and obey the Bible’s commands against drunkenness.” - TGC

“If you’re longing for something more, then perhaps the question for you is not Is it permissible and beneficial to smoke weed? Rather the question should be Is this longing (for contentment, peace, physical wellness, and more) only satisfied by Christ?” - Christian Post

“The first four states to legalize marijuana for recreational use were Colorado and Washington in 2014 and Alaska and Oregon in 2015. ….Last year, they had almost 620 murders and 38,000 aggravated assaults—an increase of 37 percent for murders and 25 percent for aggravated assaults, far greater than the national increase.” - Marijuana, Mental Illness, and Violence

“As legalization spreads, more Americans are becoming heavy users of cannabis, despite its links to violence and mental illness.”