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The Christian Argument Against Marijuana Prohibition

By Jim atto

You Decide.

Some say, “We shouldn't decriminalize marijuana, because it will send the wrong message to our kids!"

But if, "The punishment should fit the crime," why punish people who aren't hurting anyone? And why send non-violent adult marijuana users to prison, when it's legal for adults to drink beer? For everyone knows that alcohol is a far more dangerous drug then marijuana: For most murders, rapes, acts of violence, and traffic fatalities are caused by those under the influence of alcohol, and roughly 100,000 Americans die from overdosing on alcohol or alcohol related diseases each year.

Yet alcohol users are only punished if they violate other laws while under the influence of the drug, and that's the way it should be. For God never told us to outlaw drugs or to punish people who use them. For though Alcohol is a dangerous drug, and the Bible warns against abusing it, yet the Bible doesn't prohibit its use, for it says that God gave us "wine that makes glad the hearts of men" (Psalms 104:15). And Jesus made wine. (John Chapter 2) So God isn't against intoxicants if they are used responsibly. (Proverbs 20:1, Proverbs 31:4-7, & 1 Timothy 5:22) So why punish people if they haven't wronged anyone? If someone has a problem with a drug addiction, help them, but don't send them to prison!

So why do some Christians support unjust laws which go beyond what is written (1 Corinthians 4:6), and punish innocent people for things that are neither sins against God, nor crimes against humanity? - That's what the Pharisees did, not Jesus! (Matthew 12:2-7, Mark 7:1-9)

But especially in the case of marijuana, since it's even safer then Alcohol it makes absolutely no sense to punish people for using it! For according to 'Bureau of Mortality Statistics,' 100,000 people die from alcohol use each year, and 400,000 from tobacco, and 15,000 from prescription drugs, and 2,000 from caffeine, and 500 from aspirin, but there's NEVER been a single death attributed solely to marijuana use.

Plus it's far less addictive then alcohol or tobacco, and it has none of the negative psychological effects of alcohol. Its psychological effects are good, not evil: As the Institute of Medicine said in their 1999 report, 'Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base': "Although few marijuana users develop dependence, some do. But they appear to be less likely to do so than users of other drugs (including alcohol and nicotine), and marijuana dependence appears to be less severe than dependence on other drugs." (p. 98) "The high associated with marijuana is not generally claimed to be integral to its therapeutic value. But mood enhancement, anxiety reduction, and mild sedation can be desirable qualities in medications." (p. 84) Plus, “There is no evidence that marijuana serves as a stepping stone on the basis of its particular physiological effect... Instead, the legal status of marijuana makes it a gateway drug." (p. 99) [For since marijuana is illegal, people must buy it from illegal drug dealers who want to get them addicted to harder drugs.]

Also in 1972 the Presidential Commission known as the "National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse" released the findings of the most comprehensive study ever done by the Federal Government on marijuana, "Marihuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding," and they concluded "The weight of the evidence is that marihuana does not cause violent or aggressive behavior; if anything marihuana serves to inhibit the expression of such behavior." (p. 73) "Most users, young and old, demonstrate an average or above-average degree of social functioning, academic achievement, and job performance." (p. 96) "No significant physical, biochemical, or mental abnormalities could be attributed solely to their marihuana smoking." (p. 61) "Recent research has not yet proven that marihuana use significantly impairs driving ability or performance." (p. 79) So “Neither the marihuana user nor the drug itself can be said to constitute a danger to public safety." (p. 78) Therefore, "Marihuana's relative potential for harm to the vast majority of individual users and its actual impact on society does not justify a social policy designed to seek out and firmly punish those who use it." (p. 130)

So isn't it about time we started following their advice? For in the last 70 years we've destroyed more lives then marijuana ever could: Millions of otherwise law abiding citizens have spent time behind bars; many were beaten, raped, and even killed there. Many have had their businesses, homes, and possessions stolen from them by their government though forfeiture proceedings. Loving moms and dads have had their children taken from them by the State. Millions of good and honest workers have lost their jobs, simply because a urine test showed they had smoked pot sometime in the last month. Millions more have been denied government jobs, student loans, and even kicked out of government subsidized housing simply because they have a marijuana conviction on their record, and multiplied millions have had to pay billions in unjust fines.

So what message are we currently sending to our kids?

"We're really just a bunch of hypocrites: For we really don't care about you or truth and justice - For if you smoke that stuff, we'll destroy your life, and we'll lock you up, and throw away the key!" - For our actions speak louder then our words! - So is it any wonder that our kids don't trust the government or respect authority? - For once they try pot, they immediately realize that everything the government has told them about it is a lie! - For the only people who still believe the DEA's propaganda, are those who have never tried marijuana.

But now even some of those who have never tried marijuana are beginning to see through their lies, for you'd have to be a total moron to believe some of the things the DEA says, for example: "Marijuana is more dangerous today then it was in the 70's, because it's more potent!" - That's like saying, "Wine is more dangerous then beer." For in reality all it means is, "Today you can smoke less pot to get high." So if anything that makes today's pot safer, because you don't have to take as much smoke into your lungs, but its effects are still the same. - So it's the DEA who is breaking down people's trust in their government, and undermining our freedoms and civil liberties, and harming our children, not marijuana!

Because of these facts, it amazes me that so few Christians obey the Scriptures, for God commanded us, "Open your mouth for the mute [For these people can't speak for themselves, without possibly being arrested or losing their jobs. So we are to open our mouths], for the rights of all the unfortunate. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and defend the rights of the afflicted and needy." (Proverbs 31:8-9) - For it was Jesus who said, "There is nothing that enters a man from outside him, which can defile him." (Mark 7:15) - So these people are innocent in his sight: For God is the one who gave people the freedom of choice, and the right to grow and consume any plant they choose, for he said, "I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of the whole earth," (Genesis 1:29) "So let no one judge you in food or in drink," (Colossians 2:16) For "I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it's unclean." (Romans 14:14) For Jesus taught that it's what is in a person's heart that makes a person good or evil, not what they take into their body, "The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of the evil treasure of his heart produces evil." (Luke 6:45 See also, Mark 7:15-23, Colossians 2:16-23, Romans chapters 14 & 15, and Titus 1:15)

But did you know that if a person plants just 'one' marijuana seed, once that plant matures it will produce 6 to 9 ounces of pot; but that much pot is a felony in all 50 States and can send that person to prison, even if they were only growing it for personal use? - So we really only have 2 choices: We can either legalize marijuana and give marijuana users equal protection under the law. Or we can follow the DEA's advise, and build more prisons and continue to send our sons and daughters there. - For 70 years of Prohibition hasn't stopped people from using marijuana!

In 2004 alone we arrested 775,000 people for using marijuana, and in 2006 we'll probably arrest close to one million. And it is estimated that we currently have between one to two hundred thousand non-violent marijuana users behind bares - So how long will we allow this madness to continue? - You Decide! (Matthew 25:45)

(Please read my article 'Why Christians should support legalizing marijuana'. My e-mail address is: jimatto@yahoo.com. Please photo-copy this article and share it with as many people as possible, leave copies on the windshields of cars in Church parking lots and at shopping centers, and send a copies to all of your elected officials; for many good and honest people have simply believed the DEA's lies, not realizing that for the them it's a matter of survival, for without Prohibition they'd be unemployed!)

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