# Marijuana and the Bible ## Intro The Bible never mentions marijuana. That does not mean it has nothing to say. Scripture speaks plainly about the things that matter here: staying sober and clear-headed, not being controlled by anything except God, caring for the body as God's property, and obeying the law of the land. Those principles apply to cannabis the way they apply to anything else a person might take. Two popular shortcuts fail. One says the Bible condemns drugs by name because the Greek word *pharmakeia* gives us "pharmacy"; the word actually means sorcery. The other says God made the plant, so it must be fine to use; God also made poison ivy. The real question is about use: why someone is taking it, how much, what it does to their mind, and whether it is legal where they live. The hardest and most honest question is the comparison with wine. Scripture allows wine and condemns drunkenness. If a Christian may drink without getting drunk, can a Christian use cannabis without getting high? Many Christian ethicists answer that recreational cannabis is usually taken *for* the high, in a way a glass of wine with dinner is not. That argument, and its limits, is the center of this page. ![Botanical plate of the hemp plant Cannabis sativa, showing a flowering male stem, a seed-bearing female stem, and enlarged flowers and seeds](/codex/assets/cannabis-sativa-kohler-medizinal-pflanzen-1887.jpg) *Cannabis sativa L., plate 13 of Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen (1887), drawn by W. Müller. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (scan: Biodiversity Heritage Library).* ## In full Christian moral reasoning about cannabis (*Cannabis sativa* and related species, whose main psychoactive compound is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, THC, and whose main non-intoxicating compound is cannabidiol, CBD) proceeds by applying biblical principles to a practice Scripture does not name. The relevant principles are: the command to be sober (*nēphō*) and self-controlled; the prohibition of drunkenness ([Ephesians 5:18](/codex/ephesians-5-18/)); the refusal to be "brought under the power" of anything ([1 Corinthians 6:12](/codex/1-corinthians-6-12/)); the body as a temple of the Spirit and the property of God ([1 Corinthians 6:19-20](/codex/1-corinthians-6-19-20/)); submission to civil authority ([Romans 13:1-5](/codex/romans-13-1-5/)); and love toward a weaker brother ([Romans 14:21](/codex/romans-14-21/)). Two arguments often made on each side do not hold: the claim that *pharmakeia* is a biblical ban on recreational drugs, and the claim that [Genesis 1:29](/codex/genesis-1-29/) licenses any use of any plant. With those set aside, the main traditions converge on three conclusions: 1. Use under medical supervision for a genuine therapeutic purpose is not in itself sinful. 2. Use where it is illegal is disobedience to civil authority. 3. Use aimed at intoxication falls under the biblical prohibition of drunkenness by analogy. The live dispute among Christians concerns legal, recreational use that the user claims stays below impairment. The *Catechism of the Catholic Church* (2291) treats the use of drugs, apart from strictly therapeutic grounds, as a grave offense. Many evangelical ethicists reach a similar conclusion through the intoxication argument. A minority of Christian writers argue that the principle is impairment, not the substance. ## The biblical principles ### 1. Sobriety: *nēphō* The verb *nēphō* means literally to be free from intoxication, and in the New Testament it is used figuratively for a clear, watchful, self-possessed mind. - "Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" ([1 Peter 5:8](/codex/1-peter-5-8/), ASV). - "So then let us not sleep, as do the rest, but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that are drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, since we are of the day, be sober" ([1 Thessalonians 5:6-8](/codex/1-thessalonians-5-6-8/), ASV). Paul sets *nēphō* directly against *methyskō*, to be drunk. - "Be ye therefore of sound mind, and be sober unto prayer" ([1 Peter 4:7](/codex/1-peter-4-7/), ASV). Sobriety serves prayer. The point is the purpose of sobriety: a mind alert to spiritual danger and ready for prayer. Whatever a substance does, the question is whether it dulls that watchfulness. ### 2. Not drunk, but filled with the Spirit "And be not drunken with wine, wherein is riot, but be filled with the Spirit" ([Ephesians 5:18](/codex/ephesians-5-18/), ASV). The word translated "riot" (*asōtia*) means dissipation or a life that has lost its restraint. Paul contrasts two kinds of influence over a person. The prohibition names wine because wine was the intoxicant of his world; the principle concerns being under the influence of something other than the Spirit. Drunkards are listed among those who "shall not inherit the kingdom of God" ([1 Corinthians 6:10](/codex/1-corinthians-6-9-10/)), and drunkenness among the works of the flesh ([Galatians 5:21](/codex/galatians-5-19-21/)). ### 3. Not brought under the power of anything "All things are lawful for me; but not all things are expedient. All