Word of Wisdom and marijuana. Very serious.


TStevieRob
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Please have an open mind when reading this, but please be honest.

I am a 23 year old war veteran. I served for four and a half years as an infantrymen in the Army, including a year in the Kunar Province of Afghanistan, a pure hell hole. My job was straight forward- hunting the enemy everyday. I have been shot at, rocketed, bombarbed by artillery. I have personally seen 3 of my best friends die before my eyes, and to be honest, yes, done some killing of my own.

I have some PTSD issues, albeit not crazy in my opinion. I manage to get on with everyday life after reading experiences from some older veterans who said life from that point on is about putting on one pant leg at a time, and getting on it with it.

The only area greatly bothering me is my sleep. I have nightmares every night of some messed up stuff. Blood, explosions, bodies, etc. I often wake up in a cold sweat, my friends have said I talk, sometimes yell in my sleep, and sometimes I even wake myself up from jerking around. This causes me to be grumpy, exhausted, and depressed a lot.

Now, how this comes to the word of wisdom. I have tried every avenue of help avaiable to me. Medical care is provided to me by the Veterans Administration. Through them I have access to help groups and sessions with a therapist free of charge. I have been on quite a few different medications, none much help and some with terrible side effects. Yes, I pray. Yes, I read scripture. I exercise and eat pretty healthy.

Finally, some friends recommended marijuana to help me sleep and relax. After contemplation, I tried it, and it helped. It calms me down, helps me get to sleep and stay asleep. I generally feel better. I dont abuse it, just use it as needed. My state has a medical marijuana law that I qualify for so I am not worried about that. I dont sell it, nor do I go around advertising it. Researching it, it has virtually no adverse health effects. It really has no links to negative health conditions.

Obviously, I am timid about bringing this up to people I know for obvious reasons. That is why I am posting it here. I honestly dont know how this would qualify as far WoW. Thoughts?

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I thank you for your service. I have a friend who has done 2 tours in Iraq who has told me just a fraction of what life is like for you guys over there. I'm sorry that you made a sacrifice to go, and are still paying the price. Are you getting other help with your PTSD?

I think if you're using it legally and for medicinal reasons, and you're just using it to sleep at night and not finding other times or reasons for abusing it, there's not a problem. I've had times in my life where I had to take narcotics to get through the day until I recovered from something. I don't think this is much different. Sleep is absolutely essential to health and well-being. If this is the medication that works so that you can sleep, there it is. Personally, I'd want to visit with my bishop first to make sure he was clear on the situation and okay with me having a recommend under the circumstances.

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The best person to talk to concerning this would be the Lord and a priesthood leader. If prescribed (out of need)* by a doctor I would not personally consider marijuana to be a Word of Wisdom violation. That said there is the issue that while your state may consider it legal federal law still considers it a controlled substance so there is more than just the Word of Wisdom considerations.

* Hydrocodone can be prescribed for legitimate medical reasons, if you're hitting your doctor up to get high off it though you are violating the Word of Wisdom in my view.

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Thank you for your service. My son-in-law was there too.

PTSD is difficult to treat. Everyone is different. If the marijuana is helping and you have a prescription from your doctor for it, No its not a WoW issue. But... you probably should discuss this with your bishop. You have questions about it and the only one who can put your mind to rest is your Bishop.

Get your name on a temple prayer roll and get a priesthood blessing (more than one if necessary). There are times I just survive from blessing to blessing.

I wish you all the best,

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Welcome TSR.

My wife has PTSD - I understand a little about nightmares and sleep disorders. I'm not really able to cast judgement one way or the other, but I do have a question to ask:

Where does your marijuana come from? Is it locally grown by some local businessman, or is it grown in colombia by multinational criminal organizations and smuggled into the US in the same shipment as their latest batch of child sex slaves? No, I'm not trying to toss some hidden sarcastic jab at you. It's just that I know a thing or two about where the US's MJ comes from, legal or illegal, and both situations are entirely possible and common.

Something to think about. Sort of similar to asking if we pay attention to the living conditions of the animals who give us our meat and dairy.

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I'm with everyone else on this. God himself knows very well what will help you through this trial. keep close to him and your bishop just as in all things regarding your spiritual standing.

Marijuana has medicinal use as a legitimate drug, and I don't see a problem with using it as such. So long as you do all you can to avoid dependance and abuse of it, there should not be an issue. As I've said elsewhere, the Lord has no problem at all with drug use under supervised and regularly monitored doctor's care, regardless of the drug.

However the Lord has a severe problem with ANY drug abuse, be it OTC, prescription, etc.

Thank you for your service to the nation, and may God bless you and your family always.

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Guest mirancs8

Thank you for your service to our country!

Please don't be timid to bring this topic up to those around you. There is nothing wrong with it when taken for a medical need. I myself have suffered from insomnia for many years and the only thing that rests my mind and puts me into a restful sleep in MJ. Of all the prescriptions I have used nothing comes close to what MJ does.

