[Avodah] Issur in smoking marijuana?

[kennethgmiller at juno.com]

R' Elliot Pasik asked:
> I'd be curious to know when Rav Moshe Feinstein, ztl,
> wrote about marijuana. From about the 50s through the 70s,
> marijuana was more of a protest symbol, than a recreational
> drug  The protest was ... I speculate that in declaring
> marijuana assur, and stating the reasons, dina d'malchus
> dina was not weighing on the mind of Rav Feinstein, because
> Jews were mostly law abiding then - I would say mentchlich.
> Today, there is simply no validity for anyone to smoke
> marijuana, other than for medical reasons. Its a crime.
> ... If Rav Moshe were writing today, I speculate that dina
> d'malchus dina would be addressed.

The teshuva which I and others referenced (Igros Moshe, Yoreh Deah 3:35) is dated @nd Day of Rosh Chodesh Adar 5733 - Spring 1973.

I'll grant that marijuana was quite the symbol of protest and counterculture, but the ability to use it as such derived specifically from its illegality. IIRC, everyone knew that it was illegal. If you are trying to suggest that people (such as Rav Moshe) did not realize that it was illegal, then you've totally lost me.

BTW, while we're on this thread, I'd like to thank those who answered my question by pointing out that the addictiveness of drugs, and the tendency to hang out with society's lower elements, do make RMF's teshuva apply more strongly to drugs than to tobacco and alcohol.

Akiva Miller

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