March 23, 2012 • INTERMOUNTAIN JEWISH NEWS — Kosher Living • Section B • 13
K O S H E R
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Is marijuana kosher? Two businessmen, one activist, and one rabbi square off By CHRIS LEPPEK IJN Assistant Editor
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hat a long strange trip it’s been for marijuana. From “Reefer Madness” to Woodstock to legallylicensed medical dispensaries, marijuana has come a very long way. While Mary Jane has yet to fully enter America’s cultural mainstream, there’s no question that it is edging closer to full social acceptance, especially in Colorado. For several years already, it has been legal for Coloradans, under certain restrictions, to use, purchase, possess, sell and grow marijuana for medical reasons. This November, Colorado voters will have the choice to allow limited possession of marijuana for any reason. If passed, the initiative would make Colorado the only state in the US to legalize the herb for recreational use, a fact not lost on pot legalization proponents in many other states. Even though marijuana remains criminalized under federal law – and US enforcement officials have occasionally flexed their muscles in a
Dovey Heller
Mason Tzvert
ijuana growers, “connected,” as state law mandates, with a business that sells their product to licensed users of medical marijuana. In addition to this, Heller and Monaghan are planning to open a couple of dispensaries in Denver on their own.
(an acronym of mixed initials). They aspire for this to become a national organization. Finally, Heller and Monaghan are devising a system by which a coalition of legal dispensaries in Colorado would distribute marijuana at no charge, and under medical supervision, to patients in hospice care. They are calling this idea Americamm – the American Alliance for Medical Marijuana. “We have right now four different dispensaries that are willing to hand out this product, for free, to anybody who’s in hospice,” Monaghan says. “The patients would have to be certified through the state. We have doctors who are willing to give the hospice people free recommendations.” Heller and Monaghan, 72 and 52 years old respectively, are both members of East Denver Orthodox Synagogue. While both say they tried marijuana briefly in their youth, only Monaghan uses it today — legally, he says, and strictly for a medical condition. They support statewide legalization, they say, although they also support recent federal moves to shut down dispensaries that are located too close to schools.
BUSINESSMEN Dovey Heller and Court Monaghan: Their conviction is that marijuana is far less harmful than alcohol sometimes tense standoff with Colorado over the issue – few doubt that legal marijuana, in at least some form, is here to stay. Which, since there are more than 90,000 Jews who live in Colorado, makes marijuana a Jewish issue. It’s difficult to quantify something like marijuana use in any population, largely because it often remains an illegal, hence clandestine, activity. But even in the legal realm of medical marijuana, it would be difficult to ascertain how many Jews have applied for and received licenses to use, grow or sell, because ethnicity and religion are not itemized in such records. There at least several Denverarea Jews active as marijuana growers and sellers and several who are involved as activists in the effort to legalize the substance. As to users, both medical and recreational, there is little more than anecdotal testimony and that ranges widely. Whether there are hundreds or thousands of Colorado Jews who smoke or otherwise consume marijuana remains an unanswered, and perhaps an unanswerable, question. It’s safe to say, in any case, that there certainly are Jewish marijuana consumers in Colorado and that some of them, at least, are religiously observant on some level. Which, in turn, raises a fascinating question – can marijuana be considered kosher? – a question that would have, just a few years ago, seemed crazy and pointless to ask. No longer. THE SELLERS AND GROWERS
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wo observant Denver Jews, David “Dovey” Heller and Court Monaghan, are planning to be ahead of the curve when it comes to legalized marijuana in Colorado. The partners are, first of all, mar-
They’re also hoping to put together a professional group, or co-op, of at least 30 regional dispensaries and growers with the general idea of establishing standards of purity and quality, and overseeing the maintenance of that quality. “We want to go to testing the product, so we know that we have a consistency,” Monaghan told the INTERMOUNTAIN JEWISH NEWS in a recent interview. “We need to do that in-house, so one of the things that we want to do with our organization is actually test the product.” The partners would both be members and the operators of the coop, which is being called CDHM
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Please see MARIJUANA on Page 14
Court Monaghan
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14 • Section B • INTERMOUNTAIN JEWISH NEWS — Kosher Living • March 23, 2012
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Is marijuana kosher? ‘As long as it’s legal, it’s kosher, so a kosher brownie could have marijuana’ MARIJUANA from Page 13
“If they legalize it that’s fine, but the end that we’re on is the medical end of this,” Monaghan says. Heller says he has no problem with people using marijuana recreationally, so long as it’s not a crime.
says, he and Heller consulted with a rabbi and described their business plan in detail. The rabbi’s response: It is permissible for observant Jews to sell marijuana so long as such sales are legal under state law and are limited to medical consumers.
