DEUT89 Are there any reasons in Jewish law not to take drugs? The main reason why drugs would be immoral and against Jewish law is that for reasons of health. There have been many studies done showing the negative effects of drugs. It is true that each drug has a slightly different effect and that none of the results are agreed-upon by everyone. Yet, there is strong consensus that regular drug use causes damage to one's body, whether it be to the brain, liver, or to the entire system. In Judaism, doing damage to one's body clearly violates many precepts. One Torah [this] verse states that a person should watch and guard himself. A second instance just six verses later[Deuteronomy 4:15] says virtually the same thing, but the word me'od, meaning "very much so," is added. One therefore must protect one's body from harm "very much." Why is this so? Can't a person claim it's his or her life and his or her body and if the person wishes to ruin it, that is a personal choice? Judaism disagrees with this view. While we may use our bodies as can anyone who borrows an item from a friend, our body does not belong to us. It belongs to God, who "lends" it to us (Maimonides, Hilchot Roze'ach 1:4). And like a borrowed item that must be properly watched even as it is allowed to be used and then returned intact, we have an obligation to watch our bodies and return them as intact as possible to God when we die. Therefore, we may not do anything that brings harm to our body. That is also why suicide is illegal in Jewish law--it is not our body to do with as we wish. This is not just a philosophic idea. Maimonides (Maimonides, Hilchot Roze'ach 11:5) specifically rules that a person who has this attitude, that is," I do not care what people say, I can do what I want to my body," is punished. Therefore, taking drugs, which does harm to the body, would not be permitted. Rabbi Akiva (Bava Kamma 90b) in an earlier century ruled that a person may not intentionally cause damage to his or her body.