On Spiritualism and Drugs

This guy has a compelling argument affirming the use of marijuana: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6fsdOroelE

But Baba suggests otherwise: "The state of ecstasy brought about by music or by some extraneous influence like drugs does not mean spirituality. It is a state in which the mind overpowers itself, and is a weakness to be guarded against. Instead of running wild, the mind should be self-composed. This comes through control."

Yet, Baba says "I believe in self-control, not in coercion. Coercion is based on oppression, and results in fear and hatred. Self control requires courage, and may be induced by love. We will do many things for those whom we love which we would not ordinarily do — which we would not ordinarily have the strength of mind and power to do. How many habits have we been able to break through love, which we would never have had the strength to break without love? And when the love is universal love, all habits which are detrimental, either to the individual or to the social order, will be dissolved in its light." We shouldn't bar people from using marijuana. That involves the use of violence. That is the reason why we have gangsters and room for police abuse. Indeed, barring them would be a violation of the First Amendment right to religion.

But I wish Baba would have gone into detail, suggesting the reasons, point to point, exactly why marijuana is bad. Hanuman Baba, as he calls himself, sets up a very convincing argument. He combines the two streams of religious thought: the western and eastern. Moses saw the burning bush, which according to this guy was a bush of "kush," and spoke to God, as in by getting high. Whereas, the yogis have been using "ganja" to meditate for years. But what really punctuates his rhetoric is his reference to the ayurveda. Marijuana has no negative medical implications. It cures many a disease. He actually lists the various diseases. It is good for your lungs, a counter-effect of tobacco.

Sure, Baba said intuition is a higher reckoning system than reason. And Baba's argument against LSD and other man-made hallucinagens makes sense. But I still cannot grasp the logic behind Baba's argument.But whatever it is, at the end of the day, just by Baba uttering it, it is enough for me.