Man it’s so refreshing to see & meet a whole community of God fearing cannabis users

I used to think I was out of my mind when I would think that consuming cannabis can serve as a way for spiritual edification but now that I’ve joined this conversation and heard the podcasts I now have a better perspective on the topic of using cannabis as a Christian. For the sake of briefly sharing my story with cannabis i should start by saying that i was introduced to weed in a party setting when I was in JR. high (which I know of course was definitely illegal for me at the time but hey let’s face it I was a wild child.) From that point, any time I was smoking it was to just get a high and have a “better time.” Then I got saved and surrendered my life to God. I was told and shown that the Bible spoke of being a new creature and how the old should be put away to make room for the new me. To be honest though I feel like I was then living in a totally different world and it was good, but I still felt like any time I ever felt the need to consume cannabis I was dwelling in my past, thinking sinfully, selfishly and just out right wrong. Then my older brothers, also believers, who have had a lot of experience with cannabis to the point of growing and harvesting it, they started to show me a more useful and pure hearted way to view and use the plant which was doing it for self awareness and medicinal purpose. After experimenting more I started to understand their perspectives and how they dealt with being church hurt, demonized, depressed etc. Then I came to the conclusion that consuming cannabis wasn’t all that bad and exactly what society considers it to be. Then i noticed how far Hollywood had taken its image and type-casted a stereotypical example of what it “always” looked like to be a user. I figured out that was what was causing me to view it in that way. BUT GOD....lol....It’s awesome that the more you read the Bible and understand its context, you begin to see how God truly created everything natural and it was good; it’s just up to mankind to choose wisely and do it with the right motives. So lately I’ve been enjoying cannabis in a better context, drawing closer to God, opening up the conversation more with other fellow Christians and slowly coming out of my “pot closet” even though I’ve found relief in using cannabis i understand I now need to be transparent and honest about using it and refrain from hiding it any longer or using it excessively to where it’s becomes a spiritual hinderance and stumbling block in my life. I just want to thank anyone that took their time to read my story. I ask that you guys would lift me up in prayer and ask God to help me find the healing that I need and maintain it in my life whether that is with the help of cannabis or without. Peace & God bless!