Justin Lakemacher, Program Director
As of August 1, 2023, Marijuana use and possession have been decriminalized and are legal for recreational use in the state of Minnesota, as Governor Walz signed the measure into law in late May.¹ Twenty-two states in the U.S. have previously legalized marijuana with more likely to follow.
In the past, Christians have argued for the prohibition of smoking marijuana from Romans 13:1, which states, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” Christians are to be subject to the laws of the state, so the argument was essentially: “It is illegal; therefore, it is sinful.”
Now that marijuana is legal in Minnesota, appeals to Romans 13 are no longer relevant to the discussion. This provides Christians with an opportunity to deal honestly with the issues related to marijuana use and to think more comprehensively about the topic. Since Christians affirm that morality does not come from laws (though many laws do reflect Christian morals), it is crucial to develop our ethics regarding marijuana from the Scriptures, the source of all morality. This brief post will attempt to help the reader consider relevant questions about recreational marijuana use in relation to God’s Word. I am seeking to do so pastorally to help each reader determine whether or not it is sinful to smoke marijuana through the following biblically-based questions. In the end, it will be clear that one cannot affirm the sinlessness of recreational marijuana use.
(A note: Medical marijuana use asks different and more complex questions than the recreational use of marijuana so I will only deal with the latter here.)
Acknowledging Presuppositions
The first place to begin when considering any complex issue is by acknowledging our own presuppositions. Everyone brings their own assumptions and experiences about marijuana into the conversation, and if we don’t acknowledge them, they tend to color our thinking and prevent us from objectivity. The influence our presuppositions and sin-nature have on us could take us in either direction: for some, sin-nature makes it quite easy to justify what their hearts want, while others might find themselves prohibiting things legalistically. We must be very careful to think clearly and biblically in this conversation.
Before I was a Christian, I smoked marijuana regularly. I began using in high school, and upon smoking became quickly addicted. I enjoyed the euphoria, the escape, and the edge it took off in social settings. I smoked marijuana regularly, along with many of my friends, and initially didn’t see any consequences. Addiction, like sin, is progressive. Eventually, the marijuana that I thought was bringing me peace and happiness was actually enslaving me. I found myself anxious when I didn’t smoke. I wasn’t happy unless I smoked weed, and it was taking more and more marijuana to obtain the same high that initially took very little.
At this point, I wasn’t aware I had a problem, and I began experimenting with other drugs when introduced to them. Eventually, I used heroin and quickly became addicted. For many years I was enslaved in heroin addiction until God saved me in a treatment program. He opened my heart to see my sin and to see what Christ had done for me. I repented and put my faith in Christ and was a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). Since being saved and looking back on my use of drugs, my conscience will not let me return to the use of any drugs, including smoking marijuana, knowing the enslavement it caused in my life.
My personal experience is not the only thing I bring into the conversation. Since being sober I have worked in addiction ministry, helping men and women trying to gain freedom from addiction. I have heard countless stories of enslavement to drugs, many of them beginning with marijuana use. I can go so far as to say that in the past fifteen years I have never heard of recreational marijuana use leading to a positive end.
Now while I acknowledge my experiences with marijuana influence my approach to this topic and should not be discounted, experiences alone are not a strong enough foundation to prohibit recreational marijuana use for others. I imagine some reading this may have positive assumptions or experiences with marijuana. Every believer is responsible to honestly evaluate their assumptions and experiences, taking note of how those shape our knowledge and emotions on the topic. Whatever one’s experiences might be, however, we need an objective standard. It’s at this point we must begin to consider God’s Word.
Questions to Consider
While there are many important questions relevant to this conversation, here are what I believe to be the top three to help us think well about this particular issue.
1. Does God’s Word Explicitly Permit or Prohibit Marijuana?
This might seem obvious. Nowhere in Scripture are we told, “Thou shall not smoke weed.” God’s Word does not explicitly prohibit smoking marijuana nor is there a command directly permitting the use of marijuana. So let us consider a few related lines of reasoning that some might bring up regarding indirect inferences about marijuana in Scripture.