THE ACTIVIST ‘The Jewish community is one of the most predominant demographics in favor of loosening marijuana laws’ “If it’s legal, I don’t have a problem with it,” he says. “It’s when it’s not legal that it gets out of hand. They’re going to do it one way or the other, so you might as well make it legal and have it supervised.” Their conviction is that marijuana is far less harmful than alcohol, a product that has been legally available for decades. “I have not heard of one person who has come to me and said, ‘Hey, did you hear that Bill beat the hell out of his wife at a Super Bowl party because he smoked two joints?’” Monaghan says. “I’ve never heard that, but I have heard, ‘Did you hear Bill beat the hell out of his wife? He drank a couple of beers and a bottle of Jack Daniels.’ “It’s not the same drug.”
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s observant Jews, Heller and Monaghan say, it was important to them that growing and selling marijuana was considered halachically and ethically permissible. Based on his own convictions, Heller says, selling marijuana was certainly no worse than selling tobacco, a product he sees many Orthodox Jews using regularly. “I don’t think that halachically there’s anything wrong with growing or selling or using,” says Heller. Nevertheless, before going into the marijuana business, Monaghan
Heller, who runs the TRI-Sulom kashrus organization under the supervision of Rabbi Mordecai Twerski, has been asked whether it would be kosher for Jews to eat, rather than smoke, marijuana. “This came up, a while back, about edibles,” Heller says. “Somebody wanted to do edibles and they wanted to know whether I would supervise the kashrus. Of course I had to contact Rabbi Twerski about it, and he said as long as it’s legal and it’s kosher.” In other words, he elaborates, the addition of marijuana would not render an otherwise kosher brownie non-kosher.
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hether kosher or treif – and whether legal or illegal – Heller and Monaghan say, Jews in Denver are certainly using marijuana. Monaghan says that many Jewish youths, middle-aged people and even seniors are using pot regularly, some for medical and some for recreational reasons. “I know for a fact that there are a lot of Jews who are using the product, whether they buy it through a dispensary or don’t,” he says. “There are lot who are using the product and not going to the dispensary to get it, because they’re worried that their name might be tied to something. I’m not saying that they’re right or wrong.”
Their observations of both Jewish and general consumption have led these entrepreneurs to the conviction that marijuana is a growth industry and that the state of Colorado should waste little time in controlling that growth and collecting significant revenue from it. They are both hopeful and confident that Colorado is going to lead the way among American states in adopting a progressive policy regarding marijuana. “From my perspective, the state of Colorado has once again stepped out at the very edge and wants to start doing something that everybody else is saying they want to do,” Monaghan says. “The feds are going to lose this battle. Colorado is wonderful. The state has got it right.” THE ACTIVIST
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haring that hope is Mason Tvert, cofounder and executive director of Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER) and co-author of Marijuana is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink? One of Colorado’s most visible promarijuana activists, Tvert was raised in a Reform Jewish household and had a Bar Mitzvah. He is, however, not connected to the organized or religious Jewish community today. When he testifies before legislative bodies, speaks before activist audiences or is interviewed for television, his focus is on the legal and legislative hurdles inherent in the struggle, not on Jewish perspectives on marijuana. But that doesn’t mean that he’s oblivious to those perspectives. Tvert told the IJN that very few if any Jews have ever asked him whether it’s acceptable, from a religious or ethical standpoint, for Jews to support pro-marijuana efforts. They’re far more likely, he says, to ask how they can help. “The Jewish community is one of the most predominant demographics in support of loosening marijuana laws,” he says.
