Consuming true medicine: Why Catholics should oppose legalizing marijuana - Catholic World Report

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Within this multiyear Eucharistic Revival, we should not lone foster devotion to the sacrament we admit arsenic the root and acme of our faith, but we indispensable besides region the obstacles that support america from benefiting from this “medicine of immortality” (St. Ignatius of Antioch, “Letter to the Ephesians,” c. 100AD). We judge that we person recovered the existent medicine that recreates us, transforming america into what we consume, the precise assemblage of our Creator, and, therefore, indispensable reason each mendacious substitutes. False medicine poisons the soul.

We go what we consume. Eating steadfast nutrient makes the assemblage strong, portion eating junk nutrient leads to upset wrong the body. Even worse, consuming things that blatantly harm our wellness and impair our caput represent a sedate sin, harming some assemblage and soul. As a remedy, however, God has fixed america his ain beingness to consume. In the Eucharist, Jesus provides his ain assemblage and humor to devour nether the quality of breadstuff of vino truthful that becoming what we consume, we whitethorn stock successful his ain beingness — 1 with him successful body, caput and soul. Through the communion with Christ it offers, the Eucharist enables america to look the temptations and difficulties that travel on with our regular bread.

A mendacious eating oregon depletion of what is harmful to assemblage and soul, however, presents america with a temptation to flight from difficulties. Drugs connection a mendacious medicine that screen implicit difficulties without genuinely addressing their origin oregon providing immoderate spot to flooded them. While the Eucharist transforms us, drugs deform america into a shadiness of ourselves, not much but little alive. Young radical crook to drugs retired of boredom oregon distress, looking for thing more, seeking a feeling that transcends mean beingness done its strength to chopped done suffering and meaninglessness. This lasts lone for a time, as, erstwhile the feeling leaves, the 2nd authorities is worse than the first. The Eucharist, though often received arsenic if mean bread, genuinely satisfies the transcendent longing successful america that pulls america beyond the mundane.

The devastation of drugs tin beryllium seen without overmuch effort anyplace you crook successful our country. Overdoses, addiction, homelessness, destroyed lives — each of these things person lone go worse successful the propulsion implicit the past decennary to legalize drugs, particularly but not exclusively marijuana (see the metropolis of Denver and the authorities of Oregon for the astir utmost examples). The increasing tolerance to this demolition comes from a mendacious compassion and individualism, allowing radical to take a means of seeking alleviation from suffering. We are not helping people, however, by indulging this mendacious freedom. We are misusing drugs some medicinally and recreationally, portion reasoning that we are helping radical debar suffering.

Are drugs existent medicine? Medicine leads to healing and promotes a close ordering of the body. The usage of drugs for medicinal purposes does not fulfill either of these goals, due to the fact that alternatively of improving a problem, they pb the caput to debar the issue. The “side effect” is impairing our rational faculty, the highest facet of who we are, done which we cognize the information and subordinate to God. Likewise, we tin ask, bash drugs truly supply recreation? Although we presumption recreation arsenic an enjoyable activity, its etymology, to beryllium recreated, points to a renewal of assemblage and caput done leisure. Recreation pulls america retired of frenetic enactment to what is much important — prayer, family, the quality of quality and culture. Drugs bash nary specified thing, but trap america wrong ourselves, breaking our narration to God and others, making it harder to prosecute successful the actions that substance most.

The Eucharist is the existent medicine that re-creates us. But to person the graces of the Eucharist, we person to dice to ourselves. Many of america bash not acquisition its transforming effects due to the fact that we stay attached to the world, seeking different self-made remedies, if not drugs, past attachments to comfort, distractions, amusement and success. Legalizing marijuana and different drugs, which we erstwhile again spot connected the ballot this November, offers a mendacious solution, an anti-medicine that volition lone further degrade our society. Although we find ourselves much and much astatine likelihood with our culture, it would beryllium a calamity to enactment thing that’s truthful intelligibly harmful for people.

Living successful Colorado, I person seen firsthand the harmful effects of legalizing marijuana: expanding ER visits adjacent for children, much teens and adults experimenting with drugs (marijuana is a gateway drug), higher rates of car crashes, accrued (not decreased arsenic we were promised) enactment of cartels and a wide deterioration of culture. The results are successful if anyone cares to observe. Legalization fits with the wide tolerance of our culture, though this benignant of toleration rapidly turns into chaos. As Catholics, we person the reply to our culture’s problems, and the Eucharistic Revival gives a accidental to showcase the existent medicine of quality life.