Using drugs such as bhang or ganja [marijuana] as a sadhana?

Neem Karoli Baba

(from "By His Grace" by Dada Mukerjee):

There was a Vaisnava sadhu sitting with Baba and he began narrating his story. Babaji [Neem Karoli Baba] did his utmost to interrupt, but the sadhu shouted as loudly as he could. The sadhu had come for the Magh Mela. The mela was over and many sadhus had gone away. The day fefore, while the remaining sadhus were in their huts, they saw a person in a blanket loitering around. They asked him where he lived.

"I have no place to live."

"What about your food?"

"I eat if someone feeds me."

One of the sadhus asked if he would like to stay with them. "If you will feed me, I will stay." 

After eating, the sadhus prepared some ganja and were passing the smoke around. When it was Babaji's turn, he jumped up and began abusing everyone. "These wretched and corrupt drug addicts want to spoil me also. I hate sitting with these scoundrels." He got up and went away. 

Some of the sadhus went and searched for him. When they inquired at another camp if anyone had seen a man in a blanket, an old sadhu said, "You did not recognize him? That was Neem Karoli Baba." This was a revelation to them. They had heard much about Baba, but never met him.

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Vira Chanda: The reality is that the vast majority of Shaiva sadhus smoke ganj and drink bhang, this is due not only to their social and economic status but also to the specifics of the tradition. Shiva himself used "charas", and his devotees are not far behind.

In many ways, this is obviously due to the story of how Shiva drank the poison formed after churning the ocean and getting Amrita, and his ability, as a mahayogin, to transform poisons into Amrita. For some, this is a symbol of the transformation of pravritti into nivritti, but for others, it is simply an indication that this must be followed literally - hence exists a tradition of using intoxicants in the sadhana. Every one who is seriously interested in this knows that there are special rituals for offering charas and bhang to Shiva, "cleansing" it, "sanctifying" and intake. 

The problem is that these "special rituals" is that they don't have any shastic verification; there are literally no mentions of possibility to use ganja or bhang as a sadhana in any of Shaiva Granthas. If Shiva consumes them, it does not mean that a sadhaka can mimic that behaviour of transforming poisons into Amrita. Rather, the poison will just kill you. So here is a paradoxical situation: for one who has already achieved Spiritaul Realization, he or she can use drugs without any harm, but there is simply no need for that because such a Siddha can constantly drink a nectar just from Within, relish Jagadananda [Cosmic Bliss] without any external stimulators. As Neem Karoli Baba said to Ram Dass when he offered him LSD, "To take them with no effect, your mind must be firmly fixed on God. Others would be afraid to take. Many saints would not take this."

And for one who has not achieved it, drugs will most certainly kill such a person both physically and spiritually.  Most of acquaintances who used drugs "for spiritual purposes", they just became fully "smoked" or sat down on harder drugs, many died.

So words of Neem Karoli Baba about such sadhus - that they are "wretched and corrupt drug-addicts" - are harsh but true. Unfortunately, most "sadhus" (by status) do not even qualify for sadhaks in fact. Their usage of ganja or bhang is not "spiritual practice" or "special sadhana", but a mere consumption of intoxication by a drug-addict. Unfortunately, under the influence of the Kali Yuga, it has become just a part of the "sadhu's" way of life. Everywhere - from Nepal to Tamil Nadu. It won't make a person closer to God, rather the opposite...