I speak to anyone who will listen about it because the more I educate people the more people will open up to the idea of it being legalized.

As long as you are using it responsibly there is no reason for you to be worried about using it.

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As long as you are using it responsibly there is no reason for you to be worried about using it.

"Responsibly" being keyword. To use it in that sense, one would need to consult a physician and get a prescription. Using it otherwise, through unreputable characters, is not being responsible nor using it responsibly.

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Loudmouth, makes a valid and an excellent point. If you are going to use, consult a physician and go about it legally.

I appreciate the backup, but I want to make something very clear: Even 'legal' MJ you get from a 'legal' dispensary can come from these horrible sources.

The US is in a period of much change and nonpermanence in medical MJ right now. States, counties, and local govts all have different (and often contradicting) laws. The supposed top governing law is federal, which still says MJ is illegal in all it's forms. The current administration is currently not enforcing federal law on purpose, making all this confusion possible.

So yeah, if you don't want to be supporting kidnapping, murders, corrput governments, and child prostitution, you have to do more than go through 'legal' channels. You have to personally know and understand where your MJ is coming from.

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K, I actually ran the basic situation past the more conservative bishops I work with. He's of two minds about it. The church leader in him says modern revelation says not to use it and that's that. The former medical worker in him takes into account all things are for man's use in appointed time and way. He would advise someone dealing with the decision to be prayerful and consult his bishop. (He thinks he might just approve it.)

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D&C 89:8 And again, tobacco is not for the body, neither for the belly, and is not good for man, but is an herb for bruises and all sick cattle, to be used with judgment and skill.

"an herb for bruises" and "to be used with judgment and skill"

All bruises are not physical. Some are mental. Take it for what you will. Although take heed that the Lord does advise to use judgment and skill. Again, let the spirit guide you.

Again...

D&C 89:11 Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with prudence and thanksgiving.

If marijuana is to be considered an herb (it is by many), then it could be interpreted to allow for its use but with strong discipline. Again, the most correct answer is from the spirit when you pray.

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You say you qualify under medical marijuana laws, but do you actually have a card? There are legal and not legal ways to go about this, just like with other drugs. If you have a legitimate need, and go through it the proper way, then it doesn't diminish your temple worthiness. You can have a temple recommend and use marijuana, but you need to talk to your Bishop. Medical marijuana is taken by a case by case basis in the church.

I hope you can find some peace, and I hope you talk to the Bishop soon because unneeded guilt is no fun!

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Or you could legalize the growing of it here. Put the cartels out of business. Maybe raise a little tax revenue.

Several things:

1- Here in Colorado (and many other states as well), it is legal to grow here. Hence my earlier advice that the OP learn about his source and chose wisely.

2- Cartels don't go out of business. They are no longer adequately thought about as cartels. They are multinational criminal organizations. And they're dealing with the dent in their MJ business in a few different ways. One way is by expanding out into other areas, like kidnapping for money or beefing up their prostitution and child slavery. You may have noticed the occasional news story here and there over the last few years. Another way is by fighting back - by bringing violence and murder across the border into our country. The US is muscling in on their territory, so they fight back. A headless corpse here, a full-blown assasination squad dressed as Arizona law enforcement there. You need to pay closer attention to the news here, because folks don't necessarily blame it on the MCOs.

3- Regarding tax revenue, CO experience has been sort of iffy. With state, county, and local laws in constant flux and change, it's been hugely difficult to get any sort of stable business going, and sort through the contradictory and outdated paperwork to figure out what taxes to pay to who.

Mind you zenbones, I'm not arguing with you. Just pointing out how complex the issue is.

You say you qualify under medical marijuana laws, but do you actually have a card? There are legal and not legal ways to go about this, just like with other drugs.

I can't speak to other states, but here in CO, medical mj efforts have basically legalized MJ for everyone, regardless of medical need. We have a ton of dispensaries everywhere here. Their average customer is a male between 18 and 40. Strangely enough, before legalization, the average MJ user was a male between 18 and 40. Even more strangely, people with chronic pain and PTSD and other needs span genders and ages - yet their numbers are dwarfed by the usual potheads who have learned to game the system to get their 'legitimate needs' filled.

And again, I'll repeat until I'm blue in the face. Even if you're going through legal channels and doing things legally, you still might be paying into the coffers of the murdering child sex slavers. And that's not exageration or hyperbole.

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In states it may be legal to grow but unfortunately the Feds still like to bully us around.

I'm well aware of the situation on the border. I live in Tucson. My neighbor is a BP agent. Seems like half the members of my ward are agents. What you see on the news isn't even half of it. All I'm saying is if you decriminalize the use then you narrow the need to use underground methods of obtaining it.

