Arizona, Montana, New Jersey, South Dakota, and Vermont all legalized recreational marijuana use in the past year.
Oregon went further.
Oregonians voted in favor of Measure 109, which legalized the use of psychedelic mushrooms for licensed, “therapeutic” use.
Oregonians also voted to decriminalize hard drugs: small amounts of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, LSD, and oxycodone, among other substances. Measure 110, the “Drug Decriminalization and Addiction Treatment Initiative,” lessened the criminal penalties of hard drug possession. The measure effectively reclassified a misdemeanor to a non-criminal violation. The initiative gives the person in possession the option of paying a small fine ($100) or entering drug “treatment”– merely completing a “health assessment”.
Both initiatives went into effect February 1st.
California is also considering a bill that would decriminalize psychedelics for personal and “therapeutic” use.
The statewide vote to decriminalize hard drugs was an interesting one considering the problems Oregon has with respect to drug and alcohol addiction. According to one report, Oregon was the worst in the country for pain reliever addiction, second worst for methamphetamine abuse, and fourth worst for cocaine and alcohol addiction (also, see here).
Measure 110 claims to be a compassionate move away from punitive incarceration as a method of disincentivizing drug abuse toward a more holistic, health-and-treatment based approach. Oregon plans to use marijuana tax revenue to fund addiction recovery centers, which voters believe will be filled with people voluntarily choosing to receive treatment.
Should Christians support drug decriminalization and legalization? Though we may be conservatives, libertarians, and “progressives,” our first priority is not to our respective political ideologies but to be living epistles – ambassadors of the coming Kingdom of Jesus Christ. How should we respond?
Politically, I understand – but disagree with – the desire to decriminalize and legalize drugs. Many who support this endeavor hold to a libertarian viewpoint. They believe in restricting government interference and expanding individual liberty. Drug decriminalization is a compromise – a pathway toward legalization, which isthe objective.
But Christians should consider that the libertarian argument isn’t just about smaller government. It’s also self-serving as it refuses to take seriously real-life consequences of drug use and addiction. Families are affected when a relative is a drug addict. Families may endure physical violence by the addict, emotional stress, financial strain, and the obligation of having to care for loved ones that can’t give up their dependences.
Decriminalization affects society. If people aren’t arrested and only fined, money is still diverted into less punitive alternatives or actual treatment. The majority of the revenue used to treat drug enthusiasts comes from taxes rather than the private sector.
This argument is less libertarian and more an argument of libertinism: legitimizing the self-destructive behavior of drug use minus the consequences and responsibility to oneself, family, and society.
Decriminalization leads to drug tourism: traveling to specific cities because it’s easier to score drugs. This has added to a number of municipal problems – including homelessness – in Seattle, WA, Denver, CO, Sacramento, CA, and San Francisco, CA.
Christians should be more practical about the upshot of drug addiction. As self-destructive behaviors are destigmatized, they become normalized. Drug decriminalization is the obvious step toward legalization. Decriminalization is soft legalization.
Christians should be wary of drug decriminalization advocates who appropriate an unmerited moral authority, exercising well-meaning intentions to justify themselves at the expense of those that need help.
One of which is that proponents want to “treat addiction” rather than punish it. It’s not an either/or proposition; Christians must advocate both. Champions of decriminalization never clearly explain how removing the legal penalties of drug abuse helps to reduce drug addiction or how decriminalization increases the likelihood of treatment. Someone not imprisoned for drug use in favor of a small fine isn’t guaranteed to miraculously transcend the demons of addiction by conceding s/he has a problem and then seeking help. Decriminalization actively ignores the power of dependency and the proficiency of functional addicts.
Decriminalization supporters also claim that drug criminalization unfairly increases the incarceration rates of blacks and other minorities. Their position is viewed through the moral lens of criminal justice reform. Aside from “racism,” these activists never delve into “why” this affects racial minorities to the extent that it does. The cultural behaviors and social realities, such as family breakdown – including fatherlessness – that contribute to increased drug use among minorities isn’t constructively addressed. “Decriminalizers” seemingly want blacks and Hispanics to use drugs indiscriminately, notwithstanding the predictable social repercussions.
Reducing incarceration (and mandatory treatment) may lessen the number of racial minorities imprisoned but it doesn’t necessarily diminish drug use. Letting drug users remain in their communities allows them to continue drug abuse, which increases costs to the hospitals and the police having to deal with an increase in overdoses and crime, respectively. It also allows users to seduce others into this self-debasing behavior. How is this “justice” or “reform”?
Decriminalization and destigmatizing drug use make it easier for those suffering from drug addiction to diminish what remains of their dignity. This toleration disregards the humanity of those activists claim to support.
Christians must be clear that love or compassion can’t be redefined as legitimizing the self-destruction or death of fellow image bearers, even if it’s justified as a function of individual liberty.
