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It's time we were more honest about marijuana

EDITOR, The Tribune

Nowadays, almost daily, the marijuana debate is in the news, and quite often it makes headline news. For various reasons, especially perceived economic benefit, some are arguing for marijuana to be legalised. But, in my opinion, what is missing from much of the debate is honesty about marijuana and its affects on those who use it and our society.

For example, one of the arguments that caught my attention is the view that marijuana is a Rastafarian sacrament and is akin to wine used in the Christian sacrament of the Lord’s Supper; therefore, marijuana should be legalised for Rastafarians. This position as reported in the press reflects a lack of appreciation for the significance of the Christian sacrament and the fundamental distinction between partaking of the sacrament as compared to the use of psychoactive substances in other religions.

Christians are called to be sober-minded, dignified, and self-controlled (see Titus 2:1-8); therefore, it logically follows that using wine to intoxicate those who participate in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is contrary to Scripture, and it does not happen in faithful churches. And the alcohol content and quantity of the wine given to parishioners makes intoxication virtually impossible. Further, Christians do not take the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper by themselves, whenever and wherever they want to. Instead, they partake of the Lord’s Supper when the church is gathered for that purpose, typically on a weekly or a monthly basis.

On the other hand, can the “marijuana is akin to wine” advocates honestly say that avoiding intoxication is a goal of those who claim marijuana as their sacrament? They cannot. And can they honestly say that those who claim marijuana as their sacrament partake of it in community under the supervision of their spiritual leaders at a scheduled time? They cannot. Why then are they making the false comparison between marijuana as it is used by Rastafarians in their religion (individually and whenever and wherever they want) and wine as it is used by Christians in the Lord’s Supper (corporately when the church is gathered)?

My own view is that the “legalise marijuana for religious purposes” argument, just like the “legalise marijuana for medicinal purposes” argument, is just more mud in debate waters to distract us from the most frequently espoused argument: Legalise marijuana for the economic benefits. And I’m in sheer amazement at how the thinking of those who believe we should legalise marijuana in an attempt to reap economic benefits is really no different from drug traffickers who insisted and continue to insist on engaging in their trade because of the money to be earned, while being indifferent to the lives they were destroying and continue to destroy. Like the drug traffickers, those currently advocating for marijuana to be legalised for economic reasons don’t think it will destroy the lives of the people they love, and they don’t care about other people who will be negatively affected. This is beyond sad.

There is one group of persons whose voice I’m particularly eager to hear in the marijuana debate, and it’s the psychiatrists who work at Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre. They have a front row seat observing and working with a high number of cannabis-induced psychosis patients, many of whom are young people. But they are civil servants, so they won’t speak out of turn. Therefore, I urge the Bahamas National Commission on Marijuana to invite those psychiatrists to a publicised town hall meeting and allow them to add their voice to the marijuana debate and to answer questions from the general public.

Finally, for those who may have missed it and are interested in reading some honest thoughts about the effect of marijuana on users and their communities, I commend an opinion piece published in the Guardian on January 15, 2018 under the title “A Voice and the Need for the Weed”. In addition to citing credible research on the health effects of marijuana, the writer makes a compelling case to show that legalising marijuana would be bad for The Bahamas for several reasons.

The reasons given are so compelling that the writer confidently repeated this conviction throughout the article: “In The Bahamas the people in charge will listen to the voices, note the research and connect the dots.” If the writer is correct, which I pray, the people in charge will note the research and connect the dots and arrive at the solution which is in the best interest of the broader community. If they are convinced that there is medicinal benefit to be gained by some through using marijuana, they should craft responsible legislation to allow that benefit to be gained by them.

Meanwhile, I urge those who are called by Christ’s name to pray for our leaders to do what is best for our country as they consider this far reaching issue of marijuana, an evaluation that cannot be properly made by allowing money to be the deciding factor. Let’s pray that they will be honest about it.

PASTOR CEDRIC MOSS

Nassau

July 12, 2019

Comments

happyfly 5 years, 5 months ago

Dear Cedric

I do not contest your opinion on the negative affects of Marijuana on young minds. The 500 lb gorilla in the room is the "WAR ON DRUGS". Since the 70's, an unimaginable amount of resources have been thrown at the crusade against the use of dangerous drugs. 50 years and billions and billions of dollars have been spent. Wasted. Countless people locked up and thrown away the key. Many guilty, many just because they are poor and black. Trillions of dollars seized. Entire shifts in international banking compliance laws around the world. The wider population's civil rights have been eroded. I could go on and on and the global drug problem just gets worse and worse. Even when the government forces have small victories like diminishing the supply of Extacy on the streets by making it harder to get the raw materials to produce it - the drug dealers just make more dangerous synthetic versions in its place. Instead of MDMA its a cocktail of methamphet and fentanyl. Instead of being harmful it is now downright lethal. So I am sorry but it is so easy to SAY NO to drugs but they are here, all around us. Cocaine has never been more prevalent and so cheap on the streets of Nassau than right now. High grade pot is flooding into this country from all directions including the USA now. So what is continuing to do the same thing that we have been doing going to achieve? Should we lock more kids up. Execute dealers for selling a single joint. Forego more of our civil rights so that people who want to smoke pot can't smoke pot. I don't really know what the answer is but doing the same thing for another 50 years and hoping the problem will fix itself is madness. In Portugal, they tried something crazy. They legalized all drugs and diverted all of the funds that were being spent on the war, towards healing and reintegrating addicts back into society - and it is working. This approach is factually decreasing that countries drug problems. Now that has got to be an honest approach

hrysippus 5 years, 5 months ago

Het Hippyfly, nicely put but religious people are rarely open to rational arguments. Faith trumps logic every time.

Porcupine 5 years, 5 months ago

Education and reason should lead a community into the future. The Bahamas and other nations that have allowed the "pastors" and religious leaders to have a prominent voice in "nation building" are exactly where a thinking person would suspect they would be. That we lag so far behind in most every metric available to measure a country's status should lead thinking people to a reasonable conclusion. We can't even count change and keep lights on, and yet we are supposed to be able to make "moral" decisions. Give me a break. If religious people were honest, they would realize they can't even manage their own lives, families and communities, yet seek to poke their noses into what I should or shouldn't do. Show me honest pastors and I'll show you someone worth listening to. What Mr. Moss would like us to do is to keep our minds mired in ancient thinking. The results are exactly what we read in our daily papers. Utter social failure.

joeblow 5 years, 5 months ago

Moss is talking about marijuana and its pitfalls, and others rant about religion. If religion is the cause of our social and moral decline then why were the social problems that now plague us LESS rampant when MORE people adhered to those religious teachings 30, 40, 50 years ago. We had less teen age pregnancy, fewer single parent homes, more respectful and sensible young people than we do today simply because more people practiced what they were taught. Hypocrisy is not found exclusively in religious societies! Isn't that at rational and truthful argument?

In truth, I would take the Bahamas 50 years ago over the moral cesspools most progressive societies now are.!

JackArawak 5 years, 5 months ago

the minute I saw a biblical quote I stopped reading

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