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Jewish authorities differ on recreational cannabis, with some permitting conditional use.

The Claim

Judaism prohibits the use of recreational marijuana.

Verified by Lenz ·

The Short Version

Judaism does not impose a universally accepted prohibition on recreational marijuana. Prominent Orthodox authorities prohibit it, but the Conservative movement conditionally permits recreational cannabis when lawful and medically considered safe, while prohibiting smoking it. The blanket wording therefore overstates a position that applies within important Jewish traditions but not across Judaism as a whole.

Caveats

  • Jewish denominations and rabbinic authorities do not share one binding position on recreational cannabis.
  • Conservative permission is conditional and does not extend to smoking cannabis.
  • Several cited documents are duplicates or summaries of the same underlying rulings.

The Receipts

  1. In Treatment: Comparing the Legality of Medical Marijuana under American Law and Jewish Law

    scholarship.law.stjohns.edu

  2. Survey of Recent Halakhic Literature: Of Tobacco, Snuff and Cannabis (Part II)

    larc.cardozo.yu.edu

  3. What are the contemporary halakhic and Jewish ethical statuses of the consumption, possession, and sale of cannabis?

    rabbinicalassembly.org

  4. [PDF] Rabbi Raysh Weiss Medical and Recreational Cannabis Usage1

    rabbinicalassembly.org

  5. It Is Legal and Everyone Is Using: Does Halakhah Permit Recreational Marijuana?

    hakirah.org

  6. Why Recreational Marijuana Isn’t Kosher - COR

    cor.ca

  7. The Conservative Movement Moves on Cannabis - Tablet Magazine

    tabletmag.com

  8. HM 427:8.2023b Rabbis David J. Fine and Barry Leff Dissenting Opinion to “Medical and Recreational Cannabis Usage” by Rabbi Raysh Weiss, PhD Rabbi Weiss’s paper on medical and recreational marijuana usage contains seven piskei din, the first being on the permissibility of medical usage of marijuana, and the last six on recreational consumption. Votes were held separately for psak 1 and psakim 2-7. We both voted in favor of psak 1, and against the latter six. Our negative vote on the latter six is not because we do not believe recreational usage of marijuana is permissible; to the contrary, we believe it is permissible, but we disagree with psak 3, which states, 3) In accordance with Rabbi Reuven Hammer’s 2020 responsum “Teshuva Concerning Smoking,” in acknowledgement of the established adverse health effects of smoking, this responsum likewise prohibits recreational use of cannabis in its smoked form. One of us, Rabbi Fine, voted against Rabbi Hammer’s 2020 responsum (Rabbi Leff was not on the CJLS at that time). One problem with psak 3 is that the data in Rabbi Hammer’s paper is all based on smoking tobacco and nicotine dependence. The research that went into that paper is irrelevant to the case of smoking marijuana. (We are not arguing that marijuana smoking is less harmful; simply that the data is irrelevant). There is no doubt that consumption of either tobacco or marijuana can be harmful to one’s health. While saving lives is indeed a top Jewish priority, we do not see it as reasonable to consider those engaged responsibly in inherent risky behavior to be deemed as transgressors and sinners in Jewish law. Recent research has shown that the supposed health benefits of a glass of wine a day are a statistical artifact associated with the fact that many unhealthy people drink no alcohol because of medications they are taking. Scientists now believe there is no level of alcohol consumption

    rabbinicalassembly.org

  9. [PDF] Dissenting Opinion to “Medical and Recreational Cannabis Usage”

    rabbinicalassembly.org

  10. Recreational Use of Cannabis: A Halakhic Perspective

    jewishccsa.org

+ 9 more sources — see the full list on Lenz

Filed Under

JudaismRecreational Marijuana

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