Marijuana Use Linked to Higher Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke

Source: “Marijuana use linked to higher risk of heart attack and stroke,” American Heart Association News, 28 February 2024. “The number of people using marijuana has increased significantly in recent decades in the U.S., where its recreational use has been legalized in 24 states and the District of Columbia. In 2019, a federal survey showed more…

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Genetic Link Between Marijuana Use and Psychiatric Disorders

Source: “Shared Genetics for Cannabis Use and Psychiatric Disorders,” Neuroscience News, 21 May 2023. “Researchers discovered shared genetic underpinnings for cannabis use and psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.” “Some genetic variants can have opposing effects – increasing risk of cannabis use while decreasing the risk of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.” “These findings may…

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Dangers of Recreational Marijuana

Source: Dr. Liji Thomas, MD, “Dangers of recreational/medical cannabis use,” News Medical and Life Sciences, 26 October 2022. More people are using marijuana and starting at a younger age. “Now that many American states have legalized cannabis, the already high rate of cannabis usage is increasing from ages as young as 16 years.” Current studies on marijuana’s…

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Challenges for the Year

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Challenges-for-the-Year.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Romans 1:28-32   I.         Toward the end of each year, people tend to review the year and record the trends that are evident             A.        I’ve been collecting several articles in the last few months dealing with moral trends             B.        We are not of the world, but we must live in it -…

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Cannabis Use Increases Pain After Surgery

Source: “Cannabis Use Increases Pain After Surgery,” Neuroscience News, 23 October 2022. One of the arguments for legalizing marijuana is that it can be used for pain management. This study shows that the claim may not be justified. “Cannabis is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States and increasingly used as an…

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Marijuana’s Effects on the Brain

Source: “How Cannabis Affects Our Cognition and Psychology,” Neuroscience News, 13 May 2022. “… the main users are adolescents and young adults, whose brains are still in development. They may therefore be particularly vulnerable to the effects of cannabis use on the brain in the longer term.” “We showed that participants with the condition had significantly worse…

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Marijuana Produces Persistent Cognitive Loss

Source: “Cannabis Use Produces Persistent Cognitive Impairments,” Neuroscience News, 20 January 2022. “A systematic review published today in the scientific journal Addiction has found that cannabis use leads to acute cognitive impairments that may continue beyond the period of intoxication.” “The study found that cannabis intoxication leads to small to moderate cognitive impairments in areas including:…

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Can marijuana be used for legitimate medical purposes?

Question: Is using marijuana or components of marijuana for legitimate medical diagnoses biblical? Answer: While it is popular for promoters of marijuana to talk about “medical marijuana,” there currently does not exist any known medical uses for marijuana that there isn’t a superior drug already on the market that doesn’t have marijuana’s dangerous effects. CBD…

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Attempts to Compensate for Damage Hides Marijuana Effects in the Short Term

Source: Alice G. Walton, “The Brain May Compensate For Heavy Pot Smoking — Until It Can’t Anymore,” Forbes, 11 Nov 2014. “The research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that an area in the front of the brain called the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is smaller in people who smoke three joints a day…

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Accumulative Marijuana use impacts short-term memory

Source: Christopher Ingraham, “What happens when you get stoned every single day for five years,” Washington Post, 1 Feb 2016. “If you smoke a lot of weed — like a lot of it — it can potentially do permanent damage to your short-term memory.” “The study found that people who smoked marijuana on a daily basis for…

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Marijuana and Mental Illness

Source: Alex Berenson, “Marijuana, Mental Illness, and Violence,” Imprimis, vol. 48, no. 1, Jan 2019 “They’ve told you marijuana has many different medical uses. In reality marijuana and THC, its active ingredient, have been shown to work only in a few narrow conditions. They are most commonly prescribed for pain relief. But they are rarely tested…

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Do I have to support my father, who refuses to work and smokes marijuana?

Question: Hello, First of all, I love your site. I have spent many hours happily reading the archives of the questions asked, which has helped me. That’s why I’m coming to you with this. Because he doesn’t “feel like it,” my father has not worked for fifteen years; instead, relying on my mother to support…

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Car Crashes, Linked to Marijuana, Rises

Source: Paul A. Eisenstein, “Legalized marijuana linked to a sharp rise in car crashes,” NBC News, 18 Oct 2018 “There has been an increase by up to 6 percent in the number of highway crashes in four of the states where the recreational use of marijuana has been legalized, according to a pair of new…

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Not What They Told You – Marijuana

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/NotWhatTheyToldYouMarijuana.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Jeremiah 5:21-31   I.         It sounds noble             A.        We need to legalize medical marijuana!                         1.         But instead of controlled studies where the effectiveness of a derivative drug is analyzed for its benefits versus its harm, the door is thrown wide open.                         2.         There is an oil extract from marijuana that does appear to…

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Not What They Told You

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Society often justifies sin by not portraying the complete facts and, thus, making dangerous things appear to be minorly harmful or even beneficial. Not What They Told You – Alcohol Not What They Told You – Marijuana Not What They Told You – Opioids Not What They Told You – Pornography

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I got into pot and sex when I was young and messed up my life

Question: I messed up my life when I was young with pot and sexual promiscuity. My life was trash and destroyed. I kept going as I felt I had gone too far — to the point of being put in a mental institution and attempted suicide — the point of no return. It was a…

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Consequences of Marijuana Legalization

Source: Colorado Springs Gazette Opinion, “Five years later, Colorado sees toll of pot legalization”, The Oklahoman, 14 November 2017. “Five years of retail pot coincide with five years of a homelessness growth rate that ranks among the highest rates in the country. Directors of homeless shelters, and people who live on the streets, tell us homeless…

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How is smoking weed any worse than drinking once in a while?

