Author Topic: How Sinful is Marijuana? (Read 15526 times)

MrsZ · « **Reply #60 on:** October 17, 2009, 08:34:07 PM »

I've never read anything from Church teachings that indicated that use of drugs for recreational purposes was to be condoned. Whether or not someone drinks a glass of wine or beer with dinner, doesn't seem to me to be the same thing as smoking pot, or doing cocaine or heroin for whatever reason that the user thinks is justifiable.

The argument that because marijuana grows in plant form therefore it must be God ordained for usage doesn't make sense to me. The fact is, many things grow in plant form and are potentially harmful and toxic.

Also, what about the fact that marijuana is smoked? Burning leaves and inhaling them into your lungs is not good for your lungs or your body at all. Smoking cigarettes is bad for your body too.

God Bless

St Jude Thaddeus · « **Reply #61 on:** October 17, 2009, 08:40:19 PM »

In addition, amariec, there is a good Catholic call-in program every week on a Traditional Catholic radio station called WFTS. The calls are taken by Father William Jenkins of the Society of Saint Pius V.

Here is the link to the radio station's website:

http://www.wftsradio.com/

Look under "Program Schedule" to see when the next live call-in show will be broadcast. I believe you can email him too if you cannot get through on the phone.

Nevertheless, no website or radio program can substitute for having a Father Confessor and good Catholic friends to talk to. Find a Tridentine Latin Mass you can attend and receive the Sacraments and start reading Catholic literature, preferably anything written before the last century. TAN Books has a good selection, for example. Get a Tridentine Latin rite missal and read the prayers, devotions, lists of sins, virtues, obligations of the Church, etc. Pray morning and evening prayers and the Rosary. In this way you will develop a Catholic Sense that will guide you in deciding what is right and what is wrong.

St Jude Thaddeus · « **Reply #62 on:** October 17, 2009, 08:41:28 PM »

Quote from: MrsZ

I've never read anything from Church teachings that indicated that use of drugs for recreational purposes was to be condoned. Whether or not someone drinks a glass of wine or beer with dinner, doesn't seem to me to be the same thing as smoking pot, or doing cocaine or heroin for whatever reason that the user thinks is justifiable.

The argument that because marijuana grows in plant form therefore it must be God ordained for usage doesn't make sense to me. The fact is, many things grow in plant form and are potentially harmful and toxic.

Also, what about the fact that marijuana is smoked? Burning leaves and inhaling them into your lungs is not good for your lungs or your body at all. Smoking cigarettes is bad for your body too.

God Bless

Listen to Mrs. Z, amariec! This is what I was talking about!

sedetrad · « **Reply #63 on:** October 17, 2009, 08:45:34 PM »

Natural tobacco has actually been found to have beneficial health effects when smoked in moderation. I am talking about natural pipe and cigar tobacco and not the chemically laced cigarette crap. I am sorry but comparing marijuana to heroin is insane. The only accurate comparison in effect would be to alcohol.

sedetrad · « **Reply #64 on:** October 17, 2009, 08:47:33 PM »

Marijuana can and is currently prescribed in pill form that bypasses the lungs completely as a beneficial medicine for cancer patients and others suffering from severe and chronic pain and is a far better substance than the opiate narcotics regularly handed out by doctors.

St Jude Thaddeus · « **Reply #65 on:** October 17, 2009, 08:47:46 PM »

There's a ton of good advice on the "how can i fight lust..." thread too. Take it to heart. Saving your soul is not about arguing canon law and calling everyone heretics. It's a fight to the death against sin and temptation that you have to wage every day. The Lord will help you if you obey his commands and conform yourself to His Holy Will.

Dylan · « **Reply #66 on:** October 17, 2009, 08:49:33 PM »

In Exodus 30:22-25, it says:

Quote

And the Lord spoke to Moses, Saying: Take spices, of principal and chosen myrrh five hundred sicles, and of cinnamon half so much, that is, two hundred and fifty sicles, of calamus in like manner two hundred and fifty. And of cassia five hundred sicles by the weight of the sanctuary, of oil of olives the measure hin: And thou shalt make the holy oil of unction, an ointment compounded after the art of the perfumer,

The Hebrew word translated in that verse as "calamus" is qaneh bosim (&#1511;&#1504;&#1492; &#1489;&#1513;&#1501;) which is the plural form of qaneh bos which is a cognate for the Latin word Cannabis.

