Welcome to Defender’s Voice. This is Dr.Paul. Thanks for joining us today. Please send us your questions to info@doctorpaul.org. Visit my website www.doctorpaul.org to subscribe to our podcast and to read my articles.
Now, today’s question is, Is Charles Stanley selling CBD products?
Charles Stanley was the pastor of First Baptist Church, Atlanta and the preacher on TV and radio with In Touch Ministries. If you search under his name, you will find many CBD products associated with his name, such as, ‘Charles Stanley CBD gummies’, ‘Charles Stanley CBD oil’, ‘Charles Stanley CBD muffins’ ‘Charles Stanley CBD chocolates etc. This is not new. We have seen CBD products sold with other Christian celebrity names, ‘Ravi Zacharias CBD gummies’, ‘Tony Evans CBD salad’, ‘Joel Osteen CBD oil’, ‘T.D.Jakes CBD cake’ etc. Why are these companies using Christian names to promote CBD products? Because they have an agenda to conquer that last frontier in their battle against God, the Church itself.
I get Christian Book Distributors catalogues in mail. Christian Book Distributors were identified as CBD for a long time. We used to say, ‘I will order this book from CBD’. Recently they changed their name to Christian Book, because they were getting lots and lots of calls for CBD products like CBD gummies. There is a deep seated deception in these products. Some of their products misuse the word ‘medical’: ‘This is medical CBD’, ‘This is migraine CBD’, ‘This is cancer CBD’, ‘This is epilepsy CBD’. They put every famous word they can think of to promote CBD.
For introduction, Cannabis is the most proper word to use for the marijuana plant. The chemicals found in the cannabis plant are called Cannabinoids. The two most common chemicals are THC and CBD. THC stands for Tetrahydrocannabinol and CBD stands for Cannabidiol. THC and CBD products may have other chemical contaminants that might hurt your health.
Hemp and Marijuana both belong to the Cannabaceae family. Hemp is the same plant as marijuana, but it’s a variety that has a low level of THC. It also is grown for the production of CBD oil or cannabidiol oil.
Coming to legalization, marijuana is subject to regulation by both the states and federal government. The federal government has treated marijuana as a dangerous drug. The states are not listening to the federal government. Some states have legalized it for medicinal purposes, some even for recreational uses. We see a conflict between state law and federal law. How can the states get away with legalizing marijuana when it has been defined as a crime under federal law? The US Constitution declares that within the proper scope of the federal enumerated powers, federal law reigns supreme. But the federal government is not interested in enforcing federal law in this matter because it knows where our culture is moving. In India, marijuana is still illegal. Let us hope it will stay like that. Our culture warriors, first they conquer America and go to the rest of the world.
Coming to the states, it started in California. The hippies popularized it in the 1960s. Vietnam War protests, sexual freedom, free love, LSD, zen meditation, yoga mats and marijuana: It was born out of those counter-cultural activities in resentment towards Christian America. Whenever you hear the words, ‘It started in California’, be careful. That is where most sins get approved by our fast declining culture. California voters approved Proposition 215 in 1996. It is the first state legislation legalizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Then other states followed. New York opened marijuana restaurants!
In 2013, CNN promoted the story, ‘Marijuana stops Child’s severe seizures’. That is only anecdotal. Science has not confirmed it. Medical studies have found no solid evidence to recommend it for treatment of all seizures. ‘It worked for my aunt’, ‘It worked for my dad’ does not qualify as scientific evidence. In 2017, the New England Journal of Medicine study used a randomized, controlled design to look at CBD for children with epilepsy. They found out it is useful to treat one specific kind of epilepsy called Dravet syndrome. If you have that one very specific form of epilepsy, it is reasonable to use it. I don’t object. But there we are committing a generalization fallacy: They found evidence for one form of epilepsy. So, it should be good for all forms of epilepsy, even cancer, even multiple sclerosis, dementia, anxiety and psychosis. The list is endless.
That is how it starts. First they say, ‘Let’s use it for health, for health problems’. Then, after it got legalized for health reasons, they say, ‘it is time to legalize it for recreation’. They do this all the time. Like in abortion. If we say, ‘Abortion is evil. It kills innocent unborn babies’. They ask, ‘What about when mother’s life is in danger’. They get it legalized for mothers whose life is in danger. Then they say, ‘now, let us legalize it for everyone and for every reason’.
But as Christians we should not buy this deception. There is nothing good about using marijuana or CBD products. I have some patients who are struggling with psychosis, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, schizophrenia, substance abuse as they get into marijuana use. Many of them have lung problems, breathing problems, and sleep problems.
In paganism, marijuana and other drugs were part of the religious rituals. Goddess Demeter would have poppy seeds around her head as a crown because her worshippers would smoke poppy seeds as part of their worship. Even today in India, marijuana smoking is part of the religious rituals among Hindu gurus.
But in Christianity, we do not support marijuana or any other drugs. In fact, it was Christians who pushed ‘drugs’ into a kind of guilty category. As Christian influence wanes in our society, there will be more and more acceptance of all kinds of drugs. Marijuana is only a gateway drug to more serious drugs.
Your body is the temple of God. You should keep it clean for the glory of God. You should not corrupt your body with marijuana and CBD products. Charles Stanley gave a statement that, ‘ this is all deception. I am not selling any CBD products’. That is a good thing.
I wanted to bring your attention to the undercurrents below this trend. Some businesses really want to make CBD acceptable to Christians. Soon, we might see Christians drinking CBD milkshakes in the fellowship halls. I won’t be surprised. But, we should remember that CBD is not acceptable to God. You should stay away from it.