Is Marijuana Evil?

[rica]

I know this is an unfair question that will have subjective answers but I am looking for honest feedback and experiences. I had an experience about 7 years ago - after smoking one night I had a horrible feeling of guilt and shame that was unbearable. I drove to my parents house and confessed to my Dad that I was stoned looking for answers for this horrible guilt. I remeber him giving me a hug, flushed the rest of my bag down the toilet and I went back to my apartment. That night I was on my knees crying and praying for help and forgiveness when I felt a hand stroking the back of my head; then had a vision of myself standing with thousands of people (unsure if it was in a giant room or field?) when I heard my name being called out from the sky above. I was lifted in the air and saw others being lifted as their names were called out also. I was about to explode with joy before my vision/dream ended.

I smoke about 2-3x a year since the experience above and every time the guilt is horrible. The reason for smoking is I crave the state of mind I am in where life slows down. I am able to analyze so much in detail but EVERYTHING I see and hear is processed in my mind as right and wrong - good vs evil. I explain it to my freinds and family as putting on a pair of glasses and seeing everything in life in a totally different way. My life is so hectic and I feel like it is flying by without me being emotionally connected and this is the rationalization excuse I tell myself when I break down and smoke again. Here comes vision #2, about 4 years ago after a night of smoking with a friend I see God opening the Book of Life and I'm unsure if he crossed my name out or sort of ticked my name as sort of demerit, recording my willful decision to smoke that night.

The craving to slow things down, to analyze my life, where am I going, experiencing the world and my environment with "the glasses on" always breaks me dowm every 4-9 months to smoke again but the guilt afterwards is unbearable.

I have listened to and agree that it's natural / a plant, alcohol is worse, etc. but deep down my soul is telling me it is wrong/evil. Here is my own honest opinion = In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve ate forbidden fruit (it does not mention an apple as most people believe) which provided them to be able to know good and evil and they felt horrible guilt after. My experiences with pot clearly showed me everthing as good vs. evil while being stoned followed with the feeling of guilt.

My question is - are pot/drugs the forbidden fruit? Is it my Catholic upbringing, guilt instilled by my parents that affected my altered state while being stoned? The friends I smoke with laugh when I explained my experiences and opinions telling me I have it all wrong and I am just being paranoid. I truly think God is speaking to me and it is written on my soul that it is wrong. I am not trying pass judgement, I am just seeking others opinions and experiences.

 

[U2Kitten]

A quote I saw on the cover of a High Times magazine as a kid:

"Man made liquor. God made pot. Who do you trust?"

I am not a pot fan, but I don't see what's so evil about it, high people are usually more mellow and cheery than your average drunk. If booze and cigarettes are legal, why not? Too many people are in jail for pot and I don't see what the big deal is.

 

[jer2911]

Rica,

Here is one angle. I assume that you are a Christian, or at least have leanings that way. That said, if you feel that God is speaking to your heart that pot is wrong for you, then it is wrong for you.....no matter if someone else feels it is o.k. for them. I know that sounds like a simple answer, but I do believe that is what it boils down to. If you own a Bible, check out James 4:17.

As a Christian myself, my feeling is that anything that controls my body/mind is wrong for me, because I have the holy spirit living in me. I look at James 4:17 when I have a feeling in my gut that I shouldn't be doing something. This my personal conviction and it isn't always easy , but I pray that you may be able to settle on a conviction for your life also.

 

[rica]

Thanks for the reply but I am not speaking in terms of legal or man-made laws (which I agree the govt has no right controlling what an individual wants to do with their own body if it does not affect anybody else) I am aksing about opinions or experiences of right and wrong. spiritually, your soul, your conscience

 

[rica]

jer2911 - you must have posted while I was writing my response to U2Kitten. I read that verse and can see how this would aplly to my situation. I was just seeking if anybody else had same/similar expereinces or if it was just me. Thanks

 

[diamond]

rica,
i hate the high from pot.
i get very confused, guilty and paranoid.

i don't think u should smoke it.
i also think it effects ppl differently, and the way it effects you and i, we should not partake.

your friend,
diamond

 

[indra]

I have no problem with it, morally or otherwise, but if you do, then it is best not to use it.