things are lawful for me; but I will not be brought under the power of any" ([1 Corinthians 6:12](/codex/1-corinthians-6-12/), ASV). There is a wordplay in the Greek: *panta moi exestin* ("all things are permitted to me") answered by *ouk egō exousiasthēsomai* ("I will not be put under the authority of" anything). Even a lawful thing becomes wrong when it starts to rule. This is the text that speaks most directly to dependence. ### 4. The body belongs to God "Know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have from God? and ye are not your own; for ye were bought with a price: glorify God therefore in your body" ([1 Corinthians 6:19-20](/codex/1-corinthians-6-19-20/), ASV). The immediate context is sexual immorality, so the text is not a general health code. But its logic, that the body is God's property and must be used for His glory, extends to any knowing harm done to it. See [Biblical Stewardship](/codex/biblical-stewardship/). ### 5. Obedience to civil law "Let every soul be in subjection to the higher powers: for there is no power but of God... Wherefore ye must needs be in subjection, not only because of the wrath, but also for conscience' sake" ([Romans 13:1-5](/codex/romans-13-1-5/), ASV). The one exception Scripture recognizes is when the state commands what God forbids or forbids what God commands: "We must obey God rather than men" ([Acts 5:29](/codex/acts-5-29/), ASV). No command of God requires the use of cannabis, so where it is illegal, using it is plain disobedience to a legitimate authority. Where it is legal, this argument no longer applies and the others must carry the weight. ### 6. Love for the weaker brother "It is good not to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor to do anything whereby thy brother stumbleth" ([Romans 14:21](/codex/romans-14-21/), ASV); "take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to the weak" ([1 Corinthians 8:9](/codex/1-corinthians-8-9/), ASV). Even where a practice is permitted, the freedom to do it is limited by its effect on others, especially those recovering from addiction. ## Two arguments that fail ### "Pharmakeia means drugs" The argument: the Bible condemns *pharmakeia* ([Galatians 5:20](/codex/galatians-5-20/); [Revelation 9:21](/codex/revelation-9-21/); [Revelation 18:23](/codex/revelation-18-23/)), the word behind "pharmacy," so it condemns recreational drug use. - **What it gets right.** *Pharmakeia* comes from *pharmakon*, "drug, potion, charm," and ancient sorcery often used potions, some of them psychoactive. - **Why it overreaches.** In every New Testament use the word means sorcery or magic. In [Galatians 5:20](/codex/galatians-5-19-21/) it stands next to idolatry, among sins of false religion, and drunkenness is listed separately a verse later. In [Revelation 9:21](/codex/revelation-9-21/) it follows the worship of demons and idols. The Septuagint uses the word group for the "enchantments" of Egypt's magicians ([Exodus 7:11](/codex/exodus-7-11/)) and the "sorceries" of Babylon ([Isaiah 47:9](/codex/isaiah-47-9/), [12](/codex/isaiah-47-12/)). An English derivative cannot fix the meaning of an ancient word. - **What survives.** The occult or harmful use of drugs (to cast spells, to poison, and in early Christian sources to cause abortion) falls within *pharmakeia*. Recreational use does not, unless it is bound up with occult practice. See [G5331 - pharmakeia](/codex/g5331-pharmakeia/). A Christian who argues against cannabis from *pharmakeia* hands an informed opponent an easy win. The better arguments are the ones above. ### "God made the plant" The argument: "I have given you every herb yielding seed... to you it shall be for food" ([Genesis 1:29](/codex/genesis-1-29/), ASV). God made cannabis, so using it is fine. - **The text grants plants as food,** not every possible use of every plant. It says nothing about smoking or about extracting a concentrated intoxicant. - **The argument proves too much.** God made hemlock, the opium poppy and the coca plant. That a plant is created good does not mean every use of it is good. The fall is precisely the story of a good created thing put to a forbidden use, when the tree looked "to be desired to make one wise" ([Genesis 3:6](/codex/genesis-3-6/)). - **The stronger permissive text** is [1 Timothy 4:4-5](/codex/1-timothy-4-4-5/): "every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it be received with thanksgiving" (ASV). Paul is opposing ascetic teachers who banned foods and marriage. The verse establishes that cannabis as a plant is not unclean, which no serious Christian ethicist denies. It does not settle whether getting high is a use that can be received with thanksgiving. ## The alcohol analogy, both ways This is the strongest argument for permissibility, and it deserves a full hearing. **Scripture permits wine.** - God gives "wine that maketh glad the heart of man" ([Psalm 104:15](/codex/psalms-104-15/), ASV). The psalm counts wine's effect on mood among God's gifts. - Jesus turned water into wine at Cana, and the steward praised its quality ([John 2:9-10](/codex/john-2-9-10/)). - Jesus came "eating and drinking," and was slandered as "a gluttonous man, and a winebibber" ([Luke 7:33-34](/codex/luke-7-33-34/), ASV). The slander only works if He drank. - Paul tells Timothy to "use a little wine" for his health ([1 Timothy 5:23](/codex/1-timothy-5-23/)). **Scripture condemns drunkenness.