“Fifteen years,” the judge decreed. Brandon exhaled and lowered his head. His teen crime spree had finally come to an end, but not the end he’d hoped for. The next decade and a half of his life would be spent behind bars for a crime rampage spurred on by his addiction to drugs.
Brandon had committed a slew of home burglaries and thefts throughout the city. Although I had never dealt with him before, other detectives warned me that he was as hard a teenager as they’d ever seen — unrepentant, desperate and seriously drug-addicted.
When I finally arrested Brandon, though, I was surprised. He didn’t look like the hard young felon I had been warned about. Instead, I saw an intelligent — but broken — young man, helplessly tangled in the tentacles of drug addiction. During my interview with Brandon, he detailed his crimes and his addiction. His story started like nearly every drug-addicted person I’ve ever arrested: He believed Satan’s lie that smoking marijuana was not dangerous. Shortly after Brandon started smoking marijuana, his life tumbled out of control.
Unfortunately, many Christians think that drug abuse is reserved for the outside world. But even in the best Christian homes, the specter of drug abuse is never far away. Christian teens have to contend with many of the same pressures and cultural images as the non-Christians.
The entertainment industry — movie and television stars, as well as recording artists — constantly portray marijuana as cool and fun, not something that can hurt you. Now just add some peer pressure, and there’s a recipe for disaster.
The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse released a study last year on teen drug abuse. They concluded that “13 percent [of teens] who attend religious services four times a month or more have smoked marijuana.” While the 13 percent is considerably less than the teens who don’t regularly attend services, it’s still too many — considering how dangerous this drug really is.
So as followers of Christ, what should we think? Should a Christian use marijuana? Is it really that dangerous?
What the entertainment industry and your peers don’t tell you (and what I’ve seen firsthand in hundreds if not thousands of cases) is that marijuana is incredibly destructive to your body, to your mind and, most importantly, to your soul.
YOUR BODY
Nearly everyone agrees that cigarettes are bad for you. Tobacco smoke wreaks havoc on your body in many ways. But consider a study cited in the National Institute on Drug Abuse Info Facts sheet. It shows that “marijuana smoke contains 50 to 70 percent more carcinogenic [cancer-causing] hydrocarbons than does tobacco,” putting the marijuana smoker at a greater risk for cancer and other health-related problems than even a cigarette smoker.
The Bible teaches us to “know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:19). Polluting the same body that the Holy Spirit lives in with cancer-causing, mind-altering drugs is definitely not God’s will for your life.
YOUR MIND
Like most everyone, you probably would like to do a little better in school, remember the lines to really cool movies, or impress the girls with your quick wit and keen intellect. But there’s no better way to dull a sharp mind than with marijuana use.
The facts are indisputable: Marijuana use distorts perception, erodes critical-thinking skills, and contributes to memory loss. Long-term use also affects the brain in the same manner as “hard” drugs.
In one study, “researchers compared marijuana smoking and nonsmoking 12th-graders’ scores on standardized tests of verbal and mathematical skills. Although all of the students had scored equally well in the 4th grade, the marijuana smokers’ scores were significantly lower in the 12th grade.”
In short, marijuana bakes your brain. There’s nothing cool or fun about that.
YOUR SOUL
The fact that marijuana use is against the law in all 50 states should be enough for Christians. The Book of Romans (see chapter 13) instructs us to obey the law and authorities. Ephesians 5:18 also warns us to “not get drunk on wine,” which can certainly be applied to any mind-altering substance.
But the argument goes deeper than that. As with all of God’s laws, He has your best interest in mind. Marijuana use hurts your relationship with God. The level of lies and deceit that always accompanies drug abuse drives a wedge in your relationship with God, and with everyone else for that matter. Marijuana quickly becomes an idol, then soon the master of your life. No one can serve two masters.
Marijuana use also opens the door to a host of other sins. Because the effects of marijuana distorts reality and impairs judgment, someone under the influence of marijuana is at a much greater risk for sexual sin, lying, stealing (as in Brandon’s case), and nearly any other sin imaginable.
DON’T BUY THE LIE
Clearly, marijuana is not the harmless, next-to-nothing drug Satan would like you to believe. But as bad as marijuana is for you, it can lead to even worse things. In my 15 years as a police officer, I’ve never met a hardcore drug addict who didn’t first start down that terrible path by smoking marijuana. That’s why marijuana is often called a “gateway” drug, because it almost always leads to harder, more dangerous drugs. Those who get sucked into that world always pay a tremendous price for it — sometimes with their lives.
Satan’s best weapons are the ones that seem the least dangerous, the ones he makes look attractive and fun. As with all the lies of Satan, they always lead to pain and destruction.
THERE IS HOPE
Even in the dark world of drug abuse, Jesus is still Lord and Savior. Brandon is serving time, but he’s also serving God. Since being incarcerated, Brandon has given his life to the Lord. It’s still a hard, painful trek for Brandon and his family as he faces the consequences of his actions, but God is already using him to minister to other inmates. He gave me permission to tell his story, hoping and praying others can avoid the sorrows he’s experienced because of the lies of Satan.
If you’ve never tried marijuana, great! Don’t ever start. But if you’ve tried marijuana or any other drugs, STOP! Confess to a trusted friend, your pastor, and your parents. Ask God to forgive you and deliver you from the lies of Satan. 
