A position paper from the session of Christ Church Bellingham on the issue of cannabis consumption amongst our church members.

In this paper, the Session of Christ Church Bellingham seeks to set out our shared position on the issue of cannabis consumption among our church members through a series of statements of affirmation and denial. These statements are general principles for our community rather than specific applications for individuals. Answering the question of the appropriateness of cannabis consumption for Christians (whether in general or in specific cases) is complex; it requires biblical insight, pastoral sensitivity, and practical wisdom. As in all things that require redeemed thinking and God-given wisdom, we must rely on his Word and the leading of his Spirit.

In an important passage in the Bible on the question of the wise use or avoidance of created goods, Paul says that

“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. For “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience—I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else’s conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks? So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. (1 Corinthians 10:23–33)

Here Paul is dealing with issues of the use of created things, of cultural associations, of idolatry, of Christian freedom, and of conscience. His inspired words about meat provide for us a wise and effective pattern for thinking through our individual and communal relationship to cannabis in the context of our contemporary culture.

CCB Session affirms that Cannabis sativa is a good gift created by God for our good and his glory.

In the beginning, God created all things good. He created plants in all their variety to be fruitful and to multiply, to be consumed or otherwise used by people and animals, and to be cultivated as part of the grand commission human beings have been given to steward the earth and its resources in submission to God’s purposes. God created the plant we know as Cannabis sativa, from which we get the product we call hemp as well as what we call marijuana or cannabis (also known as pot, weed, and a variety of other nicknames). Legally, the US government distinguishes hemp from cannabis, though they’re the same plant. In this paper, we’re using cannabis as a blanket term for Cannabis sativa intended to be consumed in some fashion. Since God created Cannabis sativa, we must confess that it’s inherently good—to be appreciated and, if cultivated, used for his glory.

In fact, this plant like every other ultimately belongs to God: “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof” (Psalm 24:1). Throughout much of human history, Cannabis sativa has been cultivated by cultures around the globe for its strong and flexible fibers as well as for its psychoactive properties when eaten or smoked. Cannabis sativa was created good. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good for us fallen human beings to use it in any and every way we wish.

CCB Session affirms that sinful human beings readily abuse God’s created goods.

Inherently good things, we know, can be twisted and used in ways that are either harmful to us or our neighbors or opposed to the glory of God. Tragically, it’s often the case that the greater the good, the greater the potential for that good to be abused. As the church father Augustine taught, evil isn’t a thing, but a corruption of other things through sinfully desiring them instead of or above God (see Augustine, The City of God, book XI, chapter 9). We need to be careful to use God’s good gifts without twisting them to evil or harmful purposes. This is especially true with substances that are psychoactive, intoxicating, or otherwise capable of modifying our thoughts, feelings, and experience of the world around us.

CCB Session affirms that the illegal and legal US cannabis industries are idolatrous and destructive systems.

Like most of the meat available in Paul’s day in Corinth, most of the cannabis available in our day is sacrificed to idols. If not literally, then certainly in spirit: it’s cultivated to be offered up by worshippers at the altars of Escape and Freedom and Self-Indulgence. Like the temples at Corinth, cannabis has a devoted priestly class continually proclaiming the salvation this idol promises. Like the meat markets in Corinth, cannabis has powerful criminal, corporate, and state sponsors committed to the continuance of the system in pursuit of wealth and power regardless of the social consequences of that system.

Illegal, unregulated cannabis is estimated to be a $100 billion dollar a year industry in the US. Legal sales are currently at $17.5 billion, but are exploding in growth as record numbers of Americans consume cannabis. A recent Forbes estimate puts legal industry revenue at $41 billion by 2026—the same size as the entire craft beer industry.

Yet we still know very little about the personal and social health impact of cannabis consumption. There aren’t many studies on the long-term health effects of cannabis, but the research does show that serious negative consequences on brain development are likely for adolescent users. Frequent cannabis smokers are prone to the same respiratory damage as any other frequent smokers. And cannabis dependency and withdrawal—though not as severe as with alcohol and nicotine—are a danger for regular users (again, especially adolescents).

Other negative consequences are present but largely ignored in areas like environmental impact. According to Politico, though support for the cannabis industry is often associated with politically progressive policies, cannabis is actually “one of the most energy-intensive crops in the nation”.

Our sinful tendency to abuse God’s good gifts, paired with frequently self-destructive and socially toxic abuse of those gifts in service to idolatrous systems, should make us humble and cautious around the question of Christian cannabis use.

CCB Session affirms that cannabis remains widely stigmatized and federally illegal in the US.

