The Morality of Legalized Marijuana.
The dawning of legalized marijuana across the states in recent years has prompted Church experts to try to clear the haze about the much-debated drug.
After considering the effects of marijuana use, moral theologians said a user’s intention is crucial to determining its morality. Cannabis is not intrinsically evil, so an analysis of the morality of smoking pot is found by determining the object of the act of smoking, said Christian Brugger, a moral theologian and seminary professor in Colorado.
Recreational pot smokers use marijuana to induce themselves into a state of euphoria. So the object is to get “high” and to alter their consciousness.
Yet consciousness is needed to make choices, and to impair the human mind is to impair the ability to make choices, he said. Therefore, if a person is high, it’s more difficult for them to make good choices.
Sacred Scripture doesn’t address getting high, but it is filled with warnings about drunkenness.
Christian witness is also a crucial consideration.
Because marijuana has been associated with a culture of lawlessness and rebellion, it could be a near occasion of sin to those who witness others smoking it, Brugger said.
And even if used in moderation, Catholics have good reason to avoid pot when alternatives like a glass of wine are available.
“I think the cultural factor and witness factor is one in which I would argue that Catholics ought to avoid its use,” he said.
Read more: www.ncregister.com/daily-news/to-puff-or-not-…