Marijuana was the 60’s drug of choice. And in 2008 it still is. Today’s supply is about 50 times more powerful than the stuff sold in the 60’s. Therefore the habituation factor is much higher today. I think we are being too slack as healers and as a society about the drug. It is in my estimation a plague that is waging war on our spiritual life and is responsible for a great deal of inattention to the gospel.

Showtime runs a sitcom called, “Weeds.” It is about a widowed housewife who went into the marijuana business to support her family. It is a funny show if the contents weren’t so tragic. The show accurately portrayed business types and professional’s predilection for the drug. “Weed” is still the drug of choice of professionals. It is for sure not just students on high school and college campuses that are drawing deep breaths from joints.

The dangerous part about pot is it appears to be so benign. It isn’t nearly as benign as many parents today think it is. We now know that longer-term use has been shown to cause occasional schizophrenia-like symptoms. And still today it remains the gateway drug along with cigarettes into opiates, methamphetamines, cocaine and a range of prescription drugs. Most of the time people will try pot before they experiment with other drugs. Again I am absolutely persuaded that marijuana is THE most dangerous drug available because of this.

We also know that marijuana effects the area of the brain that enhances ambition. The drug depletes ambition. It can cause one’s life to stop as though a pause button was hit.

It is also a proven cause of depression. It is a depressant and when smoked often it can cause depression-like symptoms to plague the user. And depression we now know is not so harmless at all.

Habituation is definitely less dangerous than physical addiction. But habituation to marijuana can leave all kinds of emotional damage that isn’t easily overcome. People are more and more finding themselves in the place that they cannot quit using without some outside intervention.

But the most dangerous aspect of the drug’s use is it is a counterfeit spiritual experience. I feel principalities drive it that seek to neutralize the truth with false religious experiences that block out the seeking heart. I am fully persuaded that an awakening in our culture is being resisted by this plague. The drug was used by numerous ancient cultures as part of religious rites. And it still carries religious currents in its use.

When I have shared my panic over the trend toward normalizing pot I get statements like these, “It’s better than driving drunk.” Or, “It’s not addictive after all.” And, “It’s just good clean recreation.” Heart disease doesn’t kill, as quickly as cyanide so which is better.

It may not be addictive but it carries the baggage of an entire worldview. And the sensation the drug offers comes straight out of the brain’s God talk area. I remember well in my college days smoking pot and pontificating about the cosmic issues of life. It was a spiritual experience. I found the Holy Spirit to be a much more profound guide into spiritual things. But for a time the allure of pot was strong.

Pot is mostly evil because it stops the pursuit of God. It takes away from a culture the quest for spiritual reality. It weakens the human will even more than alcohol in my opinion. And most of all it looks so safe.

I think and I am praying that there will be a swing back toward their being a stigma about using the drug. I am hopeful that trafficking in the drug will not be winked at any more but pursued to the max. And that drug testing for pot will increase in the marketplace and schools.

I know a young woman who was an avid pot smoker in college who stopped using the drug. She stopped for one reason. She went to work for a bank that did regular random testing for drug use. Business could do a big part on our war against drugs (I think we still have one of those) by making drug use incompatible with employment in their firms.

And let me add. I am not a cranky old guy. Nor am I an alarmist. Nor am I out of touch with trends. And neither am I unrealistic about what can be expected. What I am is an evangelist and I don’t like what I am facing fighting this plague. We can throw down spiritual powers that drive these things out but first we have to stop letting them lull us to sleep.