** "Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler" ([Proverbs 20:1](/codex/proverbs-20-1/), ASV); [Proverbs 23:29-35](/codex/proverbs-23-29-35/) describes intoxication and its craving ("When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again"); [Ephesians 5:18](/codex/ephesians-5-18/) forbids it. **So the permissive argument runs:** the Bible allows a mind-altering substance and forbids only its abuse. A mild effect on mood is not sin, since [Psalm 104](/codex/psalms-104/) calls it a gift. Therefore cannabis use that stays below impairment is in the same category as a glass of wine. **The reply most evangelical ethicists give** is that the analogy breaks at the point of purpose. Wine is a food and drink, taken with meals, for taste and fellowship, and in moderate amounts can be consumed with little or no intoxication. Recreational cannabis, on this argument, has no comparable ordinary use apart from its psychoactive effect: the high is not a side effect a user tolerates but the point of using it. If that is right, typical recreational use corresponds not to the glass of wine but to drinking in order to get drunk, which Scripture forbids. The *Catechism of the Catholic Church* (2290-2291) reaches a parallel conclusion: under the virtue of temperance it condemns the *abuse* of food, alcohol, tobacco and medicine, while it treats the use of drugs outside strictly therapeutic grounds as a grave offense in itself. **Where the reply is strongest and where it is weakest.** - It is strong against the most common pattern of recreational use, which is plainly aimed at intoxication, and it is strong given modern potency (see below), which makes "a little" harder to control than a single glass of wine. - It is weaker against non-intoxicating products such as CBD, which have no high to aim at, and against a person who claims a dose low enough to produce no impairment. In the second case the honest response is to ask whether the claim is true, why the person is using it at all, and whether it is legal, rather than to assert that any trace of THC is drunkenness. - People also drink to get a buzz, and that is a real question about alcohol too. The analogy cuts both ways: it permits moderate drinking and it condemns drinking for intoxication, and Christians who drink should apply the same test to themselves. The fair statement is that Scripture's principle is not "no mind-altering substance" but "no intoxication, no mastery, no harm, no lawbreaking, no stumbling block." Most recreational cannabis use fails at least one of those tests. Whether a given case fails depends on facts, not on the plant. ## Medical use Medical and recreational use differ morally, as morphine in a hospital differs from heroin on the street. - **What is approved.** In the United States the FDA has approved a purified cannabidiol (Epidiolex, 2018) for certain severe childhood seizure disorders, and synthetic THC drugs (dronabinol) for chemotherapy nausea and appetite loss. Other medical uses vary by jurisdiction and by the strength of the evidence. - **The principle.** Using a substance to treat illness, under a doctor's direction, at the dose required, is not seeking intoxication even when some psychoactive effect follows, just as a patient on prescribed opioids is not drunk. Scripture itself recommends wine as a remedy ([1 Timothy 5:23](/codex/1-timothy-5-23/)) and strong drink for the dying ([Proverbs 31:6-7](/codex/proverbs-31-6-7/)). - **The caution.** "Medical" can become a label for recreational use. The test is honesty: is there a diagnosed condition, a physician's supervision and a dose aimed at treatment? ## Health evidence The stewardship argument depends on facts about harm. Two findings are well established and widely cited: - **Dependence.** The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that recent research estimates about 3 in 10 people who use marijuana have marijuana use disorder, and that the risk is higher for those who start young and use frequently. This bears directly on [1 Corinthians 6:12](/codex/1-corinthians-6-12/). - **Potency and psychosis.** Di Forti and colleagues, in a multi-site European case-control study (*The Lancet Psychiatry*, 2019), found that daily cannabis use was associated with about three times the odds of a psychotic disorder compared with never using, and daily use of high-potency cannabis with nearly five times the odds. The authors estimated that a substantial share of new cases of psychosis in London and Amsterdam, where high-potency cannabis is common, would not have occurred without it. The study shows association, not proof of causation, but it is one of the strongest pieces of evidence that modern high-THC products carry serious risks for some users. These findings do not make every use sinful. They make it harder to claim that heavy or high-potency recreational use is a harmless exercise of Christian