Pot Capitulation

It was bound to happen. One political leader after another has capitulated on the marijuana legalization issue, including our ex-pot-head President. I suppose it was only a matter of time before certain Christian leaders would follow. Some would rather not be seen as the Carrie Nation-kind, striving for what they think is a pointless Prohibition. Others decry the incarceration of too many youth, thrown into prisons for possession, only to learn how to be career criminals. Those who formerly opposed the legalization of pot, like the Republican Party have votes in mind. Some in the Tea Party are expressing Libertarian sentiments. But some Christian Leaders such as Mark DeMoss and Pat Robertson seem to be testing the waters of evangelical opinion. So, if there are any are questions about where I stand on the legalization of recreational weed, the answer is NO, NO, NO! (Legitimate medical use as a controlled substance monitored by the medical community, not pseudo-medical head shops, is another matter.)

Consumption will be directly proportional to the degree of legalization. Which drugs addicts will be deterred because their source of getting high is suddenly easier to obtain? The Centers for Disease Control calculate that excessive drinking costs the United States $223.5 billion annually and the government pays more than 60 percent of these health care costs. And we should add marijuana to that mix? Of course alcohol is a worse problem than pot, as Mr. Obama argues. THAT’S BECAUSE IT’S LEGAL! Legalize marijuana across the country and the next generation will be . . .  I don’t even want to think about it. Among cannabis users in treatment in the United States, 80.5% are not married, 90% have obtained an education of 12 years or less; 25% are unemployed (too stoned). Of the cannabis users who entered treatment services from 2000 to 2008, nearly a quarter report psychiatric problems.

I’ve dealt with the issues of weed’s physical and mental impairments before (“Obama on Pot” January 22, 2014 – to read CLICK HERE). But my point in this blog is that anyone involved in addiction rehabilitation or intervention ministry knows all too well the dangers of legalizing marijuana. Ironically, the same time that noted evangelicals are soft-peddling pot, the CVS Pharmacy chain announced that it would stop selling cigarettes by the end of the year! What kind of moral schizophrenia is gripping our country? Hardly a day goes by that I don’t deal with someone bound by demons and addictions, and the majority began down that road with the purple haze of pot. This isn’t an issue of just another culture war. This is a battle for the soul of America. Based on nearly four decades of deliverance I can tell you that Jack Daniels may or may not get you a demon, but the risk of invasion by an evil spirit is multiplied many fold with every toke taken.  We have a society on the edge of moral collapse Must we seek rationales for legalizing yet one more highway to hell?