Marijuana is a plant created by God and therefore is good in that sense. Now at this point, many people make a jump to conclude that because it is created by God, therefore we are free to smoke it. This is a logical fallacy. Just because God created something does not tell us God’s intended purpose for the created thing. For example, God is able to make a tree that bears fruit yet not intend us to eat that fruit. This was the sin in the garden. Adam and Eve ate from a tree that God had made, one that grew edible food yet was forbidden to eat of. So ultimately we can say at this point that just because God created something does not necessarily mean that we can assume to know God’s purpose for the created thing unless he has revealed it to us.
We do know, however, that one of the purposes of creation is to testify to the glory of God. According to Psalm 19:1, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” In other words, creation, which includes the heavens, earth, plants, animals, etc., is preaching to us the beauty and majesty of God. Though we aren’t able to answer the question about smoking marijuana at this point, we can say that it is appropriate to find beauty in the marijuana plant and let that move our hearts toward its Creator.
Similarly, we also cannot assume that simply because something has apparent benefits to man, that it must therefore be permitted by God. Ever since Genesis 3, humans have been distorting God’s good gifts for selfish use. While sin is first and foremost an attack against God’s character and law, sin often involves the misuse of one of God’s good gifts for the purpose of fulfilling one’s sinful desires, which Peter states is the root cause of corruption in the world (2 Peter 1:4). God, for example, is the author of marriage, which includes sexual activity within the marriage for the purpose of enjoyment and childbearing. God has revealed this in Scripture. The good gift of sex can be, and often is, used in sinful ways because of our fallen nature. The temporal pleasure sex outside of God’s intended purposes might bring clearly does not mean that any sexual activity is permitted by God. Sexual immorality is a pervasive sin in society because of slavery to one’s passions (Ephesians 2:3) which results in the misuse of a good gift.
Applying this logic to recreational marijuana use, it is clear that God has created everything for us to enjoy (1 Timothy 6:17), and to use the plant for clothing, for example, is a way to enjoy it. But we are discussing using the plant in a way that significantly alters the mind, and we must proceed with caution in this type of use, because it raises the spiritual questions we’ll go on to explore. Smoking marijuana may bring a sense of calm, euphoric pleasure, but sin is referred to as “fleeting pleasure” (Hebrews 11:25) and God’s glory, not man’s pleasure, is of greater importance for the Christian.
2. Would Smoking Marijuana Violate Other Commands Given by God?
Let’s consider a command and a comparison. God explicitly commands us to be sober-minded, which is the ability to make sound decisions with clear-headedness (See 1 Peter 1:13 & 5:8). A similar command and fruit of the Spirit is that of self-control (Galatians 5:22). We are to have mastery, by the Spirit, over our desires. The questions here are obvious: When smoking marijuana, is a person disobeying the command to be sober-minded? When smoking marijuana, is a person stunting the growth of the fruit of self-control? If the answer is yes to either question, then we must conclude that marijuana use is sinful.
Next, the comparison. We are given a significant amount of ethical judgments about alcohol in the Scriptures which can give us insight into our discussion. Many assume that marijuana should be approached in the same manner as alcohol. To decide whether or not that assumption is valid, let’s first look at what we know about alcohol in the Bible, then note alcohol’s similarities to and differences from marijuana.
The Psalmist acknowledged that the Lord made “wine to gladden the heart of man” (Ps. 104:15) and Paul advised Timothy to use a little wine for his ailments (1 Tim. 5:23). This indicates that alcohol is a good gift from God that is not inherently sinful and can be used for a variety of purposes. At the same time, the Bible also warns of the danger of drinking too much (see Proverbs 20:1; 23:29-35; 31:4-9 & Isaiah 5:22) and clearly commands that we are not to get drunk from alcohol (Ephesians 5:18). To violate what God has commanded is always sin. An interesting aside to note here is that there are more texts that warn of the folly of drunkenness than there are texts that discuss the positive use of alcohol. God has explicitly told us that getting drunk on wine is “debauchery” (Ephesians 5:18), and doing so would be a clear violation of the command to sober-mindedness. With alcohol, however, there is a distinction between enjoying the gift in moderation with self-control and excessive indulgence leading to drunkenness. So the question here is, can we make the same distinction with marijuana?
