Tuesday, 30 August 2016

Ben Carson, Kirk Cameron on legalization of marijuana

By Lorraine Caballero

Retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson approves of the medicinal use of marijuana, while evangelical Christian actor Kirk Cameron is afraid that some people may use the plant irresponsibly.

Last Tuesday, former Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson participated in a Facebook live interactive event in which he and Cameron explained why evangelical Christians should vote in the upcoming election. They also answered a caller's questions about how believers should react to the push for legalization of marijuana.


Carson responded by saying that developing brains exposed to marijuana's active ingredients can have serious impediments, especially on a person's IQ. He also acknowledged the medicinal use of marijuana in some pain and neurological disorders, but he also warned against abusing it.


"In terms of medical use, well, it does have some useful purposes for certain types of neurological disorders and pain syndromes, etc. ... A lot of the medications that we use today come from plants, but we process them to still them down to the active ingredients and make them into pills or capsules and utilize them in that way," said Carson. "And when used in that way, I think it can be useful. When used in a way that it can be abused and people can be exposed to it who really should not be exposed, it's abusive."

Cameron, on the other hand, highlighted the risks associated with the irresponsible use of marijuana. As an example, the actor said there are some young people who are thinking of moving to Colorado where they can grow pot in their yard instead of staying at home to smoke weed. He said using marijuana irresponsibly could put the general population in danger.

In relation to the topic, PJ Media warns people against conservative Christians who are starting to assert that they have the freedom to smoke marijuana. While the Bible does not specifically prohibit Jesus' followers from smoking weed, the Holy Book also speaks strongly about submission to authority and preservation of life.

The publication explains that the recreational use of marijuana is not directly mentioned in the Bible. However, the Christian condemnation of drunkenness in Ephesians 5:18 can be applied to smoking marijuana. Christians are called to be holy, so they should have nothing to do with drunkenness and obey the teachings of the Bible.

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