Religion And Cannabis: These 10 Religious Organizations Support Marijuana

By Lucía Tedesco via El Planteo

It appears that religion and cannabis are no longer polar opposites.

The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), an organization that has been advocating for legalization since 1995, revealed the stance of more than 10 religious organizations on the matter. On its website, it published the names and terms of support of different religious organizations: which ones are they and what do they say?

Religion and cannabis: which religious organizations support marijuana legalization?

The Episcopal Church hopes that the US Congress will allow marijuana when medically appropriate, prescribed by a licensed professional.

See also: A Guide To Psychedelics' Influence On Modern Religion

The Presbyterian Church demands that the federal government enacts laws that allow cannabis treatments to combat cancer, HIV/AIDS, and muscular dystrophy.

The organization Protestants for the Common Good states that: "passing medical marijuana legislation would be an act of compassion and mercy".

The Progressive National Baptist Convention states that no healthcare professional who recommends medical cannabis to seriously ill patients should be subject to sanctions, nor should the patients.

The Unitarian Universalist Association believes that all drugs should be legally available with a prescription or with a medical access license, subject to professional supervision. They also oppose punishing people for obtaining, possessing, or using an illegal substance to treat a medical condition and are in favor of research.

Other religious organizations that support cannabis include The United Methodist Church and the Rhode Island State Council of Churches.

Judaism is also in favor of federal regulation of the plant's medicinal use, as well as compassionate care and study of the plant. In fact, the Union of Reform Judaism calls for more research on the issue and advocates for changes in laws to facilitate access to medical cannabis, as does Women of Reform Judaism. The Social Action Commission of Reform Judaism, meanwhile, merely supports medical use.

What do the congregants have to say about it?

In 2021, the Pew Research Center conducted a study that showed that most American adults are in favor of cannabis to some extent. Opinions vary by religious orientation and their level of commitment to it. More religious people are less likely to support marijuana. Still, 54% believe it should be legal, medically and recreationally. For those with more secular thinking, the percentage of acceptance rises to 76%.

See also: What Will Happen With Cannabis In 2023? Industry Experts Debate Exclusively On Benzinga

The results vary little by religion. Catholics and evangelical Protestants think relatively similarly, i.e., almost half of both religious groups are in favor. Thus, there is a second half against cannabis. Is it time for churches to start professing the use of medical cannabis indoors as well?

Via El Planteo, translated by Benzinga. 

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