"HIGHER" POWER?
The state of Arkansas voted against legalizing recreational marijuana in November. Did the Bible play a role in its defeat?
The initiative intended to “authorize the possession, personal use and conception of cannabis by adults, to authorize the cultivation and sale of cannabis by licensed commercial facilities, and to provide for the regulation of those facilities” statewide.
One group that
fought the law is the Arkansas Family Council Action Committee (AFCAC), a conservative Christian lobbying group that opposes marijuana use.
In its effort to stop marijuana legalization in Arkansas, the AFCAC enlisted a powerful ally: local pastors.
The AFCAC encouraged local faith leaders can take the anti-marijuana fight to the pews. The group prepared a brief for local pastors explaining why they should join the fight against legalization, how to answer common questions, and why
marijuana consumption is anti-biblical.
Call it the Christian case against marijuana.
In a section titled "Higher purpose than getting high," they lay out their first point: “The whole point of consuming ‘recreational’ marijuana is to get high,” the brief reads. “The Bible has numerous warnings against drunkenness. Being filled with the Spirit leads to more self-control, but using marijuana leads to less self-control READ MORE