> but do you think it is right to smoke if it is not in the bible? I honestly don't know. We see intoxicants like alcohol occasionally being used medicinally in the Bible, both in Proverbs 31:6 and in 1 Tim 5:23, but the latter is clearly medicinal, while the former in context makes a distinction between the average person and the king, who dares not forget the law and oppress people. The first clause appears to mean "use it to dull the pain associated with dying," while the second clause is parallel to it and refers to "anguish," literally "bitterness of soul." This same expression appears in Job 21:25, where it speaks of the bitter man who dies without ever having enjoyed life; in 2 Sam 17:8 it compares David and his men to a bear who is bereft of her cubs; the NIV here translates it "fierce," a rendering that I really don't understand. It's also the phrase used to describe how Hannah was feeling as she prayed at the tabernacle about her barrenness in 1 Sam 1:10. A couple of other references are Isaiah 38:15 and Ezekiel 27:31. What all this tells me is, intoxicants do have their place: when one is dying or in similar anguish of spirit and/or body, a drink or something similar can be used to help relieve the pain for a time. This is what Prov 31:7 means when it says "let them remember their misery no more." A case in point is the medical use of marijuana to help ease the pain of dying cancer patients. It's also used sometimes to treat chronic depression, though there are other drugs for that now. Essentially, though, they all do the same thing: they stimulate certain centers in the brain that result in some form of mood elevation. If it comes down to someone having a joint or getting so depressed they commit suicide, I'll buy them the joint. However, these are extreme cases. So-called "recreational" use of such drugs is incompatible with the Christian life, IMO, and for the very same reasons that Lemuel says the king shouldn't drink: we forget the important stuff. We are told to let the peace of God guard not only our hearts, but also our minds (Phil 4), we are told to renew our minds (Rom 12:2) and all through Paul it is emphasized that our minds are a battleground between the New man and the Old man. If I surrender my mind to something that clouds it such as an intoxicant, especially if I'm doing it just for "fun", then I might as well just tell the Old man "Hey, go to it. I'm yours." Pertinent here is Ephesians 5. Why the part about not getting drunk? Because a drunken mind cannot make wise choices (v.15) and cannot seize opportunities (v.16) because it cannot understand the Lord's will (v.17). In fact, the mind that's under the influence of something like alcohol or marijuana can't understand much of anything! Putting oneself in that position just for "recreation" is incompatible with the way Paul says we are supposed to live for Christ. To sum up, I do see a biblical basis for some medical uses for marijuana, both as a pain-killer and as an antidepressant in some severe cases. However, using it as a form of recreation is decidedly contrary to the way Christians are told to use our minds.