A rabbi, a priest and a reverend offer perspectives on cannabis use | Commentaries

Editor’s Note: This comment is provided by the Florida A&M University Medical Marijuana Education and Research Initiative (MMERI).

The use of the cannabis plant as a herbal remedy and psychoactive drug has been documented by ancient civilizations, but whether or not it was mentioned in the Bible was a matter of speculation and religious perspective.

This was the topic of discussion when three religious leaders and a lay person attended a forum hosted by MMERI to discuss their views on cannabis in terms of theology, medicinal and recreational use, criminal persecution, and other interesting aspects.

Rabbi Yaakov Cohen lives in Israel and is the founder of Whole Kosher Services. He claims that if you read the Old Testament or Torah and master the Hebrew language, you can find a reference to cannabis in the Bible. He says the book of Leviticus, 30: 20-24, mentions an herb called Q’aneh-Bosm (also translated as Kaneh-Bosm).

“Q’aneh-Bosm is the hemp plant that was used to anoint the oil of the temple vessels, the king and the high priest,” said Rabbi Cohen, adding that it sounds like cannabis if you say the word quickly. Herbs, explained the rabbi, are God’s gift of salvation.

“We see that this herb, once put down by so many in relation to government leadership, has now become a leading herb in terms of its medicinal properties,” said Rabbi Cohen, referring to medical marijuana, a legal substance in Florida.

Another perspective

Father Dustin Feddon, pastor of two parishes in the diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee, said the 12th century mystic St. Hildegard von Bingen was “one of our Doctors of the Church”. He says, “She firmly believed that all of God’s creation, especially plants and herbs, could be used for the health and well-being of all of God’s creation and humanity.”

Pastor Dr. Lenny CK Marshall, pastor of St. Phillips AME Church in Tallahassee. He was referring to the New Testament, 1 Corinthians 6:12, which states that “everything is permitted to me, but all is not good, and nothing will master me.”

He said, “Although marijuana use can have medicinal benefits and people may benefit from it, be it for healing or recreational use,” he said [it] Ultimately, it depends on the right of the individual to have a choice of what to use. “

While every cleric held unique views about cannabis, they shared the same beliefs about legal versus illegal use: all laws regulating cannabis use, whether medicinal or recreational, must be obeyed. The trio also characterized the criminalization of marijuana as an orchestrated attempt to persecute people of color.

Enforcement of Laws

However, Ben Temer said his own experience as a white teenager arrested for possession gave him a different take on marijuana law enforcement. Temer is the founder of the nonprofit The International Jewish Cannabis Association, a South Florida-based group dedicated to educating the Jewish community about the benefits of cannabis.

“They don’t care about the color. They don’t care about their background. They don’t care who you are or what you do, ”he said, referring to the criminal justice system. What matters, he said, is whether you have the resources to fight the legal system.

“Regardless of your skin color, marijuana use can get you into trouble,” Rev. Marshall replied, “but the numbers in black communities are much higher for using the substance.”

Father Feddon knows the issue of incarceration all too well as the general manager of Joseph House in Tallahassee, which he describes as “a community of ex-prisoners.”

“I know many, many men who are sitting in cells to find marijuana in their car and that escalates other things. What I’ve seen is that whether it’s the law or not, it’s unjust. Martin Luther King Jr. taught us that we can have unjust laws. It is not fair to criminalize addictions and the consumption of alcohol or drugs. “

Education needed

Rabbi Cohen and Temer said it would take education to change long-held negative views about marijuana.

Rabbi Cohen said educating people will help show that cannabis is not a bad drug.

“It has many uses. Once we put it in that perspective, it will be the beginning of the world’s redemption, ”he said.

FAMU MMERI talks about the virtual cannabis forum with Pastor Dr. Lenny Marshall (pastor of St. Philip AME Church), Rabbi Yaakov Cohen (CEO of Whole Kosher Services), Father Dustin Feddon (priest in the Pensacola-Tallahassee diocese and executive director of Joseph House) and Ben Temer (founder of International Jewish Cannabis Association) is available on YouTube.

Visit the MMERI website at http://mmeri.famu.edu.