That demographic covers a wide range of ages, genders and religious backgrounds, he adds. He says that many Jews are involved in the pro-marijuana movement “professionally as activists, as those who are supportive at the polls and as those who want to work as volunteers.” Tvert cites a 2001 Zogby poll that found that 86% of American Jews oppose arresting non-violent marijuana users, while only 68% of Democrats felt the same. “That gives you a kind of snapshot,” Tvert says, although he is reluctant to attribute this to an easy explanation, such as the theory that Jews seem to be more naturally attracted to progressive causes. “I always hesitate to attribute something like this to anything causal, much like when we see polling date saying that women are less supportive of marijuana than men. There are theories on why that might be, but there’s no way to know for sure. The same is true for Jews. It’s something that I’ve
“Marijuana prohibition is a failed policy that causes far more harm than it prevents,” he says. “Not only does it contribute to significant problems such as organized crime, it also is unfair and really unjust to punish adults who are simply using a substance that’s safer than alcohol.” Tvert has little doubt that many Jews feel the same way. “Marijuana has been consumed by humans for thousands of years including, I would assume, Jewish people. “The Jewish culture has embraced the drinking of wine and every objective study of marijuana has concluded that it’s far less destructive than alcohol. It’s irrational to arrest and jail people who make the safer choice of using marijuana.” Although Tvert makes no claim to rabbinical expertise, he cites a passage from Genesis that he feels applies well to the marijuana debate: “And G-d said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the
THE RABBI Medically, if it’s ‘absolutely necessary,’ OK. Otherwise, marijuana ‘absolutely conflicts with the idea of being holy’ often thought about.”
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hile admitting that it wouldn’t deter him if rabbis were to suddenly come out and declare marijuana to be absolutely non-kosher, Tvert says he is confident that pushing for marijuana legalization is an ethical and moral cause. “Obviously, I think it’s always up to an individual whether they choose to consume marijuana, but without doubt, I think there’s no problem in supporting an end to this failed policy.” The “failed policy” to which he refers is one that punishes citizens for using a substance that he is convinced is far less harmful than alcohol.
earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food.” The passage has become popular among Jewish pro-marijuana activists who – although they might be taking liberties with the meaning of the word “food” -- see it as confirmation that marijuana is an herb that falls under G-d’s purview and blessing. THE RABBI Not so fast, says one Denver Orthodox rabbi. And not so simple. Rabbi Yaakov Meyer, spiritual leader of Aish Denver, says that the question “Is marijuana kosher” is not black and white, nor can it be answered with a simple yes or no. The use of marijuana is an issue in which context is all important. Emphasizing that his comments are strictly “based on my study of the matter . . . and not to be taken as any halachic decisions by anybody,” Rabbi Meyer draws upon his knowledge of Halachah to draw a clear line between using marijuana for medicinal purposes and “recreational” purpose, i.e., getting high. One might think that Halachah, which stresses the importance of Jews obeying the “law of the land,” might be confounded by the apparent paradox that the state of Colorado considers certain forms of marijuana consumption to be legal while the United States government does not. Interestingly, while the issue of legality must be considered, the rabbi says it’s not as much a conundrum as it might seem. “Medical marijuana, when there is not anything else that is deemed to be as effective, would be permissible,” Rabbi Meyer says. “Even in states that might forbid it, medical marijuana could Please see MARIJUANA on Page 15
March 23, 2012 • INTERMOUNTAIN JEWISH NEWS — Kosher Living • Section B • 15
