The Krasnewski polemic was so flawed each sentence warranted deconstruction on multiple errors.
Beer vs. Pot: Why Catholics Should Oppose Legalization of Marijuana
the opinion of Peter Kwasniewski, …all reflecting a withdrawal from reality, a breaking down of boundaries and natural limits, and a retreat from personal and social responsibility.
…Although he acknowledges that we need more research the standard canard of anti-MJ zealots is to feign open-mindedness to "further research"
he points out that there has been enough to conclusively… quite the contrary the research suggests that MJ is useful even in his own field, Alzheimer's Disease where the research shows MJ is effective in controlling ALzheimer's agitation without the side effects of alternative medicines.
The moderate consumption of alcohol has a strong place in the Catholic tradition and medicine, and Catholics need to be able to distinguish this practice from the use of a drug. We should not equate it with the recreational use of marijuana. A false claim.
Is Beer a Drug?
The first distinction we need to make to reply to this objection comes from recognizing that beer and wine are foodstuffs. MJ is from a plant and also eaten, hence a "foodstuff"
They come not just from natural substances (uranium is a natural substance), but from substances used for normal human consumption. Marijuana has been normal human consumption for millennia; its consumption and cultivation has demonstrated even in pre-history in various regions and cultures.
Like the components from which they are made, beer and wine are naturally healthy and should be consumed as part of an overall healthy diet. Marijuana is naturally healthy with innumerable health benefits, including lower rates of cancer than with non-consumers.
As a foodstuff, Aquinas defends the consumption of alcohol as permitted within the Gospel’s lifting of the prohibition against normal food and drink: “No meat or drink, considered in itself, is unlawful, according to Matthew 15:11, ‘not what goes into the mouth defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.’” Though already considered “clean” in the Old Covenant, beer and wine would pass the muster set forth in Matthew’s Gospel. Other natural substances, including plants used to produce drugs, would not pass this test; they are not foodstuffs and intrinsically harm the body. Gratuitous assertions that fly in the face of hundreds of studies (many previously cited and ignored by LastPerv). The "foodstuffs" allowed by St. Thomas Aquinas are more toxic and potentially fatal, hence, a fortiori, marijuana too is allowed within the same moral constraints as alcohol.
Many people claim that both caffeine and alcohol are drugs because they alter the body and the functioning of the brain. If we followed this logic, we would have to admit that just about everything we consume is a drug, because all food and drink impact the body and brain in some way. If we look at the differences among caffeine, alcohol, and drugs, we can draw some distinctions:
- Caffeine does not impair normal brain functioning. Caffeine raises blood pressure and induces cardiac arrythmias.
- Alcohol in moderate use does not impair normal brain functioning, but immoderate use does. Alcohol is potentially fatal in and of itself. Marijuana cannot kill by itself.
- Drugs in ordinary use impair normal brain functioning. Alcohol in ordinary use impairs brain functioning.
By “ordinary use of drugs,” I mean that people use drugs, including marijuana, specifically to get high. [sigh] another mind-reader.
I admit that it is possible to use drugs in a moderate way if small amounts are consumed, but this falls outside ordinary usage and would apply only to a small number of cases, another evidence-free gratuitous claim, more mind-reading.
compared to the large number of people who ordinarily use alcohol in moderation. No objective evidence of such "comparison."
Some components of drugs are used in pharmaceuticals, but we have discovered serious problems when these drugs are overused or abused. Alcohol has been used as a pharmaceuticals, but we have discovered serious problems, even fatalities, when alcohol is overused or abused.
If we consider the moderate consumption of alcohol to be a usage of drugs, then we are equivocating. Drugs, as the word usually connotes, are substances that engender a feeling of being high, in a withdrawal from ordinary experience and consciousness. No, drugs are medicines, each having its own profile of risks and benefits. Thousands of drugs, most drugs do not engender a feeling of being high (Can you say "aspirin"?)
Anything we ingest alters us, but normally our food and drink do so in accord with our good, in harmony with the good of our rationality. This fluff merely begs the question: Which has a better benfit/risk profiule? ALcohol or marijuana?
