Is Smoking Marijuana a Sin?

A headline from two weeks ago in our home state reads New Hampshire House passes recreational marijuana bill. This is part of a widespread push to legalize the drug for more than medical use. Aside from the question of whether and how to criminalize the drug (a question of political prudence), a more fundamental question for Catholics is whether smoking the stuff “recreationally” — i.e., for pleasure and not for medical reasons — is morally licit.

Put another way, we may ask “Is smoking marijuana a sin?”

Yes, reply Fathers Doran and Scott.