If marijuana use is legal, does that make it moral? Does God accept use of recreational drugs? Does marijuana lead to use of stronger drugs? What does the Bible say?
Voice of One Who Has Been There
I read the following some time ago from one who has experienced drug abuse:
I started getting high to be “in,” to go along with my friends. I immediately went down in school. Pot disrupts the memory banks in your brain … And pot DOES lead to the use of other drugs. People who get stoned get to where they don’t care about anything but getting high. And after a while pot just doesn’t get you high enough. I got kicked out … of school completely ‘cause I was always skipping out to get high. Finally I got kicked out of my parents’ house (after getting put in jail several times) because I became moody, restless, incommunicative and because I was out all hours of the day and night partying with my friends. I’ve been living on the streets supporting myself for a year. I’ve done every drug you can think of. I went through h--- getting off speed. Messed up my nose terribly on coke (and my arms) and three times I almost OD’ed on Acid. I’d been doing drugs for 3 years and I finally quit cold turkey a few months ago. I got some friends to talk to and I got a steady job. For the first time in 3 years I can think clearly and I’m really free. Drugs are a trap. … I’ve seen plenty of people die of overdoses. And I’ve seen several people murdered over dope deals. All of them, including me, started out just smoking an occasional joint on weekends “to go along with our friends.” I know I ruined my life. I once had a pretty bright future with a lot of opportunities. Now I work all day to stay alive. I’m 16. … - Young Once, March, 1980 (reprinted in Powerline, Vol. V, #9).
God’s Word
Most “recreational drugs” are still illegal. Marijuana may be legal in some cases, but it will always be immoral because it is intoxicating.
Galatians 5:19-21; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 – Drunkenness is a work of the flesh for which those guilty will not inherit the kingdom of heaven. Drunkenness is intoxication which hinders the ability of the mind to clearly discern right from wrong and exercise the self-control to do right.
1 Peter 4:3 – For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles--when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.
1 Peter 5:8 – Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. One who is sober is not intoxicated, and one who is intoxicated is not sober. God forbids intoxicating drugs because they hinder sobriety and vigilance making a person vulnerable to the temptations of Satan.
1 Peter 1:13-16 – Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."
Conclusion
King Heroin is my shepherd. I shall always want.
He maketh me to lie down in the gutters.
He leadeth me beside the troubled waters.
He destroyeth my soul.
He leadeth me in the paths of wickedness.
Yea, I shall walk through the valley of poverty and will fear no evil,
for thou, Heroin, are with me.
Thy Needle and Capsule comfort me.
Thou strippest the table of groceries in the presence of my family.
Thou robbest my head of reason.
My cup of sorrow runneth over.
Surely heroin addiction shall stalk me all the days of my life
And I will dwell in the House of the Damned forever.
- “Dear Abby,” Ft. Wayne News-Sentinel, 5/80.
Romans 13:12-14 – The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
God’s word is always right. Those who trust God and are wise will avoid intoxicating drugs regardless of what civil law says.
Are you living your life in obedience to God’s word
For further study read our article about drug abuse at https://gospelway.com/morality/drug_abuse.php
(c) Copyright David E. Pratte, 2025; gospelway.com
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