Quote from: sedetrad

Natural tobacco has actually been found to have beneficial health effects when smoked in moderation. I am talking about natural pipe and cigar tobacco and not the chemically laced cigarette crap. I am sorry but comparing marijuana to heroin is insane. The only accurate comparison in effect would be to alcohol.

I completely agree. Cannabis is even less harmful than alcohol.

St Jude Thaddeus · « **Reply #67 on:** October 17, 2009, 08:56:18 PM »

Says who? What Hebrew expert? From "calamus" to "cannabis" seems a pretty far stretch to me, given the way that so many words change meanings, spellings, and pronunciations over the years. How do we know the plant referred to in Exodus even exists anymore?

roscoe · « **Reply #68 on:** October 17, 2009, 08:58:29 PM »

Quote from: St Jude Thaddeus

Quote from: roscoe
I am no more an advocate of the 'stoner' culture than I am of the alcoholic culture. One can drink wine without being a drunk and one can use MJ without being a junkie. The Bible says what it says. If you want to dispute that, take it up with Moses.

Total rubbish. Post one single Catholic source that says that the Bible is referring to marijuana in those passages. This is like something an Ozzie Osbourne fan would come up with.

Moses HAS to be referring to MJ(or Cannabis as it was then called) because he uses the plaurel herbS. IOW there is no green herb that can be excluded because there is no exception mentioned anywhere in the Bible that I am aware of.

I believe this is why the Prot Bible uses the singular-- so puritanical hypocrites can conjur up a scenario where MJ IS prohibited. The Catholic Bible is very clear that no green herb can be excluded from God's blessing.

I have felt for some time now that there is a Jansenist presence in this forum.

Dylan · « **Reply #69 on:** October 17, 2009, 09:00:30 PM »

Quote from: St Jude Thaddeus

Says who? What Hebrew expert? From "calamus" to "cannabis" seems a pretty far stretch to me, given the way that so many words change meanings, spellings, and pronunciations over the years. How do we know the plant referred to in Exodus even exists anymore?

Quote

According to Aryeh Kaplan, cannabis was an ingredient in the Holy anointing oil mentioned in various sacred Hebrew texts. The herb of interest is most commonly known as kaneh-bosem (&#1511;&#1456;&#1504;&#1461;&#1492;-&#1489;&#1465;&#1513;&#1462;&#1474;&#1501;) which is mentioned several times in the Old Testament as a bartering material, incense, and an ingredient in Holy anointing oil used by the high priest of the temple.

The Septuagint (300 BCE) translates kaneh-bosem as calamus, and this translation has been propagated unchanged to most later translations of the Torah (1500 BCE+). However, Polish anthropologist Sula Benet published etymological arguments that the Aramaic word for hemp can be read as kannabos and appears to be a cognate to the modern word 'cannabis', with the root kan meaning reed or hemp and bosm meaning fragrant. Both cannabis and calamus are fragrant, reed-like plants containing psychotropic compounds. While Benet's conclusion regarding the psychoactive use of cannabis is not universally accepted among Jєωιѕн scholars, there is general agreement that cannabis is used in тαℓмυdic sources to refer to hemp fibers, as hemp was a vital commodity before linen replaced it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_and_spiritual_use_of_cannabis#Ancient_Hebraic_use

roscoe · « **Reply #70 on:** October 17, 2009, 09:03:35 PM »

Carrafa's above remark that MJ harms brain cells is the complete opposite of the truth.

Victims of MK Ultra are specifically prohibited from smoking pot as it may REPAIR brain cells and help the slave recover from the horrific abuse that has been suffered.

St Jude Thaddeus · « **Reply #71 on:** October 17, 2009, 09:05:21 PM »

Ah-ha! HEMP is what were talking about here. HEMP, which is what rope used to made out of.

