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Is Genesis 1:12 telling us it is okay to smoke marijuana?

The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed according to their own kinds and trees bearing fruit in which was their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good (suitable, admirable) and He approved it.
(AMP)

Does the bible tell us that smoking weed is a sin?

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Is this a serious question? – Bruce Alderman May 23 '12 at 5:08
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I'll grant you that. Personally, I would say smoking tobacco is a worse sin than smoking "herb yielding seed" because of the harmful effects of secondhand smoke. (But I'm biased, because I'm allergic to tobacco smoke.) – Bruce Alderman May 23 '12 at 5:30
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Scraping Facebook for provocative/witty quips does not a good question make. This site is not responsible for explaining all the dumb things people say and do. If you have a serious question, please put some serious effort into the asking process by doing some research beforehand, then taking time to form a quality question. For help, see What makes a good focused question? – Caleb♦ May 23 '12 at 9:15
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Phrasing it with a silly quote is bad, but in essence this is a good question. – DJClayworth May 23 '12 at 12:54
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Who says most Christians don't think smoking cigarettes is a sin? I'd be surprised if most Christians said it wasn't a sin. Did someone do a survey? – Flimzy May 24 '12 at 6:08
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3 Answers

up vote 7 down vote accepted

Genesis 1:12 is talking about using God's creation to our good advantage and for food (see Gen 1:28-29). Smoking marijuana can have its advantages and disadvantages, and sometimes neither.. Really, that verse has nothing to do with understanding the biblical basis for smoking pot.

I want to try and take a stab at answering this. I know a lot of people probably aren't going to like this or agree, but I'm going to say it anyway..

By reading what the bible has to say about drinking alcohol and drunkenness, I think we can get a good understanding of the biblical basis for smoking pot as well. It does not say that it is wrong to have a drink..as long as you are not given over to drunkenness (written all over the bible), are not idolizing it or become consumed by alcohol (Prov 23:29-34), led astray by it (Prov 20:1), you do not serve as a stumbling block to your brother or sister (1 Cor 8:9-13 ~ Which I know is about eating, but I think these verses can relate to a lot of things), or take away from the glory of God (by what others might think or the things it might cause you to do that you wouldn't have done otherwise).

The rate and way that weed affects you is different than alcohol and it affects people differently. I know some people that can smoke a joint and go about their daily lives.. do their Physics homework, go to their job as a software developer, socialize, and even study the bible. I know other people who can't be around others and can't get off the couch after smoking and just waste the next 5 hours of their life (Prov 15:19) while having a negative affect on those around them, which takes us back to not glorifying God.

Given these things, I would say it is not a sin if you are not given over to uber highness, idolizing, being a stumbling block, not breaking the law, being led astray from God, taking from God's glory by others judging you and/or God or by you doing things that you wouldn't normally do, etc.. Remember that just like wine and strong drink is a mocker and a brawler, so is marijuana...don't fool yourself.

All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirits (the thoughts and intents of the heart).
Prov 16:2 (AMP)

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It is however against the law of the land and while the commandants of God take precedence over the laws of man if God hasn't said anything its best not to break the law... – ryan May 23 '12 at 8:04
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It's against the law of the land in America. – DJClayworth May 23 '12 at 12:52
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It's actually against the law in most 1st world countries. It is actually against the law in many places that are well known for it, it just isn't enforced. – MaskedPlant May 23 '12 at 14:01
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Its not illegal if you have a prescription, which pretty much everyone in California has that smokes. But you are right, and I added that in. – Shredder May 23 '12 at 14:30
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Removed my downvote, while I still don't agree exactly with what you said the point of the site is to get relevant researched views out there. Not down/up vote people because we disagree/agree with their views. – ryan May 23 '12 at 18:09
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up vote 11 down vote

The most basic answer is that simply because something is created by God, and is good because it was created by God, does not mean that all possible uses of it are inherently good. The question posed by this image is logically equivalent to asking "is it really wrong to stab someone with a knife, seeing as how God created metal and it is good?"

Having said that, the Bible says nothing about smoking marijuana, because it wasn't something people did back then. (IIRC the concept of smoking was a Native American invention and was unheard of in Europe, Africa and Asia before European settlers picked it up.) Therefore, we have no direct doctrine on the subject.

However, something highly similar is remarked upon several places in the Bible: drunkenness. Like smoking marijuana and getting high, getting drunk involves ingesting a mind-altering drug that interferes with one's cognition, perception, coordination and moral inhibitions. And it is always spoken of as a sinful practice. (See Romans 13:12-13, where it is listed among "works of darkness" to be avoided, 1 Corinthians 5:11, where drunkards are mentioned in the moral company of idol worshipers, fornicators and extortioners, who Christians should not associate with, and 1 Corinthians 6:10 and Galatians 5: 19-21, which both explicitly state that they "shall not inherit the kingdom of God.")

Therefore, it's not unreasonable for a Christian to regard smoking marijuana as a sin as well.

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Please try to keep discussions on topic and short. If you've gone past 5-6 comments it's time to hit chat. – wax eagle♦ May 25 '12 at 14:59
Great. So weed is like alcohol. Jesus' first miracle is mass producing alcohol. So producing weed is probably fine too I guess. – Jim Thio Sep 22 '12 at 14:31
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In the Bible it just says that you should avoid things which keep you from God. The first commandant says you shall have no other gods - 'gods' could loosely be used to mean lavish cars etc.

The warning against drunkenness is probably related to this or perhaps there is the view that drunkenness can lead to impaired judgement and sin.

In my view it really boils down to whether God finds it acceptable to deliberately do something which can distort your conception of reality. I doubt that dreams are not permitted...

Scripturally, if you smoke marijuana with the deliberate intention of causing such distortions, I would that would not be permissible. But if you are doing for example for 'medical benefits' and\or because the risk of negative consequences is low in your educated opinion, then it seems it would be permissible.

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