Marijuana

Description

IS USING MARIJUANA WRONG?

The cannabis question has been the subject of debate for over sixty years. Over time the conversation has radically shifted as scientific research on the matter has developed. This short study breaks down the science and terminology surrounding marijuana and efficiently examines its effects on the mind and body. Despite the growing belief that marijuana is harmless, this booklet critically evaluates the implications of marijuana use in light of Catholic moral principles.

Read this concise and critical text to understand the Catholic position on what has become America’s drug of choice.

Short-Term Effects

10/21/25Short-Term Effects : 22

Studies have found that “people with psychosis [are] 5 times as likely to commit violent crimes as those without it. They [are] 19.5 times as likely to commit murder.”[29]
A study appearing in the 2017 edition of the Journal of Addiction Research & Therapy states the following:[30]
In incarcerated subjects, studies found that one-third of the subjects that committed homicide had used marijuana twenty-four hours before the homicide. Further, three-quarters of those subjects were experiencing at least one mental or physical effect from marijuana intoxication when the homicide occurred.

10/21/25Short-Term Effects : 23

The case of Bryn Spejcher shows how rapidly marijuana use can lead to violent behavior. She was a well-educated, employed 28-year-old with no criminal record or history of mental illness. She had never smoked marijuana before, but when her boyfriend went outside to smoke, she told him she wanted to try it. When she felt no immediate effect, she asked for something stronger. Her boyfriend refilled the bong with thicker smoke and they both took a second hit.
Spejcher became both high and paranoid with the second hit. She described herself as having a vision in which she was dead because of her boyfriend. She thought that she needed to attack him in order to bring herself back to life. In the process of stabbing him 108 times, she thought she heard voices saying to her, “Keep fighting, keep doing what you’re doing.” When she was taken to the hospital after the murder, the only artificial chemical influence found in her blood was THC.

This sounds demonic.

Long-Term Effects, Duration, and Addiction

10/21/25Long-Term Effects, Duration, and Addiction : 24

Cannabis has by far the highest conversion rate to schizophrenia of any substance—higher than meth, higher than opioids, higher than LSD.

Conclusion

10/21/25Conclusion : 44

Pius XII (1944), in: Solesmes, The Human Body. Papal teachings (Boston, MA: St. Paul Editions, 1979), 54 (n. 32) (https://www.pdcnet.org/ncbq/content/ncbq_2015_0015_ 0004_0725_0733?file_type=pdf)