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Is marijuana kosher? ‘Drugs allow you to be happy because they ignore the problem, but don’t solve it’ addiction, including alcohol, tobacco and drugs. In essence, the escapism and addictive properties of recreational drugs and other mindaltering substances render such substances non-kosher and antithetical to Judaism. R a b b i Meyer paraphrases the relevant message of these writings: “Judaism demands working on oneself in personal growth and ‘Reefer Madness’ was a well-known 1936 Ameriin putting can propaganda exploitation film revolving forth effort. around the melodramatic events that ensue when To feel good, high school students are lured by pushers to try we need to be marijuana. good.” “Drugs allow you to be happy MARIJUANA from Page 14 because they allow you to ignore the be halachically permissible, because problem, but they don’t solve the there’s a difference of opinion problem.” whether the law of the land applies “That’s not the way that G-d wants in such matters, when it comes to us to overcome the challenges in life. medical issues.” It’s avoiding the issue. We’re supFor this conclusion to be halachi- posed to work on ourselves to try cally viable, the rabbi stresses, the to overcome some of those chalmedical condition or pain the patient lenges.” is experiencing – and the fact that The best “high,” Rabbi Meyer says, marijuana is the only or best treat- is G-d. ment -- must be genuine, ideally con“It happens through study, selffirmed by a physician. refinement and ultimately makes “I don’t know that the patient can you feel better than any artificial always be trusted because the high,” he says. patient might have other motives,” As all this applies to marijuana, Rabbi Meyer says. Rabbi Meyers cites both Rabbi Fein“But if the doctor, the caregiver, stein and other authorities in assertsays that they need this and this ing that marijuana, like tobacco and will be the most effective form of alcohol, is a potentially addictive treatment, then it’s possible. There substance. are opinions that we don’t take the “Marijuana is addictive, accordlaw of the land as law and one would ing to most sources, and one is not halachically be allowed to use mar- allowed to indulge, just for recreijuana, even in places where a particular state forbids it, because civil law does not necessarily rule in issues of health.” The same thinking should apply to situations where marijuana is “not absolutely necessary” for a patient but the patient honestly believes that the drug is the most effective form of pain treatment. “Let’s say a doctor doesn’t say WHOLE so, but a person himself knows SOUP CHICKENS 4-5# that they’re in real pain and they know that they’re not taking it for recreational purposes, then that perLB son would be allowed to take it.” REG $3.09 LB This would also apply, the rabbi says, in states where the law forbids marijuana.
ational purposes, in a pleasure that can become addictive,” Rabbi Meyer says. “It can be dangerous to your health. That would be the same as smoking, and Reb Moshe also said you’re not allowed to start smoking. It’s one thing if one already is an addicted smoker, but it’s definitely forbidden to begin smoking because of the addictive nature of it. “So one is not allowed to take marijuana for recreational reasons both because it could be harmful and it’s addictive.” Also, marijuana can dull a user’s thinking. “It can ruin a person’s concentration for a prayer service and the ability to learn Torah which is a person’s main obligation. According to most research, it clearly does or clearly can dull your brain. “That would be prohibited. A Jew is supposed to be a thinking being. To dull your thinking and your ability to concentrate on these things, just for the sake of recreation, is a dehumanization of the human being.” The argument put forth earlier in this article, both by Monaghan and Tvert, that marijuana is at least no worse than alcohol, is invalid, the rabbi says, because the Torah also prohibits the excessive use of alcohol. “In fact, if a person takes alcohol recreationally to the point where it affects him, it’s doing the same thing.” One can have a shot of Slivovitz or schnapps after Sabbath services, “but not if it’s going to slosh you,” Rabbi Meyer says. “A person can drink something for recreational reasons, to take off the edge, or for socialization, but not to the point where it clouds the thinking. “If wine takes you to a point where you cannot think straight or concentrate properly – and you’re doing it for recreational purposes – then you shouldn’t be drinking it.”
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alachah, however, is not nearly so understanding when the question is whether a Jew should use marijuana for recreational purposes. This is strictly forbidden, Rabbi Meyer says. His thinking on that question is based on various Jewish writings that he’s studied, most importantly a responsa written by the late Rabbi Moshe Feinstein. That text, from the Yoreh Deah section of the rabbi’s renowned work Iggeros Moshe, has greatly influenced rabbinical thinking on the subject of
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THE RABBI ‘It can ruin a person’s concentration for prayer and Torah study . . . A Jew is supposed to be a thinking being’ even in places where it is considered illegal under civil law, full civil legalization will not change Halachah’s prohibition against recreational use. And the rabbi goes even further: “Even if it’s acceptable within the
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