"Come on, it's cool! Everybody's using it. Don't be so uptight." Maybe you have heard others ask, "What's the big deal?" So, is marijuana a harmless drug or a gateway to all kinds of trouble? Here are a few facts about marijuana to help you think vertically:

• U.S. government statistics put marijuana use at 23.9 percent of 10th graders. For high school seniors, it is 32.4 percent (National Institute on Drug Abuse 2008 survey, nida.nih.gov). While these numbers are high, it's hardly "everybody."

• Although the primary agent in marijuana is THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol), more than 400 other chemicals are present in marijuana smoke. Many are the same harmful compounds found in cigarette smoke.

• While there are no complete statistics about marijuana's contribution to traffic accidents, the effects of marijuana are well-known: severely diminished alertness, concentration, coordination and reaction time. In this respect, driving under the influence of marijuana is similar to driving under the influence of alcohol.

• A very high number of hard drug users started with marijuana. While not every user of marijuana goes on to harder drugs, many do.

• In the United States, there were more than 750,000 arrests for marijuana possession in 2007, the latest year for which statistics are available (fbi.gov).

Although the Bible doesn't directly address marijuana, it does address its effects. Proverbs 23:21 says, "For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe a man with rags." And 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 adds, "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God."

Marijuana use, as with other illegal drug use, has effects similar to alcohol abuse. Reject the instant drunkenness of marijuana. VT