Not taking into account Dina D'malchusa, what are the Halachic problems with smoking marijuana? Is it allowed?
Answer
Igros Moshe has a tshuva regarding smoking Marijuana. He forbids it for several reasons:
- It damages the body. Moreover, even if people claim that people are not harmed, their intellect is harmed, which is a worse damage than damaging the body. It prevents one from understanding Torah, Davening, and keeping mitzvos properly.
- One gives himself extra cravings, worse than those for food and drink. This is a sin which we learn from the "Rebellious son", which is punished for his cravings for food, even though the food is one hundred percent kosher. All the more so it is forbidden to create within himself a new craving for something that he naturally has no desire and no need. Moreover, just like the reason that we execute a "Rebellious son" (even though he didn't do any sin worthy of execution) is that we see that he will come to robbing the population, so too drug use is a step towards robbery.
- It is a lack of honoring one's parents, who are no doubt upset by the son's actions.
- Kdoshim Tih'yoo (be holy) is a positive commandment. According to the Ramban, this commandment means not to be "disgusting with the Torah's permission".
He finishes off that it is a clear-cut prohibition, especially for b'nei y'shiva.
R' Adin Even-Yisrael (Steinsaltz) wrote what the Lubavitcher Rebbe told him in a private audience about drugs. He said that the whole point of the Torah is for one to be a master over himself. Drugs (as well as other addictive and psychoactive substances) make themselves the master over him.
Even though one could say that bread is also psychoactive, yet drugs are worse, as they are addictive. Once one is addicted, it's almost impossible to quit.
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