This one could get me in trouble.

I like trouble… so here we go.

I’ve been thinking  lot about the legalization of marijuana.

While I have not completely arrived at a conclusion, I’d like to think out loud with you on this blog.

Let me tell you two things about me and Mary Jane (aka “marijuana”).

• I do not partake and have not in over twenty years.
• In the past, I have partaken greatly.

The following are my jumbled thoughts, some of which subject to change upon further thought and more information:

Drugs made in factory and sold over the counter are okay, but drugs grown in a field (or a special lab) are not? Have you read/heard the side effects of much of what we give to our kids and our sleep deprived, overweight, highly stressed selves?

I have yet to meet, though there may be some, a highly motivated individual who is smoking marijuana. BUUUUTTTT… I’ve also seen over-prescribed prescription meds drain initiative from kids and adults.

Marijuana as a pain killer? Maybe a legitimate point. People take prescription pain killers every day that are addictive in nature and which can lead to some really destructive behavior. I can’t imagine how marijuana would be any worse.

I’ve heard that it’s a “gateway drug”, and I can point to plenty of people as anecdotal evidence that it is. However, I smoked marijuana every day for several years… and never did anything more. (My bride says I may have roasted out some brain cells in the process). So I, for one, am evidence that smoking marijuana does not NECESSARILY lead to other drugs.

Now some more thoughts…

Marijuana as stress relief = not a good idea. Neither is alcohol or any other drug. God wants to be that for us (Ephesians 5:18, et. al.). He wants us to draw peace and joy from Him and the community of friends we surround ourselves with.

The arguments for marijuana that suggest we stand to gain tax dollars and lower incarceration rates… eh. They don’t hold a lot of weight with me. I don’t want to go into detail on these two here, but neither one of these is a game-changer for me… at this point.

Gonna get a little controversial here…

Christians who vehemently oppose the legalization of marijuana should ask themselves this…

Do I self-medicate with food? Is my lack of self control with chocolate milk and Little Debbie’s causing me to need prescription drugs that I take without a second thought while criticizing the cancer patient who is looking for pain relief that does not come from a pharmaceutical company?

Where in the Scriptures can I justify the claim that “smoking marijuana is wrong”?

How’s everybody doing out there? Good? Ya’ll mad? I’ll bet the pot smokers and prescription drug takers aren’t, but how are the rest of you? 😉

OK, let’s have some dialogue here! A couple of ground rules first though…

• Be nice. If you are mean I’ll delete you. And I MEAN that. 😉
• Be thoughtful.
• Don’t tear other people down on my social media space.
• Be willing to listen to what each person says.

I haven’t drawn any hard conclusions yet, but I think we need to think through this together.

Ready? Go!