What is a faithful Catholic supposed to think about marijuana? Furthermore, what is a faithful Catholic supposed to do—or NOT do—concerning this widely-available drug? How should Catholic parents counsel their children about this drug? Before delving deeply into these questions, a glance at the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) provides a useful starting point. We see in the CCC (2291) this solid statement: “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.” On June 20, 2014, Pope Francis, at an audience with the 31st International Drug Enforcement Conference, declared: “Let me state this in the clearest possible terms: the problem of drug use is not solved with drugs. Attempts to legalize so-called recreational drugs are not only highly questionable from a legislative standpoint, but they fail to produce the desired affects. Here I would affirm what I stated on another occasion: no to every type of drug use. It’s as simple as that.” Federal law in the U.S. deems marijuana dangerous and not to be used as a medicine. “However, under federal law, marijuana is not medicine and its use is prohibited. Under the federal Controlled Substances Act, marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug, meaning it has no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.”
The problem comes with the onslaught of state-level marijuana legalization driven by a number of factors (real or perceived): belief that marijuana is harmless or at worst like alcohol; the allure of tax revenue for cash-starved governments; guilt-laden arguments that incarceration for marijuana offenses has been racially biased; and the rapid growth of messaging, branding, and influencing of marijuana itself and spinoff products like CBD (cannabidiol) which, while not causing a “high,” lend credence to the idea that all marijuana-related ingredients are just good and natural. So a Catholic seeking the truth about a substance that was once reviled but is now celebrated could be excused for expressing confusion. A closer examination of the issue, especially the science and moral considerations, will expose the pro-marijuana position as without a foundation.
I would be remiss if I did not briefly recount my own experiences with marijuana—all pre-Catholicism. I began using marijuana as a young teen of about fourteen and off and on for the next quarter century. It served as a gateway to other drug experimentation. I liked it because it brought me out of my shell and made everything funny. It also brought me into conflict with parents, police, and military authorities. I would never use it today for at least two reasons: it does not help me in my walk with God, and today’s current product is exponentially stronger than when I was young. Where I currently live, I see quite a bit of advertising for shops operating on sovereign tribal territory. Before long, there will be shops opening in the rest of New York State.
Growing in the Faith has helped me spurn marijuana use and other past bad practices. The Church has answers, as I noted above. A recent addition to that roster of answers is a booklet by Fathers Juan Carlos Iscara and Paul Robinson laying out both the basics of the science on the issue but also moral concerns from a traditional Catholic philosophical and theological position. It is not all-encompassing in its brevity, but it provides an excellent starting point for the discussion—the kind of discussion parents might need to have with children, for instance. An interview/podcast with Fr. Robinson is also available.
Fathers Iscara and Robinson cover the following topics: a basic definition of drugs; their effects; different types of drugs; and use, abuse, and addiction. Next is a section on the causes of drug abuse, an especially pertinent topic in an era of drugs such as fentanyl making the news for bad reasons. The longest section concerns marijuana exclusively, especially its effects and how it compares to other drugs, including specious comparisons to alcohol and tobacco. The booklet wraps up with moral aspects of marijuana use. Note that this booklet mainly addresses recreational marijuana use, though it does touch on ostensible “medical” use. Marijuana has never yet been subjected to rigorous testing regarding its safety for any medical use, and some in the anti-legalization fold hold authorization for medical use to be a Trojan horse for subsequent recreational legalization. I can say, though only anecdotally, that that was precisely the public policy approach in Washington State where I lived for fifteen years. Writer and business teacher Vincent Weaver makes the point that marijuana legalization efforts are often wrapped in seeming inevitability, but that citizens can stand up and halt the often-rushed process.
In addition, the U.S. government has some excellent resources (DEA here, and Health and Human Services here, for just two examples) about the danger of marijuana, including the risks of exposing pre-born and nursing babies to marijuana. Iscara and Robinson include other reputable resources in their booklet.
Returning to specific questions for Catholics regarding marijuana use, Peter Kwasniewski and R. Jared Staudt make some excellent points in comparing the long history of beer (often brewed by monks) and its convivial use in Catholic societies versus the modern and individualistic use of marijuana. “Gisela Kreglinger, in her book The Spirituality of Wine, notes that the rise of drugs has accompanied the decline of religious belief and practices. She points out that a decline in faith precludes the socialization and rituals surrounding alcohol that Christianity offers.” Kwasniewski and Staudt further assert: “Drugs demand a negative response, as they do not promote the human good, neither individually nor culturally. They offer anesthesia, a way to escape from a sick culture. But this sick culture desperately needs us to face it and transform it, to fill the black hole of God’s absence.”
Fathers Mark-Mary and Malachy of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal lay out the problems surrounding marijuana use. They look at the concept of recreation and the effects of marijuana. Fr. Malachy tells of his own experience with marijuana and how it neither made him a better person nor brought him any lasting joy, joy found only in God. They quote Pope Benedict XVI on how drugs like marijuana offer a falseness rather than God’s reality. “Drugs are the pseudo-mysticism of a world that does not believe yet cannot get rid of the soul’s yearning for paradise,” said the wise late Holy Father.
Here are some final questions to ask oneself or discuss in the family. Is the money spent on marijuana doing good? Could it have been contributed to church use (missions, pastoral needs, building projects, support for religious congregations) or at least to something for the common good? Is that money taken away from supporting a family or saving for a marriage or business opportunity? Does marijuana use alter your personality? Is that honoring God? Does it introduce friction into relationships, especially with spouse, children, pastor, and God? Does its use put you and others at risk for accident or harm? God wants all of us, body and soul, and anything that gets more of our attention than we give Him is a roadblock on the path to Heaven.
