The hemp debate
Update
Okay i didnt think to look here, but the reasoning book was really helpful on the matter, here is what it has to say:
“1. Marijuana in its early use is beguiling. The user is given an illusion of feeling good; he cannot sense the deterioration of his mental and physiological processes. 2. Its continued use leads to delusional thinking. After one to three years of continuous use, the pathological forms of thinking begin to take over the thought process.”
“Marijuana puffing may widen the gaps between nerve endings in the brain that are necessary for such vital functions as memory, emotion and behavior. In order for nerves to perform their functions, they must communicate between themselves.”
“The most marked effects occurred in the septal region, associated with emotions; the hippocampus, concerned with memory formation; and the amygdala, responsible for certain behavioral functions.”
Is use of marijuana any worse than the drinking of alcoholic beverages?
Alcohol is a food and is metabolized by the body to provide energy; the end products are disposed of by the body. However “Marijuana is a very potent drug, and the biggest mistake we make is comparing it to alcohol.” “Molecule for molecule, it is 10,000 times stronger than alcohol in its ability to produce mild intoxication . . . THC is removed slowly from the body, and many months are required to recover from its effects.”
The Creator knows how we are made, and his Word permits moderate use of alcoholic beverages. (Ps. 104:15; 1 Tim. 5:23)
(1 Timothy 5:23) Do not drink water any longer, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent cases of sickness.
(Psalm 104:15) And wine that makes the heart of mortal man rejoice, To make the face shine with oil, And bread that sustains the very heart of mortal man.
This has certainly made my mind up
Recently, in the UK, there has been a lot of hype about the legalisation of cannibis, opening of cannabis bars etc.
Now what i was wondering is what will the viewpoint of the witnesses be on this?
I brought this up at the book study tonight and no one seemed to have an answer.
However talking to some friends at the Pub we laid down the facts:
Fair enough you may say, of course we can't use it - which i would have at first. But think about it, a lot of the bad side effects are similar to alcohol and there are pros as to being able to use it (comparatively alcohol has only one, a calming influence!)
So well there are the facts we came up with....................................
What are your views?
AI Summary
86 Comments
some facts that weren't mentioned are that weed when smoked is more cancer causing than cigarettes. it's a defilement of the flesh. even if smoked in a bong it still destroys brain cells.
that is true, but there are alternate ways of taking it, i mentioned injestion when mixed with food or hot drinks.
like i said, pot still destroys brain cells regardless. ever see someone who has smoked it for years? they get that lazy eye going and they aren't as quick as they used to be. true, alcohol is a drug too, so is coffee, or asprin, but it's not the same. paul didn't tell timothy to "smoke a few dime bags for his upset stomach" did he? The other thing is, that even if it is legalized, a lot of people won't agree with the decision. any time there is a discrepency like that, the witnesses always take that cautious road so as not to offend, which is why you don't see any real witnesses with fish hooks in their face, or purple mohawks. Sure these things were never specifically mentioned in the bible as things we shouldnt do, but they are looked upon as things that rebels do and are linked to a rebellious attitude. Lastly, weed will NOT be legalized in the US any time in the near future, or ever. So witnesses will not be hitting the bong any time soon.
HAHAHA.. dude SOOO Funny!!!! hahaha... hit a few dime bags for his upset stomach. HAHAHAHAHAH sooo funny.. awesome man.. i totally agree!
true, there was the point i mentioned about fatty cells on the brain aswell. But i was doing some research, and it was found, as i pointed out in my facts, that Hemp has not, so far, been observed to have permanent effects on long term users.
I can see what you are saying regarding not offending people. I'm not decided on the matter yet, so your views are helpful.
why use hemp just go straight to crack. it's good for you.
sarcasm doesnt suit you
i'm nothing but sarcastic.
seriuosly.
I think Matts right. Thats a good way to say it, hahhaha Paul didnt tell timothy to "smoke a few dime bags"
hahaha
yea a few ? thats outrageous.. he probably just said " smoke one"
first of all, one glass of wine is not the same as one joint. secondly, i thought a bong increases potency...i defer to the more experienced on this point...
