Reply To: Is recreational cannabis muttar?

As far as altering you state of mind/consciousness, I had learned in one of my psychology courses that there is no such thing as a “default” or “normal” state of consciousness. Rather our state of consciousness is constantly in flux and operates on a spectrum affected by innumerable things such as food intake, level of sleep, stress, caffeine, etc. So something like cannabis doesn’t take you out of a certain state of consciousness that you would naturally be in otherwise but rather pushes you further along in a certain direction along the spectrum. Some may want to write that off as goyishe shtus from some nutjob professor – which it very well may be, but I guess take it for what it’s worth.

I don’t understand the objection that you can’t operate machinery – so what? You also probably shouldn’t get in a car after having a glass of wine or a couple of beers – should we say that you shouldn’t drink something like that at dinner in your home? I would think it’s also not a good idea to operate machinery while learning a sefer. One also shouldn’t drive a car while talking on a phone and many people do that as well.

As far as learning while high, I’ve never really tried learning Gemara while under the influence. I doubt I would be able to focus on it but I suppose there could be some who it could help their focus – I’ve known some people who tell me they ability to study certain non-religious subjects was greatly enhanced by it. But what about something lighter like putting on your headphones and listening to a good shiur?

I’ve personally found that when I contemplate inyanim of kedusha I sometimes get profoundly deeper insights than I would normally get and once I “come off of it” I feel a renewed and deeper appreciation for Hashem and His mitzvas and a stronger desire to fulfill them. It’s like packing 500 mussar shmuzes into one hour. I’ve heard some say such realizations if derived with help from an outside substance are worthless but if it leads to better avodat Hashem is it really? I forget which specific book, but I remember reading in an Aryeh Kaplan book or essay that part of the reason we have wine for kiddush on Friday night and Chagim is for the alcohol to help lift up our state of mind to help us better appreciate the kedusha of the special day.

Again I’m not chas v’shalom advocating using cannabis all the time or even a lot. And I fully acknowledge that for many (maybe most?) people it leads to dumbing them down or indulging in teivos. But if somebody could use it (again responsibly and in moderation) and potentially maybe even grow in their ovadat Hashem do we still write that off from a Torah perspective?