One Answer - No to Pot

Here is what I sent to one person about the question, "should Christians smoke pot".

The answers are the same for pot, and all drugs. Drinking is slightly different because it is legal, but the Bible still gives lots of guidance on how one should only drink in moderation not to get drunk.

1. The Law - The first reason is because it is illegal and Christians are called to obey the laws of the land. We are only to reject laws when they go against God’s word.
Romans 13:1-7 (NLT)
Obey the government, for God is the one who put it there. All governments have been placed in power by God. 2So those who refuse to obey the laws of the land are refusing to obey God, and punishment will follow. 3For the authorities do not frighten people who are doing right, but they frighten those who do wrong. So do what they say, and you will get along well. 4The authorities are sent by God to help you. But if you are doing something wrong, of course you should be afraid, for you will be punished. The authorities are established by God for that very purpose, to punish those who do wrong. 5So you must obey the government for two reasons: to keep from being punished and to keep a clear conscience.
6Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid so they can keep on doing the work God intended them to do. 7Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and import duties, and give respect and honor to all to whom it is due.

Titus 3:1 (NLT)
Remind your people to submit to the government and its officers. They should be obedient, always ready to do what is good.

However, Pot may not always be illegal, so why should we avoid it.

2. Our Body is the Temple of God - Our body was bought with a price, we should not abuse it and pot abuses our body. It changes us, it robs us of our desires, and makes us slave to it, so that we need it all the time. Challenge him/her to go 2 weeks without pot, if she/he can’t, he/she is addicted to it.
1 Cor. 6:19-20 (NLT)
Or don't you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

Romans 12:1-2 (NLT)
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? 2Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.

3. God gives Cautions - God gives many warnings about getting drunk, partying and wild living. These can also be applied to Pot.
Proverbs 23:29-35 (NLT)
Who has anguish? Who has sorrow? Who is always fighting? Who is always complaining? Who has unnecessary bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? 30It is the one who spends long hours in the taverns, trying out new drinks. 31Don't let the sparkle and smooth taste of wine deceive you. 32For in the end it bites like a poisonous serpent; it stings like a viper. 33You will see hallucinations, and you will say crazy things. 34You will stagger like a sailor tossed at sea, clinging to a swaying mast. 35And you will say, "They hit me, but I didn't feel it. I didn't even know it when they beat me up. When will I wake up so I can have another drink?"

Romans 13:11-14 (NLT)
Another reason for right living is that you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for the coming of our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So don't live in darkness. Get rid of your evil deeds. Shed them like dirty clothes. Clothe yourselves with the armor of right living, as those who live in the light. 13We should be decent and true in everything we do, so that everyone can approve of our behavior. Don't participate in wild parties and getting drunk, or in adultery and immoral living, or in fighting and jealousy. 14But let the Lord Jesus Christ take control of you, and don't think of ways to indulge your evil desires.

1 Cor. 6:9-13 (NLT)
Don't you know that those who do wrong will have no share in the Kingdom of God? Don't fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, who are idol worshipers, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexuals, 10thieves, greedy people, drunkards, abusers, and swindlers—none of these will have a share in the Kingdom of God. 11There was a time when some of you were just like that, but now your sins have been washed away, and you have been set apart for God. You have been made right with God because of what the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God have done for you.
12You may say, "I am allowed to do anything." But I reply, "Not everything is good for you." And even though "I am allowed to do anything," I must not become a slave to anything. 13You say, "Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food." This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them. But our bodies were not made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies.

Galatians 5:19-24 (NLT)
When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, 20idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, 21envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
22But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law.
24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.

4. Live a New Life - God calls us to live a new life, different from our old life. We need to learn to lean on God to meet out needs. Pot and drugs are often used to escape, deal with pain, or to experience a new level of fun. However, God wants us to turn to him for everything. We need God to help us with our pain, or to deal with our desire to escape (whether through drugs, eating, TV, etc.) and to show us how to have healthy fun. God wants a relationship with us and be involved in every area of our life. Drugs prevent that because they are a substitute for God.
Galatians 5:16-18 (NLT)
So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict.

Ephes. 5:15-18 (NLT)
So be careful how you live, not as fools but as those who are wise. 16Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days. 17Don't act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do. 18Don't be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, let the Holy Spirit fill and control you.

5. Abundant Life - God sees all that we do and he wants us to trust him for a life more abundant that we could ever have on our own. Satan wants to destroy us and drugs are one way that Satan uses to destroy people and keep them in slavery. Slavery to our desires, slavery to him and keeps us from turning to God.
Psalm 139:7-12 (NLT)
I can never escape from your spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
8If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the place of the dead, you are there.
9If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
11I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
12but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are both alike to you.

John 10:10 (NLT)
The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give life in all its fullness.

6. Temptation - Jesus promises to help us with every temptation.
1 Cor. 10:13 (NLT)
But remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can't stand up against it. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it.

I hope that helps. Call me if you need any more advice.

Oh yea – I forgot.

God created many things for us, which we are supposed to avoid.
There are poisonous plants, mushrooms, flowers, and food. Just because God made them, does not mean we should eat them.

Just like in the Garden of Eden, God made the tree of knowledge, but told Adam and Eve not to eat from it. It was an area of trust and obedience. It is the same today, God still gives us limitations for his creation.

Dave