High on the Spirit, Ministering in Life

Gracious water of life, you pour out your Spirit upon your followers to carry on your work, on Luke, the physician, who proclaimed with Paul your life, death and resurrection among the Gentiles and on faith communities who discover your healing power in anointing and prayer. Bless us so that we can provide your healing grace upon all in need. Help us to discover all the ways in which healing is worked in every corner of your creation. Amen.

    There are debates right now concerning the use and/or legalization of marijuana and other cannabinoids for medical and/or recreational purposes. The debate has become largely politicized and this is unfortunate because in our current political climate it makes open and unbiased discussion difficult. People sometimes seem more interested in leveraging a position rather than asking important questions.

    Let us leave the politics behind and think instead about this issue from a spiritual point of view. Let us consider the issue of medical marijauna and its implications for a Christian. Let us further shrink the issue down to the impact of a particular type of cannabis on the issues of seizures impacting young children. Read these links to understand a bit about this specific use of cannabis.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/23/anna-conte_n_5614774.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte's_Web_(cannabis) 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/28/medical-marijuana-legalization_n_5627810.html 

http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/07/health/charlotte-child-medical-marijuana/ 

    There are children afflicted with a particular type of seizure for which no satisfactory commercial medications have been found. This is called Dravet Syndrome. These children can be affected by as many as 100+ seizures a day and more. Furthermore these seizures can lead to brain trauma and death. There is a particular member of the cannabis family of plants that has demonstrated great success in treating these seizures. 

    One of the central components of Jesus ministry was healing. He healed the blind, the deaf, the mute, the crippled, the fevered, those with seizures, and yes, even raised the dead. Sometimes he did it only with the power of his words. Other times he used the simple elements of the world, he mixed spit and dirt to make mud to heal the blind man. He told  people to wash and they discovered relief. 

    The elements of healing have been long discovered in the materials of this world. The biblical world understood the healing qualities of the alcohol in wine and oil as anticeptic. The story of Good Samaritan is the prime example.
 
    Aspirin was derived from the ability of the willow's bark to relieve pain.  The digitalis family of plants has given us Digoxin used to treat heart problems. Chincona bark gave us Quinine to fight malaria. There are literally dozens and maybe hundreds of connections between plants and minerals and healing uses for treatment of illnesses. 

    So what are the limits on what is acceptable and good and what is better avoided. Digitalis plants can be lethel. So that is a good place to start. Using an organic treatment should not be done in a way that kills. We can even extend that to say it should do no harm, adding to the illness and the suffering. Clearly, the control use of Digoxin is aimed at sustaining life but it can kill. Aspirin is used to relieve pain, used improperly it can cause major problems by excessively thinning blood. That is why we have quality control for accurate dosing and extensive instructions for their use.

    Presumably, Jesus trained and prepared the twelve and the 70 disciples that he sends out in pairs. They traveled with him. They witnessed his miracles. They listened to his teaching. He gave instructions to them for how to act, where to stay, what to take with them. 

    We receive testimony in scripture that they, too, performed miracles of healing. So, in addition, to a general use of nature and the power of creation Jesus prepared his followers to carry on his work.  Jesus celebrates with his disciples when they return to him telling him everything that happened.

    How do we, as Jesus disciples today, apply these to things to the proposal for use of the medical cannabis to treat seizures? First of all, let us deal with the comparison to other organic medicines. The form of cannabis known as Charlott's Web that is used in treating seizure disorders does not contain any significant THC (0.5%). THC is the hallucigenic compound in other types of marijuana. Charlott's Web is high in cannabinoids (17%) which seems to account for its usefulness in treating seizures. Secondly, it is used as an oil and not smoked therefore does not have the problem of lung issues related to smoking. Finally, if Charlott's Web and its extract Realm Oil  is legalized it will be managed and overseen as any treatment form must be.

    In all of this, it would seem that the potential for successful treatment of seizures would be consistent with Jesus acts of healing and caring for those vulnerable to illness, including those suffering from seizures. Plus, there is a responsibility to insure it is used properly which can be met with proper oversight. For these reasons it would seem that there should be no theological or spiritual reason to deny this limited medical use while leaving all other aspects of the debate aside. 

    The legalization of this use of medical marijuana is an opportunity to minister to the least of these and one of the most vulnerable among us and to bring hope out of God's creation for parents seeking the best for their children.

    The least we must say is we need to know more about it.