My reply to a Chabad.org query on What is Judaism’s take on marijuana

The truth is – as interviewed on MyRebbe – someone asked this question of the Rebbe and he replied that the problem with an artificial high is that it’s artificial. In other words, Judaism and Chassidus in particular desire for you to be happy – now the difference between being happy and high, is that in the former, as it was intellectually motivated – say as the Baal Shem Tov teaches “one should always be happy by seeing the good in everything” – and as the intellect is the part in us that can balance the sometimes conflicting demands in us, hence as the Kabbalistic imperative to balance joy with a touch of misery (as stated in Tanya) therefore, we don’t suffer the major side-effect of addiction, losing all balance in our lives.

In other words, many people not only become addicted to the basically pleasurable chemicals released through endorphin etc. creating natural substances, but can even be addicted to the pleasurable spiritual “nirvana” which according to Kabbalah Chassidus is considered like death (ratzu bli shuv…) for ultimately, our ultimate goal is not in feeling good, but doing good!