Aquinas’s description of drunkenness is exactly the foundation for understanding why drugs are harmful to human life and culture.

Acceptance of Drugs: 

A Challenge to Culture and Evangelization

by R. Jared Staudt

Irecently gave a talk entitled “Beer and the Renewal of Catholic Culture.” Based on the Roman Ritual’s traditional blessing for beer, my argument was that beer is both a work of God given to gladden our hearts (along with wine) and an important work of human culture, a shaping of the goods of the earth. Recovering the long Catholic tradition of brewing and practicing them on a small scale can be an important service to the renewal of culture.

What surprised me most in response to the talk was the number of questions and comments related to drugs. I guess I should not have been surprised in the sense that I do live in Colorado where marijuana has been legalized by voters and then accepted by the Obama Administration. The response in relation to drugs consisted in this: can some of them, at least, also be seen as the fruit of God’s creation? What is the difference in the enjoyment derived from them, especially since we see so many people wounded by problems with alcohol? The answers to these questions are now pressing as the acceptance of drugs is growing in our country. In fact, I surprisingly have found friends and students unwilling to take a stand against drugs.

In response to this growing acceptance, I want to argue very clearly that drugs intrinsically undermine culture. They are not simply a fun relief from the stresses of life, but rather an escape that removes one from reality in an escalating fashion. In fact, I have seen, as I’m sure most have, the devastating effect of drugs on family and friends. The question from a Catholic point of view really comes down to whether or not drugs promote the human good. If they do, they can be drawn into the life of virtue; if they do not, they are rather a part of vice and sin.

Let’s dive into this more deeply by looking at the nature of virtue and sin.

....................

Read more: www.crisismagazine.com