Christianity and Cannabis: Is it Immoral?

I have always been interested in how drugs, specifically cannabis, have been viewed through the lens of religious reconciliation. I touched on this in a former article, pondering if God cared if we sinners smoked weed.

Recently, the Rev. Dr. Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, a professor of theology at Chicago Theological Seminary, penned an essay wherein she dances around this topic.

After stating that CO (and soon to be WA) started selling legal marijuana, Dr. Thislewaite asks, “is this just a further sign of the “moral decay” of American society, or can we say the legalization of marijuana can have a place in a Christian theology that values, instead of denigrates, the body?”

I was immediately interested by that final idea. Frankly, it’s one I have been trying to push out there for ages: marijuana, used responsibly, does value and honor the body. But, I digress. From this starting point, the good Dr. then views the impact of legal marijuana through it’s impact on the “social body” (our citizenry, as a whole).

She states, “the so-called “war on drugs” begun in the Nixon administration has been a Trillion Dollar Failure. All it has done is explode the prison population to the point where in the United States the number of Americans incarcerated dwarfs that of other nations. Our national failure on drug policy is also racist. “Black men were more than six times as likely as white men to be incarcerated in federal and state prisons, and local jails in 2010,” according to the Pew Research Center. The effects of this on our social body of families separated, and non-violent individuals exposed to the horrific conditions of our overcrowded prisons, cannot be exaggerated. In fact, we could say our marijuana public policy in almost all states and at the federal level is a public health menace, and that makes it a theological menace, if we value the social body.”

I think that is very well put and I can only hope some of this common-sense theology seeps into the more draconian sects of Christianity (I am sure this phenomenon occurs in some manner in every religion but considering that the American cultural zeitgeist is inextricably tied to Christianity, that’s the one I’m going to focus on for this article).

But what about on an individual level. Is it immoral, even if legal, to smoke weed? As the reverend puts it, “when it comes to imbibing…there will clearly always be differences of opinions, even as in Jesus’ time. But Jesus showed his disciples that eating and drinking together was a way to celebrate community.” She goes into greater depth regarding this aspect in her article, I suggest checking it out if you want more thorough information. However, I am gladdened to hear this type of reasonability from such an educated and authoritative Christian source.

She ends her piece with another gem of rationality: “treating human bodies with decency and respect, however, transcends individual religions, and even opinions, and is a common good. Our laws on marijuana need to reflect this common good. We should legalize recreational marijuana use at the federal level, keep it out of the hands of children and teenagers as we do with alcohol, and release those who have been incarcerated for using marijuana from all our overcrowded prisons. That is only common sense, and common sense is one of the best guides to morality.”

I think that, regardless of the building in which you worship, or if you even worship at all, it is smart, responsible, and socially forward-thinking to honor and care for your body. Referred to as a “temple” in various religions’ texts, our bodies are rather important parts of the equation. Sure, on a purely spiritual level, the body seems less important as it is simply the vessel of the soul but no matter what your faith (or lack thereof), your body is the only one you have.

I absolutely think drug use is an immoral plague on society, if it poisons your body/mind and negatively affects your relationships with your fellow travelers. But we can hardly say that of marijuana. I honestly think it shouldn’t even be classified as a drug. I know that in the scientific definition, it is a drug; but seen against the backdrop of hard drugs (that have actually ruined peoples lives) I think we need another name for substances like cannabis.