Statement of the Bishops of North Dakota opposing the legalization of recreational marijuana

On Tuesday, November 5, North Dakota voters will be asked to decide a ballot measure to legalize recreational marijuana in our state. If approved, Measure 5 would allow adults 21 years of age or older to grow, process, sell, possess, and use marijuana in North Dakota for recreational purposes. North Dakota voters rejected similar ballot initiatives to legalize recreational marijuana in 2018 and 2022. 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that human life and physical health are precious gifts from God that must be cared for (CCC 2288). The Church therefore teaches that “the use of drugs inflicts very grave damage on human health and life. Their use, except on strictly therapeutic grounds, is a grave offense” (CCC 2291). Thus, the political community has a duty to provide for “the protection of security and health [of the family], especially with respect to dangers like drugs” (CCC 2211). 

Marijuana is not the harmless drug that some imagine it to be. Rather, there is ample evidence that regular marijuana use impairs brain functioning, stunts brain development, damages the lungs, and is linked to a lowered immune system. Regular marijuana use is also associated with mental health issues like depression, anxiety, and suicide. Significant numbers of users become addicted to marijuana, and it often serves as a gateway to even harder drugs. 

Pope Francis recently spoke out against legalizing recreational drugs, calling such policies an “illusion” that only leads to more drug use. Other states that have gone down the road of legalizing recreational marijuana have seen spikes in drug use, mental health problems, crime, DUI’s, emergency-room visits, hospitalizations, and work-place accidents, all associated with marijuana use. Things have gotten so bad in Colorado that Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver, the former bishop of Fargo, issued a lengthy pastoral letter last December cataloguing the extensive harms caused by recreational marijuana since its legalization in 2012, characterizing it as “disastrous to our society.” Likewise, just a few months ago, our brother bishops in Minnesota issued a pastoral letter warning of the serious risks of marijuana usage in the wake of its legalization last year. Why would we ever want to go down this same path? 

We believe individuals, families, and communities will be significantly harmed if recreational marijuana is legalized in our state. We therefore strongly encourage Catholics and all other people of good will in North Dakota to vote “NO” on Measure 5.

The Most Reverend David D. Kagan                                         The Most Reverend John T. Folda
Bishop of Bismarck                                                                     Bishop of Fargo