Faith, Flower, and the Call to Community:Why I’m Here — and Why God Sent Me

By OG Strain

For some people, my presence in the cannabis community makes perfect sense.
For others, it feels like a contradiction they can’t quite reconcile.

I’ve been a cannabis user for roughly 33 years.
I’ve been a Christian even longer.

I was born into the faith 48 years ago, a cradle Catholic from day one. And for most of my life, those two truths have existed side by side — sometimes peacefully, sometimes under constant scrutiny from the outside world.

“How can you be Catholic and use cannabis?”
“How could God use you when you’re a sinner?”
“Why would the Church accept someone like you?”

These questions aren’t new to me. I’ve heard them for decades.

And to be clear: I’ve already addressed the claim that cannabis is a sin. I’ve done the work. I’ve studied Scripture. I’ve written about it. I’ve backed every word with the Bible itself. That debate, for me, is settled. Cannabis is not a sin — and I’ve proven that publicly more than once.

But this article isn’t about re-arguing theology.

It’s about people.

Because here’s the truth that rarely gets said out loud:
There are good, loving, compassionate, God-fearing people in the cannabis community. People with strong moral compasses. People who care deeply about others. People who would give you the shirt off their back. People who, in my opinion, are absolutely the kind of people who will one day inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.

Yet many of them feel like they’ll never be accepted by Christians — or by the Church.

They feel judged.
They feel disqualified.
They feel like they have to choose.

God or cannabis. Faith or medicine. Church or healing.

And that’s where the real problem lies.

Because who is speaking to them?

Who is telling the cannabis user with chronic pain, trauma, anxiety, or illness that God doesn’t hate them?
Who is telling the longtime smoker that walking into a church won’t make the walls collapse?
Who is telling them they don’t have to abandon their medicine to serve God?

Too often, the answer is no one.

And that silence has consequences.

There are countless people who could be serving God, loving others, and walking in faith — but they don’t. Not because they reject God, but because they’ve been made to feel unworthy of Him. Because someone else’s bias convinced them they were already condemned.

That’s not the Gospel.

And that’s why I’m here.

I truly believe — with everything in me — that God sent me into this community for a reason. Not to judge. Not to condemn. Not to argue people into submission. But to set the record straight.

You do not have to choose between God and cannabis.
You do not have to abandon a plant that helps you heal in order to love Christ.
You are not evil.
You are not disqualified.
And God does not hate you.

Cannabis is a gift — and like any gift, it can be used responsibly, medicinally, and with gratitude. Loving God and appreciating His creation are not opposing forces. They were never meant to be.

I feel called — genuinely called — to reach into this space and speak to the people who have been overlooked, misunderstood, or pushed away. To find the ones with faith in their hearts who’ve been told they don’t belong. To encourage them to stand up, speak boldly, and defend what they believe with truth and love.

There are soldiers here. I see them every day.
People of integrity. People of conviction. People who just need permission — or reassurance — that God still wants them.

So if you’re reading this and you’ve ever felt like you had to hide your faith…
Or hide your cannabis use…
Or choose one part of yourself over the other…

Let me say this clearly:

You can serve God and use cannabis.
You can love Christ and still medicate.
You belong — both here and in His Kingdom.

That’s why I joined this community.
That’s why I speak.
And that’s why I won’t stop.

— OG Strain
The Plug’s Pages Magazine