Regarding the cartels, they are not going away regardless of anything. They are big business. Not only to themselves but to others. You don't think they just keep all those billions lying around in mason jars in the backyard, do you? A good book to read is NarcoDollars for dummies by Catherine Austin Fitts, former member of the first Bush administration. The illegal drug trade is big business on both sides of the border. For both the good guys and the bad guys.

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As long as you are using it legally there is not a problem...tell your bishop though. Use is according to your perscription and there should not only be no WOW issues, but no recommend issues with that as well. Thank you for serving our country, and I hope you begin to recover soon. I was suffering with some PTDS issues for a long time, for a different reason and no where close to the extent you currently are, and I do know that getting some decent sleep is the hardest part. PTSD can get better, it got considerably better for me after I was baptized and even more so when I received the Holy Ghost.

I know it sounds strange, but once you start feeling a bit more safe, get some new friends go back to college classes or start a new hobby...it is good to get your mind on some new things to churn around, and can help keep your focus away from bad memories. I won't say to replace the bad ones with good ones, because we don't work that way, but it is good for the good ones to outnumber the bad ones, and I do know that can take a long time.

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I actually have had a dr. tell me to drink alcohol, when I was pregnant and having contractions way too early...do you think I did it?

Does the WOW say anything about alcohol, have our leaders told us anything about drinking alcohol and the word of wisdom? Now, have they said anything anything at all about using prescribed marijuana? what about prescribed morphine (which I have had) which is extremely addictive, even after only one dose for many people? Was it against the WOW? Did I lose my recommend? Did my hubby wink at that one, or protest in any way? Not a word, he did not say anything, not a frown, in fact he later asked if I thought I needed more.

Here is a talk from a session of conference, in it M. Russell Ballard says this:

"Now, brothers and sisters, please don’t misunderstand what I am saying. I’m not questioning prescription medications for those suffering with treatable illness or great physical pain. They are indeed a blessing. What I am saying is that we need to carefully follow the doses prescribed by doctors. And we need to keep such medications in a safe place where youngsters or anyone else cannot gain access to them." O That Cunning Plan of the Evil One - general-conference

Now if I used that morphine on my own, with no prescription, that would be a wow issue. That would be abusing an prescription drug....one that is not mentioned on any Ensign article I can find, or mentioned by any church leader I have heard, but drug abuse none the less.

We have been counseled not to use marijuana, but not when talking about it being under the direction of a doctor to be treated for something.

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TStevieRob,

I am also a vetran. I never did serve in a war but do have some bad feelings about those who I served with and under. I did not know it perhaps at the time but was suffering from depression. I bet, if I was treated at the time, would have re-upped for another four years.

I just recently found out, that nightmares and insomnia I experience are directly linked to depression. I have been taking some depression meds that help during my day to day life, but sleap is another issue.

Marijane is common up here in BC. It is legal in small doses and is prevelent. But just because it is, its not a reason to abuse or profit from it. In your case, you need it to keep your sanity.

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I actually have had a dr. tell me to drink alcohol, when I was pregnant and having contractions way too early...do you think I did it?

Does the WOW say anything about alcohol, have our leaders told us anything about drinking alcohol and the word of wisdom? Now, have they said anything anything at all about using prescribed marijuana? what about prescribed morphine (which I have had) which is extremely addictive, even after only one dose for many people? Was it against the WOW? Did I lose my recommend? Did my hubby wink at that one, or protest in any way? Not a word, he did not say anything, not a frown, in fact he later asked if I thought I needed more.

Here is a talk from a session of conference, in it M. Russell Ballard says this:

"Now, brothers and sisters, please don’t misunderstand what I am saying. I’m not questioning prescription medications for those suffering with treatable illness or great physical pain. They are indeed a blessing. What I am saying is that we need to carefully follow the doses prescribed by doctors. And we need to keep such medications in a safe place where youngsters or anyone else cannot gain access to them." O That Cunning Plan of the Evil One - general-conference

Now if I used that morphine on my own, with no prescription, that would be a wow issue. That would be abusing an prescription drug....one that is not mentioned on any Ensign article I can find, or mentioned by any church leader I have heard, but drug abuse none the less.

We have been counseled not to use marijuana, but not when talking about it being under the direction of a doctor to be treated for something.

So....did you take your Doc's advice and drink alcohol?

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So....did you take your Doc's advice and drink alcohol?

I know if I was suffering from ethylene glycol poisoning (not that I'm in the habit of drinking anti-freeze) and there was no Fomeprizole and the doctor offered me ethanol I'd down it. Of course I don't have an issue with Nyquil so... *shrug*

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paahhhh, no, but alchol consumption does stop contractions, before fetal alcohol syndrome was discovered it was common practice to give an alcohol IV drip to women in preterm labor, so it was actually not unusual for my dr. to ask me to drink some wine every evening. yuck.

I decided I'd rather have her early, I did everything else I could think of though, and made it a couple of months but when I was a couple weeks early we barely made it to the hospital in time :) She was fine

Edited by jayanna
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