liberty. ## Situations | Situation | Assessment | Main principles | |---|---|---| | CBD product with no THC effect, legal | Not prohibited; no intoxication involved | 1 Timothy 4:4-5 | | Prescribed cannabis or cannabinoid drug for a diagnosed condition, under supervision | Not inherently sinful; treatment, not intoxication | 1 Timothy 5:23; Proverbs 31:6-7 | | Any use where it is illegal | Disobedience to civil authority | Romans 13:1-5 | | Legal recreational use aimed at getting high | Strong grounds to call it sin, by analogy with drunkenness | Ephesians 5:18; 1 Peter 5:8 | | Legal use claimed to stay below impairment | Disputed among Christians; examine the purpose, the honesty of the claim and the effects | 1 Thessalonians 5:6-8; Romans 14:23 | | Regular use that has become hard to stop | Conflicts with refusing to be mastered | 1 Corinthians 6:12 | | Use that knowingly harms health (heavy, high-potency, adolescent, or with a family history of psychosis) | Fails the stewardship test | 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 | | Use before driving, work or caring for others | Wrong regardless of legality; it endangers others | Romans 13:1-5; love of neighbor | | Use around someone recovering from addiction | Wrong even if otherwise permitted | Romans 14:21; 1 Corinthians 8:9 | ## Tactical notes 1. **Drop the pharmakeia argument.** It is linguistically weak, and an informed opponent will use it to discredit everything else said. 2. **Ask the purpose question.** "Why are you using it?" usually settles more than any proof-text. If the answer is "to get high," the drunkenness texts apply directly. 3. **Take the wine argument seriously.** Grant that Scripture permits a mood-altering drink. The disagreement is about intoxication and mastery, and both sides of the analogy should be applied evenly to alcohol as well. 4. **Separate medical from recreational.** Treating them as the same thing is unfair to patients and makes the whole case look careless. 5. **Use the evidence honestly.** The dependence and psychosis findings are real. They are about risk, not certainty, and should be stated that way. ## See also - [G5331 - pharmakeia](/codex/g5331-pharmakeia/), the Greek word behind the "pharmakeia means drugs" claim - [Biblical Stewardship](/codex/biblical-stewardship/), the body as entrusted to us - [Christian Discernment](/codex/christian-discernment/), judging matters Scripture does not name - [Morality](/codex/morality/), the wider frame of Christian ethics - [Grace vs Law](/codex/grace-vs-law/), freedom in Christ and its limits - [Sanctification](/codex/sanctification/), self-control as fruit of the Spirit - [Conscience](/codex/conscience/), "whatsoever is not of faith is sin" - [Occult contact](/codex/occult-contact/), where drug use and sorcery do overlap
## Common questions this page answers **Q: Is smoking weed a sin according to the Bible?** The Bible does not mention marijuana, so the answer comes from its principles. Use aimed at getting high falls under the prohibition of drunkenness ([Ephesians 5:18](/codex/ephesians-5-18/)) and the command to be sober ([1 Peter 5:8](/codex/1-peter-5-8/)), use where it is illegal breaks [Romans 13:1-5](/codex/romans-13-1-5/), and dependent use conflicts with [1 Corinthians 6:12](/codex/1-corinthians-6-12/). Supervised medical use is generally not considered sinful. **Q: Does pharmakeia in the Bible mean drugs?** Not in the sense of recreational drugs. *Pharmakeia* comes from *pharmakon*, "drug, potion, charm," but in every New Testament use it means sorcery or magic, and in [Galatians 5:20](/codex/galatians-5-20/) it stands next to idolatry. It covers the occult or harmful use of drugs, not drug use as such. See [G5331 - pharmakeia](/codex/g5331-pharmakeia/). **Q: If Christians can drink alcohol, why not marijuana?** Scripture permits wine and forbids drunkenness, so the test is intoxication, not the substance. Many Christian ethicists argue that recreational cannabis is typically used for the high itself, which corresponds to drinking to get drunk rather than to a glass of wine with a meal. Use that genuinely involves no intoxication, such as CBD, is a different case. **Q: Is medical marijuana a sin for Christians?** Most Christian traditions hold that using a medicine to treat a diagnosed illness under a doctor's care is not sinful, even if it has some psychoactive effect, just as prescribed painkillers are not. The *Catechism of the Catholic Church* (2291) makes the same exception for strictly therapeutic use. **Q: God made marijuana, so isn't it good to use?** [Genesis 1:29](/codex/genesis-1-29/) gives plants as food, not permission for every use of every plant. God also made hemlock and the opium poppy. The plant being created good settles that it is not unclean, but not whether getting high on it is a good use. **Q: Is marijuana addictive?** The CDC states that about 3 in 10 people who use marijuana have marijuana use disorder, with higher risk for those who start young and use often. Scripture's refusal to be "brought under the power of any" thing ([1 Corinthians 6:12](/codex/1-corinthians-6-12/)) speaks directly to this.