Expert: Carl Fuglein - 2/2/2002

Question
Hi, i'm currently a student at University studying criminology.  I am working on a project on the legilisation of soft drugs, can you please give mew the religious viewpoint on this issue.

Many Thanks

Answer
Hi, Rebecca-

From a religious point of view, I think I Corinthians 6:19-20 pretty much says it all:

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."

I think that we need to be conservative in all aspects of life.  The Bible is clear that God comes first (see the First Commandment - "I am the Lord Thy God - Thou shalt have no other Gods before thee."  

Whenever we do anything that takes us away from honoring God, it's wrong. Having a drink is not wrong - having 6 is.  Is smoking pot wrong?  Tough call from a religious point of view - the Bible talks about being drunk, but never mentions drugs specifically.  But I think that smoking pot, smoking cigarettes, abusing alcohol are all wrong.  And yes, I have smoked pot (once, many years ago- didn't like it much), I smoked for 16 years when I was young and stupid, and I abused alcohol for a number of years.  I have an occasional beer or margarita, and that's it.  I think the point from a religious point of view is that you have to decide what is harmful to your body, and what is honoring God.  It's a tough call.

As for soft drugs specifically, it is up to mankind to formulate their own laws.  And Jesus tells us to follow Caesar (i.e., the government)  in Matthew 22:21b:  Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."  This means that we should follow the government's laws.

As for my own personal opinion - I think the government (i.e., us) is all screwed up - we tax cigarettes and ban smoking, and subsidize tobacco growers.  We outlaw weed, but serve mass quantities of alcohol at public functions.  I'm sort of on the fence about some soft drugs - marijuana, in my opinion, when taken in moderation, doesn't cause as many problems in this country as drunk drivers, but I don't know where you draw the line.



Hope I've helped - please take the time to rate my answer.

God's blessing on your career choice - criminology is a tough one, and I respect you for it.

Carl