Comment by David on February 25, 2021 at 6:28 am
The war on drugs was lost a long time ago. All of the enforcement does little to restrict supply. The initial illegality of specific drugs was due to their association with disfavored ethnic groups: cocaine with Blacks and marijuana with Hispanics. While discouraged, there has never been a major move against tobacco, a product associated with White planters. The scare tactics used to discourage use in the past as the “Reefer Madness” film are laughable today.
Obviously, it is best that people not become addicted to drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. Eating too much normal food is bad for you as well. The question is whether society should, or even have the right to control what one decides to put in their body. Of course, people make bad choices in life and the degree to which they must be protected is debatable. The bad public health effects from smoking tobacco and obesity far outweigh those from illegal drugs.
It is interesting to note that the frankincense and myrrh offered to baby Jesus are known psychoactive substances. The use of wine was supported in 1 Timothy 5:23, a verse the Prohibitionists carefully ignored as was the turning of water into wine by Jesus (John 2:1-11).
Comment by Timothy on February 25, 2021 at 9:47 am
The United States prison industry is the most massive on earth. We have the highest prison population on the planet; how’s that working. Did the author not notice last summer’s riots which in part involved this harsh system? Nationwide riots aside, the United States failure in dealing with substance abuse needs addressing. This IRD site should dedicate sincere thought to helping change people’s lives positively. Pastor Rick Warren for example has a ‘Celebrate Recovery Program’ that uses Biblical principals to teach criminals steps for living and recovery, similar to AA.
Alas, the profitable prison system enriches the prison builders, correctional unions, lawyers, and others at the top, while condemning many offenders to a lifetime of suffering, prison revolving doors, and endless pain for victims and family members.
Finally, what example do we teach our children who a bombarded all day by drug commercials from the multi trillion dollar big pharma industry?
Comment by td on February 25, 2021 at 10:53 am
Legalization of marijuana and other illegal drugs is a long term public health disaster in the making Yes, these substances sometimes have real medical uses under the supervision of a physician, but they are not for recreation.
They certainly lead us away from God.
Comment by Joe Cogan on February 25, 2021 at 11:23 am
It’s amazing that after alcohol Prohibition, and the War On Drugs, some people still haven’t come to the inevitable conclusion that the “cure” is worse than the disease. Other countries that have decided to treat substance abuse as a health problem, rather than a criminal matter, have lower rates of addiction, and they don’t have drug gangs shooting each other and innocent bystanders in the street, or their customers serving lengthy prison terms instead of receiving treatment. Ban liquor, and you get Al Capone. Ban cocaine, and you get El Chapo. This isn’t rocket science, it’s refusing to learn the lessons of 100 years of failed policies.
Comment by td on February 25, 2021 at 12:00 pm
Really, folks? You really think that we won’t have more drug addiction if we make drugs legal? Having them illegal is worse than being legal, because why? Because less people will get arrested? Because we will have fewer drug lords? Because we can use the sales to fund abuse programs and schools?
I am convinced we need to help curb addiction, but i am not convinced that making drugs legal over the counter solves that problem.
Please do not equate alcohol use with drug use. Alcohol is ingrained in our culture- it is even in our religion. These policies are only serving to normalize drug use for recreation and “fun”.
Substance abuse hasn’t damaged our society because it’s illegal, it’s damaged our society because its damaging to users. And those users will use them whether it is illegal or not because of other issues in their lives. I suggest that we keep it illegal so we can have a mechanism to help users seek treatment instead of normalizing destructive behavior.
Comment by Brother Thom on February 25, 2021 at 1:36 pm
Derryck Green makes a number of assumptions or simply doesn’t provide the background to substantiate his statements. I’m a conservative Christian, traditionalist, and hold an orthodox view of Christianity. I want to open my thoughts on this subject by reminding everyone that Morphine, Codeine, Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, and several other prescription drugs are made from Opium an illegal schedule 1 substance. Big pharmacy makes billions of dollars each year from these drugs.
Next, let me state that I am against the legalization of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, LSD, and all psychedelic drugs. Taking everything I’ve said so far into account, I am absolutely in favor of legalizing marijuana. The benefits of marijuana are indisputable, and this is a big problem for big pharmacies. The reason big pharmacies are against the legalization of marijuana is as simple as the loss of profits on the drugs I listed above to a plant (marijuana) that can easily be grown in backyards across the U.S.
I would be interested in the data to support Derryck Green’s statement on recreational drug tourism adding to the homelessness rate in California or elsewhere.
I am a 100% disabled veteran with a number of pains that will never go away. I live with those pains because the alternative in my state would be several of the opium derivates I listed above. Marijuana is not legal in my state. I have family in California and visit about every year. I have visited a marijuana dispensary in California and I’ll share the experience here.
First, on arrival at a dispensary, you can’t enter without being registered. That means a trip to the dispensary’s registration tent (in Southern California). After having your driver’s license information entered into their system, and the license itself scanned, you can then make it to the front door of the dispensary where you will either be wanded or walk thru a magnetometer. You can’t carry a bag with you so leave whatever you normally carry in the car. Now you can enter.
