In this booklet the aim is to make a case against use of marijuana in our society and particularly among Christians. I will outline my reasons. The reasons for anyone, especially Christians, to oppose marijuana use are historical, pharmacological, medical, psychological and psychiatric, legal and criminal, commercial, social, and certainly spiritual.

This is not an academic matter for me. I confess to having been a heavy drug user in my days before faith in Christ. I write therefore from the inside, if you will, as one well aware of what marijuana usage and the culture surrounding it entails.

Paul T. Murphy

36-page paperback booklet

5.5 x 8.5"

..................................

Preview a few pages here (PDF)

Reviews

...................................................................

Concise and clear - a great introduction for parents to read with their kids

Rating: 5 stars

Rev. Paul T. Murphy is both a Reformed pastor and, as he notes in his introduction, a reformed drug user, both of which add to the credibility of his" Stone-Cold Crazy."

This is more booklet than book, but it is an important one, highlighting how the four big arguments for legalization all fall short: 1) it isn’t medical, in that it has never gone through the same evaluation as other medical drugs, 2) it doesn’t need to be made legal to end the mass incarceration of marijuana users as there is no such mass incarceration, 3) legalizing won’t eliminate the criminal black market for it since legal weed is much more expensive, and 4) states won’t get a tax revenue windfall from legalization because marijuana use also comes with costs for the State.

Murphy notes that Christians might be able to support decriminalization – making it a fine rather than a crime – but as he quotes John Stonestreet, “Legalization says a lot about the worldview of our culture – one in which the State wishes to aid and abet the inability of people to deny themselves any pleasure. That’s called state sponsored hedonism.”

This would be an important read for church councils, and its small size make it one that parents could read along with their teens.

Jon D.