What If Jesus Told You To Legalize Marijuana?

What If Jesus Told You To Legalize Marijuana?

What if Jesus Told You To Legalize Marijuana and Help the Sick? from CannabisNet on Vimeo.

Pat Robertson, of the 700 Club fame and Christian evangelist, just might be onto something. He’s one of many influential religious leaders who can see the pot of gold in marijuana legalization.

He’s told the New York Times that he agrees it should be decriminalized: “I really believe we should treat marijuana the way we treat beverage alcohol.” he also adds, “I’ve never used marijuana and I don’t intend to, but it’s just one of those things that I think: this war on drugs just hasn’t succeeded.” We agree with Mr. Robertson: the war on drugs is failing resulting in people losing access to an important medicine and it’s even costing taxpayers millions.

Other pro-marijuana legalization Christians tend to refer to Genesis 1:29, and believe that it means God does not disapprove of consuming plants similar to marijuana. The Bible verse says: “And God said, Behold, I have given you every plant bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, which has seed in its fruit; to you it shall be for food.”

christian fellowship

In fact, the highly-debated subject has even spawned organizations and websites where pro-marijuana Christians can gather, as they all have the same belief that it’s completely acceptable to get high on pot, such as the Christian Cannabis Fellowship. Earlier this year, the Sisters of the Valley group of nuns in California made headlines because of their marijuana cultivation activities. By growing medical marijuana themselves that they use to make tinctures, lotions, and other CBD products, the sisters work on healing and alleviating suffering by spreading the use of cannabis products. The plants are grown on their land, harvested based on the lunar cycle, and are even prayed over. The sisters however, do wear modern clothing and aren’t affiliated with the Catholic church.

Texas State Rep. David Simpson who also happens to be a Tea Party member and a known conservative Christian, also gave his input on marijuana reform last year. In an interview with the Daily Beast, Simpson referred to Timothy 4:4 which simply states: “everything God created is good.” Simpson interprets this to say that everything God created, including cannabis, is good.

Holy Use Of Cannabis

nuns for cannabis

Carl A.P. Ruck, who teaches classical studies at Boston University, wrote a book entitled Apples of Apollo: Pagan and Christian Mysteries of the Eucharist. In the book he discusses how pot was actually used by biblical figures, particularly as an ingredient for incense and even in anointing oil; two significant tools and rituals that are used by Catholics. According to Ruck, marijuana was popularly cultivated during early Christianity and suggests that even Jesus used some of the green stuff. Jesus was anointed with chrism, an oil that was infused with cannabis, and this may have actually lead to his spiritual visions.

In a 2003 newspaper column called “Was there a whiff of cannabis about Jesus?” he writes: “Residues of cannabis, moreover, have been detected in vessels from Judea and Egypt in a context indicating its medicinal, as well as visionary, use. Jesus is described by the apostle Mark as casting out demons and healing by the use of this holy chrism.” He also adds, “Earlier, from the time of Moses until the later prophet Samuel, holy anointing oil was used by the shamanic Levite priesthood to receive the ‘revelations of the Lord.’ The chosen ones were drenched in this potent cannabis oil.”

Many other religious groups actually do support the legalization of marijuana; for them, the burning issue is not considered a hazy topic.

And they’re not the only ones….

The Unitarians, easily known for being one of the most liberal denominations, has always had a progressive view towards cannabis. Their 1970’s general assembly came up with a resolution, which states “the present local, state or provincial and federal laws in the United States and Canada regarding the growing, sale, trade, possession and consumption of sativa (marijuana) are based largely on public hysteria and myth, rather than on any established data about the effects on the user.”

The Progressive National Baptist Church, the USA Presbyterian Church, and the Episcopal Church support the use of medical marijuana. Among these, it was the Episcopalians who blazed the way by calling the attention of congress in 1982 to legalize the medicinal benefits of the plant in every state. The Progressive National Baptists even declared in 2004, “Licensed medical doctors should not be punished for recommending the medical use of marijuana to seriously ill people, and seriously ill people should not be subject to criminal sanctions for using marijuana if the patient's physician has told the patient that such use is likely to be beneficial.”

Last year, the New England Conference of the United Methodist Church passed a resolution saying it was high time to end marijuana prohibition as well as that of other banned substances.

So Uncle Sam, what would you do now that God is telling you to legalize marijuana?