By CatholicVote | Created at 2024-10-31 15:46:39 | Updated at 2024-10-31 19:34:37
3 hours ago
CV NEWS FEED // In an open letter to North Dakotans, the bishops of North Dakota dioceses are urging citizens to vote against Measure 5, which would legalize recreational marijuana use in the state.
Bishop David Kagan of the Diocese of Bismarck and Bishop John Folda of the Diocese of Fargo co-authored the letter, citing deep concerns tied to marijuana.
“Marijuana is not the harmless drug that some imagine it to be,” the bishops wrote, pointing to significant evidence linking regular marijuana use with impaired brain function, slowed brain development, lung damage, and a weakened immune system.
David Tamisiea, executive director of the North Dakota Catholic Conference, further explained the bishops’ stance in a statement to WDAY Radio.
He emphasized the bishops’ concern for both Catholics and the broader community. The core reason the bishops are speaking out, according to Tamisiea, is that “marijuana is not safe. And it’s not harmless.”
“[O]ur bishops are good pastors,” he continued. “They don’t want to see this harmful drug introduced into our state to inflict harm on individuals, families and our communities.”
“We know that we’re having an addiction crisis and we’re having a mental health crisis,” Tamisiea added. “So why in the world would we ever want to introduce some other agent that’s highly addictive and exacerbates mental health problems when we’re already struggling to deal with those things right now?”
In their letter, the bishops pointed to troubling trends observed in states that have already legalized marijuana, such as rising rates of overall drug use, mental health issues, DUIs, crime, hospitalizations, and workplace incidents all linked to marijuana use.
The bishops highlighted Colorado’s experience, where Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver outlined in a pastoral letter the “disastrous” societal effects of the legalization of a drug that harms souls.
Similarly, bishops in Minnesota recently cautioned about the serious risks tied to marijuana following its legalization.
“We believe individuals, families, and communities will be significantly harmed if recreational marijuana is legalized in our state,” the North Dakota bishops concluded. “We therefore strongly encourage Catholics and all other people of good will in North Dakota to vote ‘NO’ on Measure 5.”
