Should I smoke pot?

A priest friend of mine has a good friend who recently recommended to him that he should try marijuana. He asked me for some advice and the more I thought about it, the more I realized it is complicated.
I know it is illegal and for some that could stop the conversation. However, there are unjust laws that St. Thomas claims do not need to be followed if they are not just. Even for someone like me, who does not believe in legalizing it, to see it in the class associated with hard drugs like heroin makes little to no sense. There is also a movement a foot that is gaining political strength to legalize weed, some say it is just a matter of time.
I know it is not as evil and destructive to our bodies as we are led to believe, but it's not exactly health food either. Inhaling smoke into your lungs is bad for you, period. But, I smoke cigars on occasion and I drink alcohol as well at times and both of them are technically bad for you too. Is pot much worse than these other drugs?
I couldn't tell you about the effects of marijuana having never tried it. If the effects are such that it incapacitates you then that is a problem. However, I have heard that you cannot overdose on pot. An alcohol overdose will kill you. So if you are staying home and can still function on its effects is that sinful? I also know that it seems some musicians and writers found weed to do the opposite of debilitate them.
My biggest question is about the opportunity for scandal. If he gets caught not only could it be legal trouble for him (not quite sure what the penalty is), but it could alienate some parishioners.
So I ask you all, what do you think? Should my priest friend try pot? He is very interested it sounds like or at least curious. There might be lots of other things I am not thinking about at the moment.

Quote: FrGamble

Is pot much worse than these other drugs?
.

Pot takes away your ability to concentrate,
makes you hungry, and mutes any drive
you might have. It's a lot like taking a
stupid pill. That's why if you're in a group
that's smoking and you're not, they all sound
dumb to you, and they think they're being
witty and charming. Stay away from it.

I'd have to simply ask, "what does he hope to gain from it?" I will assume that there is no vow a priest takes that would put him in dutch for trying pot. What is his reasoning?

Does he want to try it so he can tell others that there is nothing to be gained from it? If this is why he wants to do it, I would say it is a very, very poor reason. "I tried pot so you don't have to" doesn't sound very good. If it is to try it to see what the effect is so he can counsel, that is a little better but not unless the order comes from above and is widespread.

If he just wants to get stoned, at least have him go on vacation and do it.

I have seen what the stuff does to people, it is not good. I am for decriminalization, but count me out. The people over 23 who use it have a common thread of immaturity in their lives from what I have seen.

Before I get started... when I saw this thread, I played a little game called "Guess who started this thread". And although I've once lost a hockey game 45 - 2, even that wasn't as bad as how bad I lost this game XD Anyways...

Pot is weird. A common thread amongst nearly everyone I know who's ever smoked is that you don't get high the first time. I know I didn't either. It took a good 4 or 5 attempts before it hit me. I'm not entirely sure why, but I imagine it is at least partially due to technique. I bring this up because if your "friend" ;) is looking to hit it and quit it, he might not get the experience he was looking for.

Pot, like every other drug, also affects people differently. Commonly, there's a small period of time, in the beginning, when people turn into jabber jaws. It usually only goes for 5 - 20 minutes, but every random thought in their head turns into words. It's controllable, yes, it's not like one would be powerless to keep quiet. But as you get high, everything seems interesting and worth discussing and expressing. After that, it's mostly just a fog. For a pot head, it might last an hour. For someone green, it might last several. You can totally clean the house, wash the car, do your bills, whatever. But you most likely just won't want to. It's a lot like waking up on a bleak winter's morning. Mostly, you just want to curl up in your fuzzy blanket and watch TV / play Xbox / or play 8 straight hours of Minesweeper.

Different weed has different effects as well. For the connoisseur, one might notice that this one makes him more mellow, this one makes his thoughts a bit weirder, this one sparks his creativity more, this one makes him goofier, this one makes him lazier... it's likely not something he needs to worry about, but it makes a slight difference.

I would not suggest a first timer doing it if they actually had something to do. Whatever it is won't seem as important, and you probably won't do it as well as you could. Driving should also not be done, nor should anything else where safety is an issue (even peeling an apple). But if he wants to do it, and has an afternoon to kill, then whatever.

It won't kill him. He won't suddenly become a junkie, he won't wager the entire church at some online casino, he won't do anything crazy. Probably the worst thing he will do is eat something suspect, like a tuna fish and grape jelly sandwich on a sour cream bagel, and it will be the best sandwich he's ever eaten. He won't get black lung, he won't get cancer, his teeth won't fall out. He's not gonna hit the streets for some black tar or sell a child into slavery. It will just be the laziest day of his life.

Really, the scandal is likely the only risk. It's not even about being caught; you have to be mostly retarded to get caught on a pot rap in my day, and the size he'd be getting for his one day experience would be a fine, worst case. But he's gotta get it from somebody, and somebodies talk. Gotta trust your buyer.

As far as sin goes, I'm probably the last person who should comment. But it is obvious that the law as it pertains to weed is several levels below asinine, and does far more damage than the ill it's trying to correct. That's more of a question that he needs to answer himself.

I hate to put it this way, but weed makes you
think say and do dopey things. Some people
like being in that state of mind all their lives.
Most grow out of it. Trix and weed are for kids.

All you have to do is look hard at the people
who endorse it. Do they look like people you
would want to know and be friends with?
Hardly. They're people who thought a degree
in Irish Poetry was a worthwhile undertaking.

I voted "yes." In my opinion, marijuana is much less harmful than alcohol and I fully support legalization. If there is a god, I think he gave us drugs and alcohol to help cope with the wicked world we live in. However, as a priest, he should take great care to be discrete about it.

On the other hand, many people have had religious
experiences on dope. And the padre is in the ideas
and concepts business. I'd skip weed and go right
for the peyote. Now there's a drug worth experimenting
with if you're into religion.

Quote: Evenbob

On the other hand, many people have had religious
experiences on dope. And the padre is in the ideas
and concepts business. I'd skip weed and go right
for the peyote. Now there's a drug worth experimenting
with if you're into religion.

But you don't get to chose the deity, therein lies the rub. I might not believe in Hell, but I have surely been there once.

It's nothing like the books say. It's exactly like here. Only it's a perpetual nightmare.

The side effects are mild but permanent with regards to memory. Marijuana can cause your heart to beat much faster for a brief time after smoking, so this also is a risk assuming you're no spring chicken. I am also guessing this would be something you would have to hide in secret and do alone without friends so I say no for this reason. It causes paranoia too sometimes but only while high and not always.

Quote: Evenbob

All you have to do is look hard at the people
who endorse it. Do they look like people you
would want to know and be friends with?

Sure, I'd be friends with Willie Nelson. Paul McCartney too. (although apparently he stopped when he turned 69)