We do know that “marijuana use directly affects the brain, specifically the parts of the brain responsible for memory, learning, attention, decision-making, coordination, emotion, and reaction time.”² These are clearly related to the topic of sober-mindedness and self-control. We also know that THC, the active ingredient in marijuana that gets the smoker high, has seen a continual increase in percentage of the plant due to intentional human modifications. Consider how quickly the potency of marijuana has changed over the past 50 years. In 1976, THC levels were on average 0.72%. In 2003, the average was around 6.4%. And by 2018 most marijuana has THC levels above 15%. As of 2023, there are marijuana strains that have THC content between 30% to 34% which is essentially the maximum amount of THC in a naturally-grown plant because other components of the plant must be present. This doesn’t include extracts or wax which contain 50% to 90% THC. Basically, we have figured out a way to obtain the maximum “high” from marijuana very quickly.³ Whereas a discerning believer might be able to consume a glass of wine without any loss of control and therefore honor Scripture’s commands to sober-mindedness, the effect THC has on the mind, especially the high concentrations found in modern iterations of marijuana, is different and more drastic, making the comparison to alcohol unhelpful. Stated plainly, isn’t the goal of every marijuana smoker to achieve a level of intoxication? Knowing that marijuana got me high in the early 2000s with one hit, it seems painfully obvious to me that smoking marijuana today, with significantly higher THC levels, does violate the command to sober-mindedness.
Let’s consider one more text under this heading. In 1 Corinthians 6:12, Paul writes, “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be dominated by anything.” From this, some might ask: Would prohibiting marijuana use for all as sinful be legalistic and violate God’s Word by adding a command to God’s Word?
Many emphasize the lawfulness of everything when reading this text, but we must read Paul’s words carefully. He follows that declaration up with a statement that it doesn’t mean everything is profitable and that he won’t be dominated by anything. Paul is actually attacking using that statement as a justification for doing what we want. He is not saying everything we could possibly do is lawful and therefore up to our own individual conscience. We have been bought with a price and we are not our own (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), so therefore we are to glorify God in our body. Our freedom in Christ ought not to lead us toward anything enslaving, which now brings us to the final question.
3. What are the Motives/Desires in the Heart of the Marijuana User?
The last measure we will use to consider whether something is sinful is by considering our own heart in relation to the issue. Worship and Idolatry are both rooted in the heart. Worship is a heart rooted in love for God and what He has done for us in the gospel; idolatry is rooted in self-love and seeking to satisfy our carnal desires.
So how can we tell which is at work here? If we are free to smoke marijuana, Christians ought to do so boldly, in the name of Christ, and for the glory of God. Which leads me to ask: can one smoke a bong and give glory to God while doing so? If there is any hesitation to answer yes to that question, we must ask why and be willing to ask hard, heart questions.
One of the first is: what would be my reason for smoking marijuana? When I honestly consider this question, I cannot come up with a reason for smoking marijuana that is not sinful. For me, much of this is probably based on past experience with the drug. It was a gateway drug for me, and it did enslave me. And in the past, I wanted to smoke marijuana for ease and comfort and to escape from the difficulties I face in a fallen world. But I know now that “God is a refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1), and that I can turn to him in such moments.
The other question we must ask is not only where is our heart going into smoking marijuana, but when we smoke, where does it take our heart? Drugs like marijuana produce spiritual apathy in me. It certainly does not move my heart toward God in any noticeable way.
These questions can only be answered by each individual and must be done in prayer, seeking the Lord’s guidance. Consider how David prayed in Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” Notice that David doesn’t trust his own instincts to make a searching inventory of his heart. He asks the Lord to search his heart! This is because God knows our hearts better than we do, and our hearts can easily deceive us (Jeremiah 17:9).
So is recreational marijuana use sinful? Using the previous questions as a guide, smoking marijuana recreationally cannot be justified by God’s Word. So as marijuana use becomes increasingly prevalent in society, my hope is that those reading this would prayerfully consider these questions, search the Scriptures, and think well about this issue in order to offer God’s wisdom in this particular cultural moment.
2 https://www.cdc.gov/marijuana/data-statistics.htm