While the recent push to legalize marijuana use in the State of Illinois was hotly debated on a number of different fronts, at least one aspect of this issue didn’t seem to garner much focus in those debates (at least in the public forum), and that was the issue of the ethics of drug use.

 

Sadly, as it often seems to, this can lead people to think of something that is “legal” as though it were morally acceptable or even “good.” As our faith reminds us though, the fact that a civil law says something is “ok” has zero bearing as to whether that act or behavior actually is. 

 

On the issue of the legalization of marijuana in Illinois, rather than focus the debate on such issues, it is interesting to look at what was argued about it instead. Issues of revenue, taxation and criminal sentencing (including racial disparities in that sentencing) seemed to get a lot of the attention. 

 

While to some degree it would be natural to expect that such things be debated, these are largely procedural and don’t really address the heart of the underlying issue. Rather than ask the bigger questions and ground the debate along philosophical and moral lines, sadly the mechanics of proposed laws seemed to take center stage. 

 

Perhaps some of this comes from a growing inability on the part of many people (including legislators) to debate issues on such grounds. Perhaps it simply comes from a lack of desire to do so. Regardless, there were at least some voices who did try to look at things from a deeper perspective. 

 

As Christians, it is always important to do our best to be voices of reason, grounded in our faith, even when faced with what can seem like unreasonable circumstances. We can only hope to do that however, if we strive to see and understand things at a deeper level — illumined with the light of our faith. 

 

And so, to this end, we must always begin by asking ourselves two basic questions: What does our faith say about this issue? And why does it say that? 

 

Even if the people we may end up debating with ultimately reject the conclusions our faith helps us to arrive at, they may still end up understanding the logic behind it at least — a logic which might very well cause them to examine their own. 

 

And even if both our conclusions and the logic behind them are ignored or rejected, we nevertheless can grow in the strength of our convictions and thus be a better witness to the truth we have accepted as coming from God, the only real source of truth. 

 

At the very least, doing so can help us to stand firm and not be swept away by popular opinion or specious argumentation.

 

To this end, therefore, it is important to look at those two aforementioned questions as they relate to the issue of drug use, especially in the climate which now exists in the state of Illinois. 

 

In order to answer that first question — What does the Church say about this issue? — we can see that leaders from Pope Francis to the bishops of Illinois have all spoken out against the legalization of drugs like marijuana. 

 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church universalizes the Church’s teaching on this in two sections, 2211 and 2291. Interestingly, these two sections deal with the Fourth Commandment and the Fifth Commandment respectively. 

 

In 2211 we read that the civil authorities have a duty to protect people from the harm that things like drug use can afflict on communities, families and individuals alike. 

 

In 2291 we see that drug use, except for strictly therapeutic purposes, is considered a “grave offense.” This moral evaluation likewise extends to those involved with the production and distribution of drugs. 

 

Answering the second question — Why does the Church say this? — will be examined in the near future.