For a long time, the most prevalent public view of cannabis in the United States has been as a dangerous illegal substance, a gateway drug to be classed with its deadly cousins: opiates like heroin and stimulants like cocaine. Anti-marijuana campaigns like the film Reefer Madness (1936) helped to shape cultural perceptions of cannabis use throughout the rest of the twentieth century. These campaigns portrayed people who smoke pot as being on the cultural fringe, degenerates who at best don’t contribute positively to society and at worst are dangerous to themselves and others. But these public health campaigns also reflected the reality that cannabis was already regulated as a narcotic in every state by the mid-Thirties, culminating with the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. This crackdown in the first half of the twentieth century seems to have been largely a response to the widespread use of legal and readily available cannabis (along with common narcotics) in the second half of the nineteenth century. It could also have been a result of cannabis use’s increasing negative association with Mexican immigrants.

By 1970, cannabis was classified as a “controlled substance” and illegal nationwide. According to some estimates the US has spent a trillion dollars to date on the global “war on drugs” that began under Nixon in the early Seventies. While this strategy is aimed at curbing the global illegal drug trade as a whole, cannabis and its users have been a prominent target. Cannabis’s inclusion in the war on drugs has also been a target of criticism—not least because of the large number of resulting criminal prosecutions and incarcerations of proportionally non-violent and low-threat offenders.

CCB Session affirms that cannabis’s negative cultural reputation and legal status in the US are complex and shifting rapidly.

Movements to legalize cannabis use have existed for as long as it’s been illegal, but sweeping policy shifts only began under the Obama administration. One way to look at these shifts is as a change in metaphor for approaching substances like cannabis: from fighting a drug war to treating drug addictions. For cannabis this shift has involved a steady push toward legitimizing its medical use and decriminalizing and regulating its recreational use. This metaphor shift is part of a broader acceptance of the notion that in the case of cannabis—whose natural psychoactive effects are usually comparatively mild—there exists an acceptable level of use or enjoyment that falls short of being abuse. Many other countries have followed a similar policy path. According to a UN Report, as of 2010 cannabis has become the most popular drug in the world.

Depending on jurisdiction, possessing, using, and selling cannabis is either illegal or strictly regulated in the United States. Cannabis not grown for hemp remains entirely illegal at the federal level. The House of Representatives passed legislation in 2020 to remove cannabis from the list of controlled substances, which would make it legal at the federal level for adults for the first time in fifty years. The Senate has not yet voted on this new legislation. According to Pew, thirty-three states have legalized cannabis for adult medical use and eleven for recreational use as well.

Since current federal and state laws and statutes in the US regulating cannabis are a patchwork made up of older and newer policies, application of these laws and policies varies (sometimes wildly) from place to place. In some states or jurisdictions where cannabis is still fully illegal, criminal penalties are severe; in others, they’re rarely enforced. And in states where cannabis is legal, it’s far more restricted in availability (where someone can buy it) and eligibility (who can buy it) than alcohol or cigarettes.

The Bible clearly teaches that Christians should submit to all lawful authorities as instituted by God. Less clear is the Christian’s responsibility in contexts where overlapping authorities are contradictory or ambiguous, and where legality becomes a complex issue to determine. No state allows the purchase, possession, or use of cannabis for recreational purposes under the age of 21; the age is sometimes lower for medical purposes, but never lower than 18. But in cases where a federal law contradicts a state law, which law wins? And does a federal law trump a state law, even if the federal law isn’t enforced in the state and has no expectation of being so?

In US culture broadly, cannabis’s reputation has been shifting rapidly alongside the law. Two-thirds of Americans now support legalizing cannabis. Although support is highest among politically progressive Millennials, they’re far from alone: Silent Generation Republicans are the only remaining demographic group in which a majority are opposed to legalization.

Still, cannabis is nowhere near as commonplace or as socially acceptable as alcohol. Though there’s been a cultural shift away from considering recreational cannabis use as immoral and dangerous, there’s still a stigma against it as irresponsible and unserious—a significantly greater stigma than for casual drinking. According to a survey by the American Addiction Centers, “With the exception of pregnant women, people admitted to having less respect for everyone from religious leaders to police officers and parents using marijuana compared to those who drank alcohol.” In fact, it seems that the more social weight a person’s role or office holds, the more likely they are to lose respect if they’re seen as cannabis users. (It’s also worth noting that religious leaders are only second to pregnant women in the social respect they lose if seen drinking alcohol.)

CCB Session denies that all uses of cannabis and cannabis-derived substances are equivalent and should be treated in the same way.

We’ve already mentioned hemp as an example of a beneficial and unobjectionable use of Cannabis sativa. Are there any other “use cases” that are not abuses, especially when it comes to consuming cannabis products? There are several considerations here.

