Let’s be honest – in discussing dangers to the Jewish community, there is always something urgent on the agenda: antisemitism, navigating homeless individuals the way to shul, or active shooter situations. While each these items deserve their own discussion, there’s one issue we tend to brush under the rug, despite its steady rise: substance use.
You know what I’m talking about—if you’re taking a drink with you on your walk to shul, sneaking out of shul early to grab another “L’Chaim,” and then hitting a second kiddush before finally getting home, you might want to pause. And no, it’s not just about enjoying Shabbat a little extra. Kosher weed gummies and other substances are finding their way into our shuls. We’ve turned what’s meant to be a special day of holiness into an excuse for, well, overindulgence.
Let’s look at some numbers, shall we? A jaw-dropping 1,652% increase in fentanyl overdoses from 2016 to 2023, online alcohol sales shooting up by nearly 500%, and cannabis sales climbing 243%—and that’s just between 2020 and 2022. This isn’t some vague "general population" issue, folks—it’s in our community. So no, we can’t just shrug and pretend it’s business as usual. Substance use is here, and it’s high time we face it.
But hey, it’s not just about the Kiddush Club or those backyard Shabbat minyans that seem to require a drink for every Amen. What starts as a “harmless” drink or two quickly snowballs into something more. If your L’Chaim routine involves finding any excuse to refill your cup, it’s time to ask: when did casual turn into compulsive? The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) defines binge drinking as hitting a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08%—which is typically about 3 drinks for women or 4 for men within several hours. If you’re checking those boxes on a Shabbat, that’s not “celebrating,” it’s sliding down a very slippery slope.
Now, let’s talk about weed. Yeah, it’s natural, it’s legal in many places, and it’s no big deal, right? Wrong. Cannabis use isn’t just for men anymore, either. If your wife handed you this article, time to pass it back to her. Women, trying to cope with rising rates of anxiety and depression, are increasingly turning to it. THC, the main psychoactive component in cannabis, is more potent than ever. The more we normalize this, the harder it gets to recognize when “casual” use turns into dependence. And here’s a fun fact—cannabis-related health issues are skyrocketing, especially in states like California where weed is about as accessible as a bagel. So next time you reach for that joint or gummy, maybe ask yourself—where exactly does this path lead?
Now, here’s the challenge—denial is basically our community’s Olympic sport. We like to think addiction happens over there, not right here among us. But the stats beg to differ. A recent survey revealed that 41.2% of Jewish individuals know someone in their community battling substance abuse, and 23.5% have a family history of addiction. This isn’t just a “someone else” problem; it’s happening in our homes, our shuls, and at our Shabbat tables. And guess what? Ignoring it won’t make it disappear. If anything, it makes things worse. We should be at the forefront of addressing this, not quietly pretending it’s not our issue.
Here’s the good news: our community is tight-knit, and that’s a strength. We already have the foundations for a support system that can address substance abuse. The bad news? We’re not using it effectively. Denial, stigma, and silence are preventing us from tackling the issue head-on. We need to make substance use prevention and recovery a communal priority, not an afterthought.
So what’s the next step? Talk. Out loud. About substance use, about healthy limits, about dependency. Let’s normalize these discussions. Parents, shuls, schools—we all need to get on the same page. When open dialogue becomes the norm, that’s when progress happens.
Second, if you or someone you know is struggling, don’t wait. Help is available. And if you’re thinking, “It’s not that bad,” trust me—it’s easier to course-correct now than wait for full-blown addiction to settle in. There are excellent recovery programs that incorporate Jewish values, so no excuses.
Let’s be honest—substance use isn’t going anywhere. Neither is addiction. But we can either stick our heads back in a siddur or actually do something about it. As a community, we’re strong enough to face this challenge. We’ve got the tools: our commitment to each other, our tradition of moderation, and the ability to create solutions that work for us. But if we keep waiting, we risk letting substance abuse quietly take root where it doesn’t belong—in the very spaces we hold most sacred.
So what’s it going to be? Wait until it’s too late, or step up now? You decide.