The Church’s opposition to legalizing recreational marijuana

A proposal to legalize recreational marijuana in North Dakota will likely be on the ballot in November. The proposal, if passed, would make it legal for adults 21 years of age and older to grow, process, possess and use marijuana and other cannabis-derived products for recreational purposes in their homes, and would allow a limited number of manufacturers and dispensaries to produce and sell these products to consumers in North Dakota. North Dakota voters rejected similar ballot initiatives to legalize recreational marijuana in 2018 and 2022, but its proponents are at it again. Nationally, 24 states plus the District of Columbia have made it legal in their states to use marijuana for recreational purposes, and there are efforts afoot to legalize recreational marijuana in every state. 
 
The legal marijuana business is now a multibillion-dollar national industry with financial backers looking to make big profits in every state, including North Dakota. Supporters of legalizing pot for recreation in our state emphasize the expected boon to the North Dakota economy through increased tax revenue and anticipated job creation. Despite these perceived economic benefits, a basic principle of the moral life is that a good end cannot justify an evil means (Rom 3:8). If using marijuana for recreational purposes is evil in itself, then it cannot be condoned, no matter its supposed benefits to the state’s economy.
 
All three of our recent popes have spoken strongly against recreational drug use. Saint John Paul II in 1991 stated, “We cannot speak of the ‘freedom to take drugs’ or the ‘right to drugs,’ for the human being has no right to harm himself and neither can nor should ever abdicate the personal dignity which comes to him from God!” Pope Benedict XVI said in 2012, “It is the responsibility of the Church … to unmask the false promises, the lies, the fraud that is behind drugs.” Pope Francis just last month repeated what he has said on other occasions, that reducing drug addiction “is not achieved by liberalizing drug use—this is an illusion.” 
 
Our two bishops in North Dakota, Bishop David Kagan and Bishop John Folda, have also made clear they strongly oppose legalizing recreational marijuana in our state. During the last ballot initiative in 2022, the bishops issued public statements stating, “The evidence from states that have gone down this path is clear: legalization of marijuana hurts the health of our neighbors, makes communities unsafe, increases crime, jeopardizes our youth and undermines the common good.” 
 
While there is no official Church teaching specifically targeting recreational marijuana, the Church opposes the use of recreational drugs in general as something harmful to the human person. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that human life and physical health are precious gifts from God that must be cared for (CCC 2288), and that “The use of drugs inflicts very grave damage on human health and life. Their use, except on strictly therapeutic grounds, is a grave offense” (CCC 2291). 
 
Why would the Church be opposed to using marijuana for leisure and enjoyment? The underlying reason is that getting high is inherently intoxicating, akin to drunkenness. Intoxication is a grave sin against human dignity because it dulls reason, weakens the will and clouds judgment, and thereby attacks that which most makes us human by diminishing our ability to make free and rational choices. The intoxication caused by marijuana is especially strong with today’s high potency marijuana. When marijuana first became popular in the 1960’s, most marijuana contained just 2% THC, the psychotropic element that causes the “high” or “stoned” feeling in the user, but now marijuana products sold at legal dispensaries routinely contain from 15% to 30% TCH. While the moderate use of alcohol can be a good and healthy practice, using marijuana to get high is inherently abusive due to its intoxicating and heavy mind-altering effects. 
 
There is a mountain of evidence demonstrating serious harms caused by recreational marijuana use. Studies show that approximately one out of 10 users become psychologically addicted to marijuana, and another study indicates up to three out of 10 users become addicted. Research also shows that marijuana use harms brain development, and many studies document that regular marijuana use causes permanent cognitive impairments to memory, attentiveness, learning and decision-making. This likely explains the significant drop in IQ scores and declining academic performance seen in teens and young adults who use marijuana. 
 
Regular marijuana use is also connected to mental health issues like schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, depression, anxiety and suicide. Colorado, for example, saw suicides of people with marijuana in their systems more than double in just a six-year period after legalization. Colorado also saw marijuana-related hospitalizations, emergency room visits and poison control calls all increase since legalization. Numerous studies have also identified marijuana use as a major cause of psychosis, a mental condition marked by delusions, hallucinations and paranoia, often leading to violent activity. 
 
States with legal use of recreational marijuana have seen substantial increases in marijuana-related DUI’s and traffic fatalities, as well as increased workplace injuries and accidents associated with marijuana use. Legalizing marijuana is also linked to increased criminal activity. Colorado, for example, experienced a spike in crime 11 times the national average after legalizing recreational marijuana, including violent crime. Legalization in other states has led to a dramatic increase in marijuana use across the board and increased use by adolescents. As other states have discovered, successful efforts to legalize marijuana have normalized drug use and led to the push to legalize other drugs, like psychedelic mushrooms. Do we really want all this for our state? 
 
Do not be fooled by the false promises advocates make for legalizing recreational marijuana. The inherently intoxicating effects of marijuana, its well-documented adverse effects and the overwhelmingly negative experiences in other states strongly weigh against legalizing marijuana for recreational purposes in North Dakota. Please join me this November in voting against the ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana in our state.