pot

[SavedByGrace1981]

21 hours ago, Absolem said:

I'm a recovering drug addict/schitzophrenic. I love Jesus. I don't sleep around or look at porn but I do still smoke pot from time to time. I don't really see a problem with it but what do you think?

I would suggest to you that 'what I think' doesn't matter.  Christianity - living for Christ - living the Christian life - is not up to consensus.  It's living under the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit.

I'm not suggesting this is the case with you, but I've found that many times when Christians ask questions such as yours, they are looking for 'justification' in engaging in activities they know (deep down) may not be edifying to their Christian walk.  Sadly - in cases such as this where they're looking to other Christians, they WILL find what they're looking for. They likely will find Christians who place the 'stamp of approval' and say yeah, go ahead.

Christians - you see - are not monolithic in their opinions.  But in the end, they are just that - opinions.

It's a simple thing - juvenile perhaps - but the best 'rule of thumb' is to ask yourself "would I feel justified in doing ___________ (insert activity here) if Jesus Christ were sitting right here next to me.

Your honest answer to that question (one in which no one else can answer for you) should determine what you do going forward.

Blessings,

-Ed

[Absolem]

3 minutes ago, Gary Lee said:

I was born in the forty's and a teenager in the sixties. Major drug culture explosion, and music to encourage usage. I really don't know about medicinal use, I'm sure there could some people that could benefit. Pot, cannabis, hashish, hash oil, whatever, does have some cons. Even originally used to make hemp rope, the money is in drugs.  Most people, myself included, have different ways to deal with pain. Bodily pain, emotional pain, mental pain, boredom, etc. Drugs temporarily relieve the pain. But there is a cost. With pot, cannabis, here is just a few;

1. Abnormal brain: A 2014 study of young, casual marijuana users (fewer than 4 uses a week) showed their brains to be abnormal compared to non-users. The more marijuana they smoke, the more their brains differ from non-users.

2. Addiction: When persons start using marijuana in their teens one in six will become addicted. When they are over 18, 9% will become addicted.

3. Memory, Learning, Perception & Problem Solving: Use of marijuana results in problems with memory a learning, distorted perception difficulty with problem-solving and impaired driving.

4. Emergency Room Visits: In 2011, more that 450,000 people rushed to US emergency rooms to get help for adverse reactions to marijuana abuse. Symptoms included intense anxiety, panic attacks, severe stomach pain and violent, continuous vomiting

5. I personally grew up around many pot heads. To put it simply, its a real bummer. It's for losers. Don't kid yourself, be true to yourself. Most of what I have seen, it's the first step to the GUUD stuff, you know what I'm talking about. You're a pot head, you know the vocabulary.  A lot of those guys from back then  are dead or in prison. I remembered asking my uncle, neat Christian, what he thought about me having an occasional beer, and he said, " any thing that ole devil can get you hooked on, booze, dope, sex, work, porn, etc, etc, then he can keep a lost person lost, and a Christian ineffective as a testimony, and  tear up a family, really bad.  And I also had a very close relative who always tried to pay off the money he owed me with bricks of dope. He later "moved on up"to the guud stuff,  you don't smoke it, you shoot it, and spent about twenty years wasted, in and out of jail, of which I eventually quit getting him out of. At first, he used to always tell me " whats so wrong toking on an occasional joint"? He fond out. Then. Many, many  years later he fingered it out, heard some scripture on my old radio, and then he got hooked on the best possible pain killer out there, he got hooked on Jesus. (He was my little brother). Pot sucks, don't be such a fool.  Get hooked on Jesus, dude...........

6. Sorry if this upsets anybody, but I would never encourage someone to become a pothead. Somehow, I don't think my Savior would either........

I'm going to stop you at one because its just not true. Pot doesn't damage your brain.

[warrior12]

Just now, Absolem said:

I'm going to stop you at one because its just not true. Pot doesn't damage your brain.

For the most part i would agree with you.  I have been around people who have smoked pot and heavily for a long time.  The Hindus priest and associates uses it in the form that gets you real high.  Pot can be an additive drug, but it is not on a scale like cocaine and heroin where you crave and get sick ect.  The opiates and other synthetic drugs like meth is more in line with those symptoms.  Pot is more of a stimulant and for most uses, causes a lethargic and feeble euphoria.   It can and will affect vision when driving [ and other situations] and cause poor or slow reaction and judgement and there it can be deadly.    In the caribbean islands, pot is widespread in its use and it does not pose a danger to society  in terms of causing havoc to families ect.    I think the reason many have come to use it, is because it has no side effects for normal healthy people and in relative moderate use, it has not cause destruction like the harder drugs.   Some also use it as an appetizer to eat.  I would say that it can cause lung damage if used frequently. [black lungs]

In the many years i smoked pot, i would say i was addicted, but not to the state where it controlled my life.  Just at the end of the day, i would want that high before going to bed.  Crack  and the other type of drugs are on the other hand, is very destructive and many have lost the shirt on their backs.

Having said that, impairment of the mind by willful using those mind altering substance like pot does not line up with Christian values as a believer .  A Christian believer is now  a new creation in Christ and the former things are gone, he has a new master who satisfies his desires to live a fruitful life without the cares of this world.  Yes, the tempter does not want you to leave his domain, but to  play both sides.  But it is your choice when you have read the word and see what it cost to take up your cross and follow Christ daily.

God would break those chains if you so desire. With prayer and desire to live a Holy live, the spirit of the Lord would brake those strongholds.  

 

2 Corinthians 5King James Version (KJV)

¹⁷ Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

[Guest]

I am more than likely going to have to try the non THC marijuana to see if it helps for my disabilities (pain). I don't see a problem with it as long as you're aware that the THC in marijuana does interact with psychotropic drugs and can reduce their effectiveness. 

[OneLight]

14 hours ago, Allroses48 said:

I am more than likely going to have to try the non THC marijuana to see if it helps for my disabilities (pain). I don't see a problem with it as long as you're aware that the THC in marijuana does interact with psychotropic drugs and can reduce their effectiveness. 

CBD's do not relieve pain as it advertises.  I know this first hand.  Since it is not controlled, it is not tested and they can say whatever they want to sell their product.

[Guest]

Really? That's incredibly disappointing. I thought it was regulated by the distributer and grower.

[Guest]

I was under the impression that cancer, glaucoma, and arthritic sufferers benefited from it. 

[OneLight]

13 minutes ago, Allroses48 said:

Really? That's incredibly disappointing. I thought it was regulated by the distributer and grower.

You need to ask yourself who these people are as they themselves are not regulated.  When the FDA did test the products, not for approval but to see what was in them, they sent warning letters to the companies and do not support the product at all.  This is from the link I provided: "It is important to note that these products are not approved by FDA for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of any disease, and often they do not even contain the ingredients found on the label."

Holistic medicine is not bad in itself, but even with holistic medicines, you have those who are in it only for the money and not for the health of anyone.

[Guest Teditis]

A quick google search will show that many medical associations DO support the use of marijuana for chronic pain suffers.

Glaucoma and cancer patients benefit for other reasons. It seems that the more they openly test cannabis for medical uses

the more they find some benefits for certain illnesses.

[Guest]

Well I used to be a massage therapist for about 10 years so I'm familiar with some of the junk claims but if you research the company's profile and their product you can usually determine the quality of their ingredients and whether they benefit.