It would be cool if cannibus got the green lite, but I doubt thats gonna happen. Its a tough one though... its a big grey line. hard to say. as far as it making the body dirty, thats a null point... cuz alchohol wrecks havock on the liver. and other things. Hm. Who knows.
alcohol only destroys ur liver if ur a heavy drinker...but drinking in moderation is good for your health i've heard. And while we're at it....Jeremiah 25:27
"And you must say to them, 'This is what Jehovah of armies, the God of Israel, has said: "Drink and get drunk and puke and fall so that you cannot get up...." (go ahead, look it up, i made Matty look it up to make sure i got the right one!) lol
HAHAHA that is hilarious!
pretty much even if it became legal, you're safest not to use it at all. Why risk it? I also like both the comments from Funky and Sux2beme. Funky's came from an Awake or Watchtower not too long ago. I really don't think it's much of a debate. Don't use it. End of "debate". That's my feelings. Then again, I'm 22 and I refuse to drink alcohol, so I'm a little....biased, you might say.
Has cannabis been legalised in NJ?
It was just something i was thinking about, don't feel bad for not agreeing with it - i wanted your opinions.
why would you even bother trying it?
drugs are bad mmmkay?
yea.. you should be SHOT!
erm thanks.......why?
I didnt even know about it... I'm with todd though.. if there is any debate.. why risk it.. Some people try to argue with something isnt specified in the bible as wrong. Thats not the point of the bible, you will not find rules on what exactly we can or cant do, its the princables that we are given, we should be using our concience for things that we arent sure about. Oh well... im sure we will be hearing about this in some watchtower or awake articles soon enough...
you guys ever go on ezabel on weeeeeeeeeedddddd?????????
I bundle newspapers with hemp twine. Is that OK?? I'm told it's the best smoke for beekeepers to get their colony mellow.
haha, dad, i still can't believe you're actually a beekeeper now.
I hope you get the whole Beekeeper Outfit!
sounds like a fun interesting job... does it pay well.. because i've always wanted to be the BEE KING.
1 Corinthians 6:12 - "All things are lawful for me; but not all things are advantageous."
good point man.
thank you dean! 'scatly!
So when we having the ezabel blunt party?
Umm...that's not appropriate. Not even remotely. That doesn't belong on here.
However- it is legal in Holland, and the Dutch brothers and sisters STILL do not smoke it.
hahaha... funny stuff
hahaha.weed talk. this is just like high school. let me share a relevant story. there is this kid I've known all my life. we were both raised in the truth. but in the mid teens we both did some dumb stuff. thankfully I saw the error and changed my ways but my friend was still rockin parties and smoking pot. he had alot of potential, smart kid. but I saw him in town the other day, totally burnt out, dropped out of college. its sad really all he lives for is his next high and thats what he works to get. well maybe this is a worst case scenario but I agree with matt and todd that we as witnesses shouldnt be screwing around with this stuff
just to throw this into the conversation since nobody has talked much about it:
what about marijuana for medicinal purposes? other treatments such as morphine and codeine, and percocet are just as much a drug as marijuana, and they're commonly used in the medical world. what's the difference with marijuana?
that's an interesting point, i thought about that too, morphine is probably much more addictive than marajuana too.
so if the medicinal benefits outweigh the bad side effects surely it is worth it.
I know a sister who is dying of Leukaemia and she did not want chemo-therapy because of the awful side effects and the doctor actually suggested she try to get hold of some hash and roll herself a ju ju (strictly off the record), and she said "if its for medicinal reasons maybe it is something i should consider". The side effects are low and after all its natural. The ammount of pain experiences with this terminal illness is so immense, you don't want the so called painkillers giving you more problems which you have to in turn take another pill for.
one thing you have to think about is: Say they did legalize it and then witnesses wanted to use it. Where would they draw the line? The elders can't exactly say "you can only use pot in food or drinks," because those sort of things almost always get out of hand. People would start smoking it and getting into all kinds of trouble.
but you are talking about using it for other than medicinal purposes. you were talking about just using it to relax, like alcohol. that was your whole argument about how alcohol is also a drug, and we use alcohol recreationally, and why can't we use marajuana. If it was being used for straight up medicinal purposes, like morphine is, then i think that less people would have a problem with it (if it was not rolled and smoked anyway), but as far as recreational use, even if it is legalized, the brothers will never support it.
plus think of this... Theres nothing wrong with beards, but we dont wear them because it seperates us from the world. Im sure the society will feel a similar way about weed use, even though it might soon be legal. (Im not talking about medicinal)
i was talking about both but i see what you mean
all this weed talk .. geez.. crack ! thats the place to be...
