Religious communities consider how much faith to put in marijuana

PHILADELPHIA – Karen Michaels recently attended a conference about cannabis and various religions' views on it at a Philadelphia synagogue. She knows she was there because she has the notes she wrote. But she can't recall a minute of it.

The former community health administrator from Fairmount, Pa., has no short-term memory. It was violently snatched away from her in a 1990 car accident, which also left her in constant pain.

To reduce her dependence on opiates, last year Michaels tried medical marijuana. The resulting relief, she says, was akin to "a miracle" — a blessing from a plant world whose creator "doesn't make junk."

Although Michaels said she can't say for certain whether God endorses medical marijuana, she is one of a growing number of users who believe that faith communities must lend their voices, however conflicting, to the debate over the legalization of cannabis. The issues encompass sacred texts about pain and suffering, obedience to religious and governmental laws, and social justice questions about who must pay a criminal price and who may turn a profit.

Staying quiet, Michaels contends, isn't an option: "When we meet our maker, we are responsible not only for things we have done, but also the things we haven't done."

About 65% of Americans believe smoking marijuana is "morally acceptable," while 31% say it isn't, according to a 2018 Gallup survey. A 2016 study by the conservative Christian polling organization Barna Group found that among practicing Christians generally, 34% favored legalization; among evangelicals in particular, the number dipped to 16%.

Marijuana use has been intrinsic to some faiths' practices for centuries, said Chris Bennett, author of "Green Gold the Tree of Life: Marijuana in Magic and Religion." Taoist texts dating to the 4th century mention cannabis. Bhang, an edible preparation of the plant, is consumed during the Hindu festival of Holi. Rastafarians view its use as a sacrament bringing them closer to God.

Mainstream denominations tend to take nuanced stances on weed. The Unitarian Universalist Association has backed full legalization since 2002, but most faith groups separate their positions on medical marijuana, now legal in 33 states including Pennsylvania and New Jersey, from adult recreational use, permissible in 11 states.

For instance, the Presbyterian Church (USA), United Methodist Church, United Church of Christ, Episcopal Church, Union for Reform Judaism and Progressive National Baptist Convention support the use of medical marijuana but stop there. The Roman Catholic Church has declared drug use a "grave offense" except when used "on strictly therapeutic grounds."

Last year, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints backed the legalization of medical marijuana in Utah, even though it has banned cannabis use for Mormons since the early 1900s.

Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, calls marijuana a mind-altering substance producing the same effect as drunkenness, which the Bible opposes. Focus on the Family, a conservative Christian group, questions marijuana's medical benefits and argues that it's harmful and addictive. But Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson, also a conservative, told the New York Times in 2012 that he supported legalization, with marijuana treated like an alcoholic beverage.

In Islam, scholars don't agree. Drinking alcohol is prohibited. Pot use "is similar because it can change levels of consciousness," impairing the ability to make moral choices, said Katherine Klima of Cherry Hill, a medical ethicist and former director of nursing at the National Guard Hospital in Medina, Saudi Arabia.