Listen:  33 Question 2

I’m not sure which verses your friend was referring to when mentioning marijuana in the Bible.  I have seen people quote Genesis 1:29 as saying that pot was given to us by the Lord.  That says, “And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.”  Since marijuana is an herb, some take this as license from the Lord to use it in a recreational manner.  Marijuana is being used for its medicinal properties in treating glaucoma.  It is also thought to be helpful in easing nausea that comes from chemotherapy treatments.  So, there does seem to be a proper use for marijuana in treating patients, but not for recreation.  Why not?  Well, let’s look at the scriptures.

Romans 13:1 says, “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.”  We are to obey our laws as we are here instructed by God’s Word.  When the Apostle Paul wrote this to the Roman Christians, the Roman government was terribly corrupt and evil.  Yet, Paul exhorts the believers to obey the law.  In almost every state in the US, marijuana is illegal.  As believers on the Lord Jesus Christ, if we break the law, we are sinning against the Lord.  There is only one instance where we are given permission to disobey our laws.  If the law should try to make us do something that was in direct opposition to the Word of God, then we should disobey.  Let’s read Acts 5:27-29, “And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them, Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.”

There is not a single account of the use of marijuana or cannabis in the Bible.  Alcohol is the only drug openly mentioned in the scriptures, so we can use that as a reference in our understanding of using drugs in a recreational manner.  Ephesians 5:18 tells us, “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.”  The scriptures condemn drunkenness.  The Lord wants us to always be in complete control of our faculties.  To be under the control of a drug, is to be out of the control of the mind of the Lord.  There was a proper use for alcohol as we read in Paul’s words to young Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:23 which says, “Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.”  However, to be drunk was strictly forbidden.  Our influence is to be totally of the Lord, not of alcohol or drugs.

We are warned against the improper use of drugs in Galatians 5:19-21 which says, “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”  In this portion, the Greek word for witchcraft is ‘pharmakeia’ from which we get our word ‘pharmacy’.  So, here we are cautioned about the improper use of drugs.

I hope this helps you see that there is no scripture showing the recreational use of marijuana in Bible times, nor allowing it in our day.  (33.2)