The Opium of Happiness
                                          

Ever wonder what the Catholic Church has taught about drugs, alcohol, and in particular, marijuana? If you looked into the matter, you have perhaps found the two citations in the Catechism, 2290 and 2291 on the subject. Marijuana is not explicitly mentioned in either paragraph, so the question appears to be open to interpretation. This book answers the moral question about marijuana, arguing from other Church sources that it is immoral to consume cannabis recreationally. These sources are hard to find and now you can read them for yourself in this book's appendices.

In this book, the author tackles the questions concerning the recreational use of drugs in general and marijuana in particular, its legalization, liberalization, and decriminalization, and the circumstances for its medical usage. The author also describes the Church's teachings on alcohol and tobacco. Several careful distinctions are required in order to understand the differences between drugs and alcohol, to which the author guides the reader through several Church documents and Scripture passages. Other topics include consideration of some of the physiological aspects of marijuana and the role of drugs within religion.