THC versus CBD

Although cannabis is naturally psychoactive, the compounds associated with this effect—abbreviated THC and CBD—occur in greatly varying amounts in different cannabis varieties, and each compound behaves very differently.

THC is the compound primarily responsible for the euphoric high and sedation associated with consuming cannabis. CBD doesn’t produce those effects. This distinction between THC and CBD is important for this position paper for two reasons:

1. Many modern cannabis products separate THC and CBD, purposefully including one or the other or both in varying amounts. So the act of consuming cannabis is no longer as simple a consideration as it was before these compounds were isolated and derived. It is no longer all-or-nothing.

2. Since THC is directly responsible for cannabis’s euphoric and sedative effects, it’s also directly relevant to the Bible’s injunctions against drunkenness and sloth and its call to sober-mindedness.

Finally, it’s important to note that the legal complexities of cannabis still apply to CBD. Legally, CBD’s status depends largely upon whether the THC content of the plants from which it is extracted classify those plants as hemp or cannabis (or marijuana).

Recreational versus Medical/Therapeutic Uses

The second important “use case” consideration deals with whether the use is fundamentally recreational or fundamentally medicinal or therapeutic. Recreational, in this context, means cannabis use simply for pleasure, enjoyment, or relaxation. Importantly, recreational cannabis use is largely tied to and motivated by the euphoric, sedative, and intoxicating effects of THC.

Medical or therapeutic, in this context, means cannabis use to help alleviate a mental, emotional, or physical ailment. Medical and therapeutic uses tend to rely on an assumption of cannabis’s effectiveness to treat various ailments, since its effectiveness in medical and therapeutic treatment is largely untested. Medical legitimacy for cannabis is very difficult to demonstrate without widespread studies, which are in turn extremely difficult to conduct with federally illegal, controlled substances. Cannabis is sometimes used for medical treatment—with some limited confirming research, completed and ongoing—conditions like epilepsy, glaucoma, severe nausea, appetite loss, muscle spasms, and chronic pain. Cannabis is also commonly used for therapeutic treatment of issues like anxiety, depression, ADHD, and insomnia.

Since the medical effects of cannabis seem to rely on the action of compounds called cannabinoids, the presence of CBD in cannabis seems to be sufficient for its medical and therapeutic effects (apart from effects specific to THC, like sedation). Again, these aren’t widely studied or agreed upon matters among medical professionals.

CCB Session denies that cannabis use, abstinence, advocacy, or opposition among Christians is merely a private issue.

Personal choices about what we may consume are inseparable from what’s beneficial for our church family and broader community and what’s glorifying to God. Remember, Paul tells the Corinthian church in the passage from 1 Corinthians 10 quoted earlier, “Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor” while causing “no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God.” These instructions are designed to guide the Corinthian Christians toward their ultimate aim: “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” Paul’s counsel comes in the context of the Corinthians’ use of (or abstinence from) the good things God has created but that are widely abused or associated with idolatry in their cultural context. Likewise, what our contemporary culture believes about cannabis—including the relational consequences of a given individual’s use of cannabis—matters deeply for whether a Christian decides it’s appropriate for him or her to consume it, advocate for its use or legality, or openly oppose it, and whether those decisions will contribute fruitfully to the good of others and God’s glory.

In addition to prayer and study of God’s Word, one of the things any individual Christian should do when weighing whether a particular course of action is wise or worthwhile is to bring that important decision to godly, trusted, mature brothers and sisters in Christ for counsel. In our war against folly and sin, “in an abundance of counselors there is safety” and “victory” (Proverbs 11:14, 24:6).

CCB Session affirms that cannabis use or abstinence for law-abiding adults is a conscience issue, which in itself is neither inherently sinful nor automatically subject to censure or church discipline.

At the same time, responsibility for these decisions about biblical faithfulness and personal propriety belongs to each person individually. Whether cannabis consumption is morally allowable or wise is a contested issue among Christians and the Bible doesn’t explicitly settle the issue for us. That makes it a conscience issue and a matter of Christian liberty for those of legal age. It’s a decision for each Christian, with counsel from their family and church leadership, and in submission to their Lord.

The Westminster Confession of Faith 20.2 says this as strongly as possible:

God alone is Lord of the conscience, and hath left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men, which are, in anything, contrary to his Word; or beside it, if matters of faith, or worship. So that, to believe such doctrines, or to obey such commands, out of conscience, is to betray true liberty of conscience: and the requiring of an implicit faith, and an absolute and blind obedience, is to destroy liberty of conscience, and reason also.

