PHILADELPHIA — The message from Catholic Church leaders has been clear: When it comes to marijuana, no means no.
That stance was renewed in the last decade as many states have legalized medical and recreational cannabis. Pennsylvania legalized medical marijuana in 2016.
So when theology professor R. Jared Staudt came across a cannabis certificate program offered at St. Joseph's University, a Jesuit Catholic university, he smelled a heady conflict of religious values.
"According to the teaching of the Catholic Church, drug use impairs the health of the body and one's ability to make free choices, which is the heart of morality," Staudt said over email from Colorado, where he teaches at the Augustine Institute.
St. Joseph's launched its cannabis studies program in 2020, though it's not the only college showing interest in one of the fastest growing job markets in the country.
Thomas Jefferson University's cannabis program predates St. Joe's by two years, while researchers at Drexel, Temple, and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine conduct cannabis studies of their own.
Unlike an undergraduate or graduate degree, students enrolled in St. Joe's program study for six-month terms to earn certificates in specialty areas like "The Business of Cannabis" and "Cannabis Agriculture and Horticulture," according to the program's website. All classes occur online and are administered by Green Flower, the university's education partner.
"As a Jesuit, Catholic institution, we aim to treat all people with dignity and respect and care for the most vulnerable in our community," said Father Peter A. Clark, director of the Institute of Clinical Bioethics at Saint Joseph's University. "These programs address the medical aspects of marijuana, which has been proven effective in treating various medical conditions."
Statistics show the 171-year-old institution is keeping pace with an expansive field. Nearly 430,000 people work in the $13 billion legal cannabis industry in the United States, with employment growing over 100% over the last five years.
Theologists question toeing the Vatican's hardline opposition to legal pot.
"I would say that any efforts to promote or encourage the recreational use of marijuana is not something that a Catholic school should be teaching people how to do," said the Rev. Eric Banecker, pastor of Saint Francis de Sales parish in West Philadelphia and an adjunct professor of theology at the Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary.
St. Joe's isn't calling for anyone to light up a joint, though graduates have their pick of 21 states to work in where both recreational and medical pot are legal.
Those who stick in Pennsylvania will be subject to state laws regulating the sale of cannabis to medical patients. That took effect in 2016, and with new Democratic control in the state House, more action could be on the way. In the meantime, New Jersey has a flourishing recreational cannabis industry, where sales topped $100 million after regulators opened the floodgates in 2022.
Staudt and Banecker held a hard line on getting high, similar to Pope Francis' decry against drug use in 2014. Catholic support for fully legalized marijuana that year was a mixed bag, with 46% in acceptance, rising to a slim majority last year.
For centuries, people across cultures have used cannabis for pain management. When it came to the plant's medicinal potential, both theologists were open to debate.
Banecker sees similarities to drugs like opioids, explaining how Catholic values permit using painkillers when scientifically appropriate.
St. Joseph's program addresses cannabis's role in modern health care, with at least one certificate touching on its uses for ailments like autoimmune diseases and cancer, as well as its treatment potential for mental health conditions and addiction.
Staudt needs to see more evidence before he can get behind the idea, citing negative health outcomes and the potential for the product to get into the hands of those who don't have a medical card.
Other Christians keep the faith on pot.
For California-based pastor Craig Gross, using cannabis did more than provide respite from his frequent migraines — it brought him closer to God.
Gross wrote on his blog, Christian Cannabis, that before trying marijuana, he'd "never gone anywhere near 'the devil's lettuce' — thanks, in large part, to that very connotation, and the taboo that has long surrounded this controversial plant."
Then in 2017, Gross experimented. Microdoses led to feelings of clarity and direction that allowed God into his heart.
Through Christian Cannabis, Gross now evangelizes cannabis to other believers, urging them to reconsider longstanding beliefs.
As Gross writes on his blog, "Christians are always late to the party."