 

[U2democrat]

one of my friends who smokes pot is just like that. she'll lean on my shoulder (when she's straight) and be like "i'm gonna go to hell" because of her pot-smoking. i tell her if she feels that way to stop smoking. she has in fact been cutting back.

 

[Dutch Partygirl]

If you go to hell for smoking pot, than I'm probably living in hell right now (not that I'm stoned, but I live in Amsterdam where most tourists only visit for the legal pot, so you can imagine the amount that's being smoked in this city every day).

I don't think it's wrong, I think it's peoples own choices. If you don't feel comfortable, don't do it. On the contrary to what lots of people think about the Dutch (legal pot = smoking every day) I only smoke it twice a year or something like that. I don't see anything wrong with it. I've seen people acting a lot weirder on alcohol than on pot.

 

[carrieluvv]

Rica , my expirience with it is probably as close to yours as it could possibly get.
its part of your concious speaking to you and that includes god.

ive gotten answers to questions that i really struggled with when i was high.

illegal drugs are evil in a way . people die for them not just by doing them but drug deals gone bad or drug addicts stealing from people ..all kinds of sad stuff happens, the drugs take over peoples lives

but as to what you expirience in your head , I know just what your talking about - you have epiphanys - and its not even to something you were searching for...but it just comes to you- sometimes your glad for it sometimes your not. as for the visions-
I had one when i was trying to go to sleep high
which was very hard for me to do
I imagined everyone in my neighborhood cozy in thier beds and sleeping...all the dogs were asleep , cats...the whole place was safe and sound and then i fell asleep

I used to enjoy smoking pot with my sister ..we used to have a good laugh and all of that- but ya know the shit ya go through to score and stuff..its a big waste of time. and you can enjoy life just as much without.

ive also been raised catholic and i know all about the guilt thing.
I know exactly where you are coming from , I dont know if you can tell by my reply to your post, but i can totally see where your coming from

I feel compelled to add though , that it doesnt sound like you over indulge in it...you say you only smoke it every so often and if that makes ya feel guilty then you dont really have what most people would see as being a problem
I know people who do it daily througout the day ...or knew people who did it that way...dunno if they do now or what but...I just felt like adding that

 

[melon]

I am/was Catholic, and I understand how that "guilt" goes. Truthfully, I grew to resent the faith, because of it. I was always better at Protestant individualism.

Anyway, I will say that I don't like pot from a health and perhaps legal point-of-view. But morally? Please. If pot is going to send you to hell, then I expect legions and legions of tobacco smokers to join you. Vatican City even sold tobacco products up to sometime in the last ten years. Just because Western society has put a value judgment against pot does not mean that God shares that view.

As for your "visions," it is chemical. Marijuana tinkers with your serotonin levels and releases dopamine. Your serotonin levels are likely too high when you take it, which can spark nightmarish dreams (which you seem to have), and, if especially high, that's where hallucinations come from. This is why, from a health POV, I don't like it.

Stop the guilt. You have no reason to be guilty. The marijuana is feeding off of your subconscious guilt and then you start thinking it's a "vision." In other words, it's a self-fulfilling prophesy. God has nothing to do with it.

Melon

 

[JessicaAnn]

Try signing up for yoga classes ... seriously. Check with your local YMCA or your gym.

My job can be rather stressful and at times it seems like I have so much going on in my life (outside of the office) that things feel like they are swirling out of control. I have found that the hour or two I spend in yoga is incredibly refreshing and allows me to clear my mind.

 

[Liesje]

I don't think it's inherently evil...it's the addiction/escape from reality aspect that I think is dangerous and extremely unhealthy. If you're smoking pot to escape from things that really need to be dealt with, that's a problem (and for me this applies to anything used for that prupose - any drug, alchohol, porn, greed...). Like carrieluvv said, it's just not worth the risk. There are an abundance of healthy activities that also help clear the mind and reduce stress.