Barley and grapes, along with water, are the main ingredients of beer and wine, respectively. These are foods, which are part of a normal diet, and the fermentation process does not fundamentally alter their nutrition. There is nothing intrinsically harmful in the chemical composition of beer and wine, including alcohol, except at higher dosages. In fact, the moderate use of alcohol has many health benefits, which have been confirmed by many scientific studies. Rod Phillips summarizes these findings: “All other variables being constant, moderate alcohol consumption is a healthier option than abstaining from alcohol.” Some of the particular benefits from the regular and moderate consumption of beer include better bone health, improved cholesterol (Dubious because beer also raises triglyceride levels), decreased stress, reduced risk of type-2 diabetes, and a healthy dose of fiber and vitamins. Even St. Paul confirmed the healthfulness of alcohol: “Stop drinking only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments” (1 Tim. 5:23) and warned of drunkenness.
Marijuana leaves and flowers are foods and the drying/curing process does not fundamentally alter their nutritional value or health benefits or minimal risks. There is nothing intrinsically harmful in the chemical composition of marijuana, even at higher dosages. In fact, the moderate use of marijuana has many health benefits, which have been confirmed by many scientific studies (dozens of which have been repeatedly provide dand ignored by the obsessive LastPerv). Rod Phillips can be paraphrased: “All other variables being constant, moderate marijuana consumption is a healthier option (among many, lower cancer rates) than abstaining from marijuana.” Some of the particular benefits from the regular and moderate consumption of marijuana include better bone health (improved bone density), improved cholesterol (favorably affects the HDL/Total Cholesterol ratio), decreased stress, reduced risk of type-2 diabetes (stabilizes blood sugar levels and decreases the ravages of diabetes such as neuropathy), and a healthy dose of fiber and vitamins. Even St. Paul confirmed that alcohol is dangerous, even can lead to the eternal loss of one's soul: Romans 13:13, Galatians 5:21
The Catholic tradition affirms the moderate use of alcohol, with the support of divine revelation itself! Now that drugs are becoming more and more widespread, it is time for Catholics to mark the clear difference between alcohol and drugs. A false dichotomy.
Drugs demand a negative response, No such "demand" except from the ignorati.
as they do not promote the human good, Numerous drugs, not just marijuana promote the human good (see the previously cited studies). Even opiates can promote the human good when properly used.
neither individually nor culturally. gratuitous, evidence-free
They offer anesthesia, There is a proper medical role for "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.
Gisela Kreglinger,…Rod Phillips has speculated…
Tetrahydrocannabinol, abbreviated as THC, is the main psychoactive chemical found in the cannabis plant. Kwasniewski betrays his ignorance of marijuana pharmacology. Utter and outdated nonsense. There are over 100 cannabinoids in marijuana and hundreds of terpenes and flavinoids that enhance the medicinal benefits of marijuana.
Cannabis has eighty unique chemicals, which can be contrasted with the much simpler chemical makeup of alcoholic drinks, particularly when we contrast THC with ethanol. The plant’s flower buds, when dried, are used to smoke as marijuana; the resin of the plant is used to make hashish, which can be smoked or made into an extract oil. Significantly, THC levels in marijuana have risen from about 1 percent to between 20 and 30 percent in the last fifty years. Fluff.
THC primarily affects the brain: Kwasniewski again betrays his ignorance of marijuana pharmacology.
…
It also has many physical effects, such as greater carcinogenic harm than smoking cigarettes. An outright lie that has been definitively refuted.
Unlike consuming a foodstuff in moderation, the consumption of cannabis immediately affects the functioning of the brain, an effect compounded over time, especially for adolescents.
The consumption of alcohol immediately affects the functioning of the brain, an effect compounded over time, especially for adolescents. Marijuana dosing can be and is often titrated to and strains selected to minimize any undesired "high."
In fact, marijuana usage can permanently alter the brain, leading to a great risk of psychosis, psychological problems, and lower I.Q. scores. Alcohol can permanently alter the brain (Wernicke's encephalopathy). Pre-psychotics and certain other mental health patients (e.g., substance abuse) should avoid alcohol and marijuana.…
Topic: Why Marijuana is Gravely Sinful (Read 7492 times)