Nowhere in your quotations does it mention smoking that stuff!

Apples and oranges!

Caraffa · « **Reply #72 on:** October 17, 2009, 09:08:19 PM »

Quote from: Dylan

In Exodus 30:22-25, it says:

Quote
And the Lord spoke to Moses, Saying: Take spices, of principal and chosen myrrh five hundred sicles, and of cinnamon half so much, that is, two hundred and fifty sicles, of calamus in like manner two hundred and fifty. And of cassia five hundred sicles by the weight of the sanctuary, of oil of olives the measure hin: And thou shalt make the holy oil of unction, an ointment compounded after the art of the perfumer,

The Hebrew word translated in that verse as "calamus" is qaneh bosim (&#1511;&#1504;&#1492; &#1489;&#1513;&#1501;) which is the plural form of qaneh bos which is a cognate for the Latin word Cannabis.

Quote from: sedetrad
Natural tobacco has actually been found to have beneficial health effects when smoked in moderation. I am talking about natural pipe and cigar tobacco and not the chemically laced cigarette crap. I am sorry but comparing marijuana to heroin is insane. The only accurate comparison in effect would be to alcohol.

I completely agree. Cannabis is even less harmful than alcohol.

I find that hard to believe. Calamus itself is a latin word, which St. Jerome rendered in the plural, calami, in verse 23. A calamus is a type of plant known as a sweet flag.

Dylan · « **Reply #73 on:** October 17, 2009, 09:10:36 PM »

Quote from: roscoe

Carrafa's above remark that MJ harms brain cells is the complete opposite of the truth.

Here is some info I found regarding the claim that Cannabis kills brain cells:

Quote

3a) Doesn't Marijuana cause brain damage?

The short answer: No.

The long answer: The reason why you ask this is because you probably heard or read somewhere that marijuana damages brain cells, or makes you stupid. These claims are untrue.

The first one - marijuana kills brain cells - is based on research done during the second Reefer Madness Movement. A study attempted to show that marijuana smoking damaged brain structures in monkeys. However, the study was poorly performed and it was severely criticized by a medical review board. Studies done afterwards failed to show any brain damage, in fact a very recent study on Rhesus monkeys used technology so sensitive that scientists could actually see the effect of learning on brain cells, and it found no damage.

But this was Reefer Madness II, and the prohibitionists were looking around for anything they could find to keep the marijuana legalization movement in check, so this study was widely used in anti-marijuana propaganda. It was recanted later.

(To this day, the radical anti-drug groups, like P.R.I.D.E. and Dr. Gabriel Nahas, still use it - In fact, America's most popular drug education program, Drug Abuse Resistance Education, claims that marijuana "can impair memory perception & judgment by destroying brain cells." When police and teachers read this and believe it, our job gets really tough, since it takes a long time to explain to children how Ms. Jones and Officer Bob were wrong.)

The truth is, no study has ever demonstrated cellular damage, stupidity, mental impairment, or insanity brought on specifically by marijuana use - even heavy marijuana use. This is not to say that it cannot be abused, however.

3b) If it doesn't kill brain cells, how does it get you 'high'?

Killing brain cells is not a pre-requisite for getting 'high'. Marijuana contains a chemical which substitutes for a natural brain chemical, with a few differences. This chemical touches special 'buttons' on brain cells called 'receptors'. Essentially, marijuana 'tickles' brain cells. The legal drug alcohol also tickles brain cells, but it will damage and kill them by producing toxins (poisons) and sometimes mini-seizures. Also, some drugs will wear out the buttons which they push, but marijuana does not.

roscoe · « **Reply #74 on:** October 17, 2009, 09:13:29 PM »

As far as my remark being similar to something O Osbourne would say, I ran across an interesting anecdote in Gilmore's Garbage People( about Manson Family).

Despite our image of Manson heading up a band of dope-smoking hippie crazies, he did not like MJ-- and this is typical of an MK Ultra op, which is what he was running.

Acc to Straight Satan biker Danny De Carlo( a frindge member of the cult who did work on Charlie's vehicles), Manson did not like to sit around and listen to music and get high.