The many considerations discussed in this paper have led some Christians to advocate against cannabis use in any form. Others allow exceptions for regulated medical use. Still others approve its recreational use but advise moderation. The Bible and our Confession don’t forbid us from holding and following personal convictions on this matter, even convictions that are in tension with one another. The Bible and the Confession do require us to hold those personal convictions in a way that upholds the Bible, the faith, and the law of the land, while giving fellow Christians no cause for stumbling. And the Bible and the Confession require the Session to refuse to take a stance (on cannabis and anything else) that goes against, or beyond, God’s Word.

Church censure and discipline are instituted by God for the purpose of exposing serious and ongoing sin against God’s revealed will, ultimately with the goal of reconciling sinners to God and his people (Matthew 18:15–20). Sin is always against God, a transgression of his law in thought, word, or deed, by either failing to do what we ought or by doing what we ought not (Psalm 51:4; 1 John 3:4). We as Christians—and as a Session—are forbidden to call anything good that God calls evil or to call anything sin that God doesn’t say is sinful.

James and Paul also both make clear that whatever we say or do—even if lawful in itself—that doesn’t flow from faith is sin. That means even if a Christian is convinced intellectually that cannabis consumption is allowable and good in certain specific cases, if he or she has any doubts about whether it’s pleasing to God, that doubt makes the consumption sinful (Romans 14:22–23; James 4:17).

CCB Session denies that those under age may legitimately consume cannabis for any reason.

Legality and mental and physical health considerations demand that we reject recreational cannabis consumption as a godly and wise practice for those under the age of 21.

CCB Session affirms that all Christians should be sober-minded, pursue wisdom and self-control, use our freedom for love, and refrain from giving others cause to stumble.

Immediately after the strong call to protect Christian liberty in Westminster Confession of Faith 20.2, 20.3 asserts that our Christian freedom is intended for love:

They who, upon pretense of Christian liberty, do practice any sin, or cherish any lust, do thereby destroy the end of Christian liberty, which is, that being delivered out of the hands of our enemies, we might serve the Lord with fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

Christian liberty isn’t an excuse for sins like gluttony and drunkenness. The Bible is crystal clear that drunkenness in particular is a serious sin (Proverbs 23:21; Romans 13:13; 1 Corinthians 6:10; 1 Peter 4:3). Any consumption of cannabis for the purpose of intoxication or drunkenness, or which irresponsibly leads to drunkenness, is the same sin as if the drunkenness came from alcohol any other intoxicant.

In Romans 14, Paul issues a strong defense of Christian liberty alongside an equally strong defense of freedom exercised not for the sake of self-indulgence but for love. His words there speak powerfully both to those who believe cannabis consumption is always inherently sinful as well as those who would be willing to cause other Christians to stumble because their consciences are free in this matter. The whole passage is relevant and worthy of careful reflection in relation to this topic:

As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written,

“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.”

So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.

Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.

CCB Session affirms that church officers in particular should remain above reproach and set an example of maturity and sober-mindedness.

With respect to church officers, all of the biblical teaching on Christian liberty paired with Christian responsibility holds true, with the addition of some important considerations.

First, pastors and elders are called to be able to teach and to exercise that gift in instructing the church in sound doctrine and rebuking error (Ephesians 4:11–12; 1 Timothy 3:2; 2 Timothy 2:24–25; Titus 1:9). The Bible also warns that this is a serious responsibility not to be taken up lightly, because we who teach are to be judged more strictly (James 3:1; 1 Timothy 1:7). Christian teachers and shepherds are never perfect—at fault in many things we say (James 3:2)—yet we must be very careful about what we teach others about what is good and true and the weight of our responsibility for that teaching. We cannot bind other Christians’ consciences in matters of freedom, but we can restrain our own freedom for others’ sake.

Second, officers in the church are models for the rest of the congregation and bear special responsibility among the congregation. The weight or gravity of bearing office includes the extra significance given to positions or actions taken by that officer. Officers not only carry relatively greater influence on the opinions and actions of the rest of the congregation, but we also carry relatively greater risk that our words and actions will cause harm (including stumbling).

Third, bearing office in the church is a public role shared with the rest of the officeholders. Elders are individuals, but can’t help but represent the Session as a body. Deacons are individuals but represent the diaconate. And each body ultimately represents Christ to the congregation and to the community. The actions of one officeholder can reverberate among the whole leadership and the whole body.

Finally, let’s always remind ourselves that our heavenly Father is the one who has created all things good and given them to us to enjoy within his limits, which aren’t burdensome. Jesus has borne all our burdens, setting us free from sin and setting us apart for good works. Following a self-giving Lord involves dying to ourselves and living for one another in the self-control of the Spirit. But slavery to Christ is always true freedom.

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. (1 Corinthians 10:31–33)