I just can't believe this conversation is happening. Seriuosly.. all things are lawful but all things are not advantegous. just keep saying that to oneself.
you're absolutely right. great thread though, i think the general topic here has been more positive than i expected. definitely gave me something to think about.
so you were expecting more, lets get stoned and while we at it wasted comments?
yea i agree with ty.. i dont even know why people are wondering.. i mean seriously... unless ur dying from some PAINFUL sickness.. this shouldnt even be something to think about, and if you ARE at that point thats something that is between you and jehovah...
another thing to consider is that THC is addictive.
as addictive as alcohol is. the substance itself may not be the root of the addiction. but the euphoria and relaxation that it provides is the root of the addiction. striving just to get to that point in life over and over again.
that's not true though, it's more addictive than alcohol. and the root of the addiction is the chemical, it's been scientifically proven that you can become reliant on it.
yea maybe you're addicted to me.
yer a chemical?
this guy is poiiissssssonnnnnnn
what about the hemp products at the body shop? They sell all sorts of hemp stuff, they also give you free support hemp stickers when you buy anything there....i never bought any of the hemp stuff, but i often wondered about it there...
the real question is can you imagine all these people high? what would they act like..I wonder
usually nicer then those that are drunk
yes, i can imagine
i guess the reasoning book really shut the door on this issue, which just goes to show that you should never disagree with me, because I'm always right
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha i wasn't disagreeing with you, just trying to get all the facts ;)
NEVER assume that i DONT know all the facts. CUZ I DO BABY!
okaaaaaaaaaaaay so u always know some?
Yo dont knock it till you try it! i'm joking!
ha ha ha - words of wisdom and experience eh?
ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
dont try and deny it - i know your sordid secrets
no really I'm clean as a whistle! hey who are you anyways?
*raises eyebrow* thats for me to know
ha ha ha ha clean as a whistle?? How clean would that be?
uhh really clean? I dunno
i was just thinkin how funny some sayin we have are, i mean take clean as a whistle for example - to us it means really clean but why would a whistle be so clean? - side point sorry just musing away.
well...for a whistle to actually "whistle" it would have to be real clean right? not dirty at all riiiight? hence the saying "clean as a whistle" well thats my guess lol
how can a whistle be clean though? You're dirty mouth is all over it!
ha ha case in point ;)
Although actually your mouth is a lot cleaner than most other parts of your body
most people's mouths are at least..
ha ha ha ha what are you insinuating?
I'M NOT DIRTY! I SWEAR!
lol yeah yeah we believe you hun
It's somewhat unclear where the phrase "clean as a whistle" came from. The phrase actually has two meanings: "clean or pure" and "absolutely, completely." "Utterly or completely" is the original 18th century meaning -- a roof blown off in a tornado might be said to have been torn off "clean as a whistle," leaving no remnants. The "pure or unsullied" meaning ("Wash that deck until it's clean as a whistle, sailor") came later, and may have its roots in a misunderstanding of the sense of "clean" in the original phrase.
If that seems a little mysterious, the answer may lie in the fact that the original phrase wasn't really "clean as a whistle." Christine Ammer, in her book "Have A Nice Day -- No Problem, A Dictionary of Cliches," points to the phrase "clear as a whistle," very common in the 18th century. While spoken commands might be misunderstood in a noisy environment, no one could mistake a loud whistle for anything else, so "clear as a whistle" came to mean "unmistakable" or "unambiguous."
The later substitution of "clean" meaning "completely" for "clear" therefore makes a certain amount of sense, but the subsequent drift of "clean" in the phrase to mean "pure" is what has led to folks like you wondering "what's so clean about whistles?"
THAT IS WHAT I'VE ALWAYS THOUGHT!! i always thought that clear as a whistle made sense, and then some idiot started saying "clean" instead
man you were right all along - why do we keep on doubting you when u r always proved to be right??? I will never understand
i dont know. maybe cuz it's me against the world.
Or maybe, just maybe - you are the world
that makes no sense, but i'll just go with it
ha ha i kjnow - it just sounded good, or so i thought