Question: Is smoking weed bad in God’s eyes? Yes, I know the horrible effects it can have on your health, but I’m talking from a Christian’s point of view. Some people get drunk and God will see them through, but when they smoke weed will God resent them? What if I want to try it?…

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Marijuana Causes Long-Term Changes

Source: “Dr. Kabran Chapek … says, ‘I’m not surprised when someone with anxiety tells me that they use marijuana or alcohol to help them sleep, or calm their nerves. It’s predictably people with over activity in their brains and problems like anxiety or PTSD who use sedating substances—we can see it on their SPECT scans. The problem…

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Marijuana Causes Long-Term Changes

Source: [“Marijuana Causes Long-term Brain Changes”, Amen Clinics, 2015 February 06]. “Dr. Kabran Chapek … says, ‘I’m not surprised when someone with anxiety tells me that they use marijuana or alcohol to help them sleep, or calm their nerves. It’s predictably people with over activity in their brains and problems like anxiety or PTSD who use…

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I found out my husband is smoking marijuana

Question: I attend a church of Christ in my hometown and I am looking for direction from spiritually mature sources. Without giving unnecessary long details, since I realize how many questions you must receive, I will just get to the point: I found out about a month ago that my husband is smoking marijuana and…

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The Truth About Marijuana

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I run into so many people who argue that there is nothing harmful about marijuana that I thought it best to share this video about the actual facts. Argument: You should have the right to do what you want with your own body The argument is applied inconsistently. The same people…

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Should Christians support the legalization of marijuana for medical use?

Question: Hello, I am a Christian, and I do not imbibe alcohol or any other drugs for recreational purposes. I have in the past (my youth) partaken in sinful inebriation, but have been sober for several years and have since been baptized. My question is whether or not you think that Christians can safely support…

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What makes marijuana work? Does it lead to using other drugs?

Question: I have some questions about marijuana. What are the ingredients in pot that produce that “high”, mind-altering feeling that users crave and the “munchies”? Does pot use eventually lead to the use of more hardcore drugs, such as cocaine, heroin, LSD, etc.? I would venture to guess that regular pot users would want bigger…

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Marijuana Smoking Isn’t Healthy

Source: Kathleen Doheny, “Recreational Marijuana: Are There Health Effects?” WebMD, 11 December 2012. Lung Damage “‘Putting smoke in your lungs is not good for the lungs,’ says Roland Lamarine, HSD, professor of public health at California State University, Chico. … Some research shows that marijuana smoke has up to 70% more cancer-causing substances than tobacco…

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Illogical Reasons for Decriminalizing Marijuana

Source: Paul Hammel, “Ideas to ease pot laws just blowin’ in the wind,” Omaha World-Herald, 20 November 2012. People continue to promote illogical fixes to problems. Iowa Representative Bruce Hunter wants to decriminalize marijuana possession. His reason? “He is pushing decriminalization of pot because sending users to prison contributes to overcrowding. It also doesn’t make…

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Marijuana Impaired Drivers

Source: “Cops ponder how to deter stoned driving,” Omaha World-Herald, 18 November 2012 Now that Washington and Colorado have legalized casual marijuana use, the concern has been raised about driving under the influence. “Marijuana can cause dizziness and slow reaction time, and drivers who are high are more likely to drift and swerve.” The question raised…

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Recreational Use of Marijuana Approved in Two States

Source: “Marijuana tourism: A budding industry?” Omaha World-Herald, 12 November 2012. As predicted, the push for legalizing marijuana under the guise of medical need was merely a rouse to get recreational use legalized. Both Colorado and Washington have voted to legalize the use of marijuana in their states so long as the drug is bought and…

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Marijuana Use Linked to Testicular Cancer

Source: Bill Briggs, “Dude, it’s your junk! Pot linked to testicular cancer,” NBC News, 10 September 2012. “Scientists at the University of Southern California say they’ve detected a link between recreational marijuana use and a greater chance among males in their early teens through their mid-30s of contracting a particularly dangerous form of testicular cancer –…

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Marijuana Permanently Lowers IQ

Source: Stephen Adams, “Cannabis smoking ‘permanently lowers IQ’,” The Telegraph, 27 July 2012. Source: Madeline Meier, et al, “Persistent cannabis users show neuropsychological decline from childhood to midlife,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), 30 July 2012. “Researchers found persistent users of the drug, [marijuana], who started smoking it at school, had lower IQ scores…

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Why is marijuana wrong when it is only a plant?

Question: You say marijuana is wrong even though it’s a plant and must have a purpose. I’ve found that it is really only illegal because of racism and because the medicine companies would lose money, but sugar comes from a plant too, and it can cause diabetes and other illnesses. So, if the Bible says…

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What do you think about a woman who smokes pot while pregnant?

Question: I’m interested in a girl, interested enough to get serious about her. She’s pregnant with another boy’s baby (he dumped her), but that’s all right with me, I’ve made similar mistakes. But she smokes — mostly cigarettes, but sometimes pot. I’m not certain, but I really like her. What do you think? Answer: While…

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