Is Smoking Marijuana a Sin?

Is smoking marijuana a sin? Well, you used to be able to say "Yes, because it's illegal," and that would be that. But now that marijuana is legal medicinally and recreationally, is it still sin? Yes -- 1 Corinthians 6:12, "All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything."

Often marijuana is compared to drinking alcohol or caffeine, but they are not the same. You can drink a glass of wine and not get drunk, or have a cup of coffee and still operate heavy machinery. But if you take one puff on a joint or take one bite of Aunt Mary Jane's special brownies, you get high.

The whole point of marijuana is to alter the consciousness, which diminishes your thinking and functioning. While God does not put an absolute prohibition on drinking alcohol, it is always sin to be intoxicated. Drunkenness -- whether by the vine or the weed! -- is not of the Spirit but of the flesh. Those who do it will not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19-21).

But marijuana is a plant, and it was made by God, so that makes it good for us! Yeah, there are plenty of poisonous plants you don't apply that logic to. Adam and Eve ate of a forbidden plant. How did that turn out for them?

1 Peter 4:1-5 says to no longer live for human passions but for the will of God. Unbelievers live in sensuality, passions, intoxication, and lawless idolatry. "They are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you. But they will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead."

The Bible says to "Be sober-minded" (1 Peter 1:13, 4:7, 5:8) and "have the mind of Christ" (Philippians 2:5). Your mind should not be mastered by anything else, when we understand the text.