Now you’re in and the first thing you will notice is that the vast majority of the customers are over 40 and most over 50. The next thing you’ll notice is these folks are all in pain, and they are suffering. Some actually in wheelchairs and using walkers. These dispensaries are not full of young adults as most would imagine. Not only that but people are not walking around stoned out of their minds. Just as there are people who abuse alcohol, there are also some who abuse marijuana. Interestingly enough, even though we know the dangers of overindulgence in alcohol, we still haven’t made it an illegal substance.
So where does this put Christians? I have to fall back on the sin of drunkenness. That’s as close as we’re going to come to making anything related to marijuana a sin. Now the Bible doesn’t mention marijuana specifically, but being stoned all the time could probably be called debauchery. Even with that said, we’re reminded that God said “And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.”
Let me close by saying too much has been made of this issue (marijuana), and much of that has been done by lobbyists for big pharmacies. Millions of Americans could safely and inexpensively move from Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, and other addictive and expensive drugs if marijuana was legal. We should always educate our population on the dangers of all drugs, including alcohol, but we shouldn’t be so naive as to think marijuana will create havoc in America.
Comment by td on February 25, 2021 at 2:27 pm
Brother thom- thank your for sharing your story and life.
The situation you describe can be addressed by the legalization of marijuana as a prescription medication by a physician. It would have the added benefit of standardization and dosage based on medical research. It is not necessary for marijuana to be decriminalized or legalized for it to be available for medical use. I realize you are not using it recreationally.
Contrary to your experience, however, i have seen that most people who buy it, use it, and endorse its decriminalization and legality are using it to alter their mental state for fun.
Comment by Jeff on February 25, 2021 at 5:03 pm
Mr. Green’s article on “dope” has only been up a very short time and look at the number, length and passion of responses! FAR more interest shown than on any recent topic here, whether theological or political.
Wonder what that says about IRD and its readership? 😉
Comment by Dan W on February 25, 2021 at 9:33 pm
Jeff, it’s just another wedge issue like gay marriage or a $15 minimum wage – designed to divide us. I don’t blame Derryck Green or the IRD for writing about it. The same groups that demonized the tobacco industry are trying to legalize marijuana. They’ll rake in billions of dollars in taxes. Their friends and families will get rich. When Millennials near retirement, and millions are suffering from years of smoking weed, they’ll save us by taxing us more and suing the producers!
Comment by Jeff on February 25, 2021 at 10:28 pm
Dan,
>> I don’t blame Derryck Green or the IRD for writing about it.
Neither do I. But I couldn’t help but notice the rapid response!
Like him or not, prophet Bob Jones saw that the three things that could make America “sick unto death” are abortion, homosexuality, and… drugs. Each of these is a worldly seduction and the center of gravity of attraction for each is the prince of this world.
I understand, and can sympathize with, the case for decriminalizing drug use.
But I submit that science and Scripture agree: NOTHING GOOD can ever come from using drugs and becoming dependent upon them, except in the relatively few cases where their use is truly medicinal and NOT recreational.
Blessings,
Jeff
Comment by Timothy on February 26, 2021 at 12:47 am
There’s a big difference between legalization and decriminalization. The headline of this story and first couple of paragraphs stirs an immediate response from most readers in today’s world of instant anger, judgement and mini-utterances on Twitter, etc. Take a breath, study the topic. If you or no one in your family or circle of friends has ever struggled with substance abuse, then you are truly blessed, or terribly isolated.
Comment by JASON on February 26, 2021 at 10:51 am
My main push back is that Derryck assumes that there are no social consequences to drug criminalization. Much of the violent crime related to drug use is a consequence of drugs being illegal: drug dealers can’t turn addicts over to collection agencies, an addict threatened by a drug dealer is unlikely to go to the police. Instead drug related disputes are typically settled violently.
Comment by Susan Cyre on February 27, 2021 at 3:27 pm
It is also worth noting that the US Congress is poised to vote to remove marijuana from the list of federally controlled substances in the “Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act”. If passed, according to NPR, “the bill specifically adds incentives for minority-owned businesses to help them enter the cannabis market.” The bill “creates an excise tax on cannabis sales and directs the money to be targeted to communities adversely affected by the so-called war on drugs.” If passed, the law will incentivize marijuana use and make it more difficult for some states to criminalize it as its destructive outcomes become more widely acknowledged. Interestingly, the American Medical Association opposes the bill. An informative article on the harmful effects of marijuana can be found in Imprimis, Jan 2019, Vol 48, No. 1.
Comment by td on February 27, 2021 at 7:37 pm
Marijuana is not a replacement for opioids- either for addicts or as pain medication. It is an entirely different substance and its pharmacological category is cannabinoid. It may have some use in the alleviatuon of chronic pain. But make no mistake, this discussion is not about its medical use- it is about its recreational use.
So many bad decisions being made in our country over the last 10 years- just add this one to the list.