My last column looked a little at the situation the residents of Illinois find themselves in due to the push to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. I also looked very briefly at Church teaching regarding the use of drugs in general. 

 

The Church makes an important distinction between recreational and therapeutic drug use. She is not opposed to the therapeutic use of narcotics if they offer reasonable help to someone suffering from an underlying medical condition. However, even in such cases, the Church insists that the effects — both positive and negative — be weighed carefully. While this isn’t the only consideration, it’s an important one. 

 

When it comes to the recreational use of any substance — regardless of its classification — the Church would base her evaluation of the licitness or illicitness of using such substances on a number of factors — including, again, the effects involved. This would include the effects on the individual using the substance, his or her family, friends, employer, etc., as well as the effects on society as a whole. 

 

Certainly there are already examples of legal substances (like alcohol) that require legislation and oversight from the civil authorities as well as personal responsibility from those who choose to use the substance. Certainly, we can see the tremendous negative impacts that substances can have on individuals and society — despite these oversights and regulations — if they are used irresponsibly. Often it seems, in the argumentation to legalize other substances (like marijuana) the substance in question gets compared to other substances already legal. 

 

For instance, advocates for the legalization of marijuana will often compare its effects with those of alcohol. It is no surprise that such comparisons get made. Nevertheless, there are also some things that get missed altogether or at least overshadowed by making such comparisons. For example, the fact that different substances are different — marijuana is not alcohol nor alcohol, marijuana. The effects involved, how those effects are achieved, the ramifications of those effects, the risks involved — all such things would have to be examined carefully before attempting to give an accurate assessment, let alone a helpful comparison.

 

Focusing on such comparisons though, can also end up being a distraction to more important questions — questions which touch upon some of the underlying ethical questions involved. As an example, if we already have legal substances that can have negative effects on the individuals involved, pose threats to society and can be abused, then how is a society advanced by legalizing more substances that may have similar consequences? 

 

And this last point leads to another very important consideration that the Church would insist be a part of the discussion. How does the legalization of a substance that has been heretofore illegal contribute to the common good of society? How does that society actually benefit from such legislation? Are people safer and better off because this substance is now legalized?

 

The Church would also take a very sober look at what a given substance does to an individual. This would include things like the inherent health risks, but it also goes beyond this. 

 

The Church would want to know how a given substance can help or hinder someone from advancing toward their eternal destiny. Does a substance interfere with a person’s freedom? And if so, to what degree? Does it interfere with their rationality? Does it make irrational or less than human behavior more likely? 

 

Far more than simply asking the question, “does it make someone feel better?” the Church would insist on asking the question, “Does it help make someone to be a better person — morally, spiritually, intellectually, etc.? Or does it in fact become an obstacle to these things?” These are questions which the Church would insist be asked and which underscore Her teaching on a subject like drug use. Because she has already reflected on questions like these, her opposition to the legalization of marijuana makes good sense.