Great connection @fcbrandon. Thank you for sharing, yet I still feel this verse falls short of justifying the intoxicating uses of marijuana and other plants, as it seems you might as well.

Nonetheless, yes, I do believe the marijuana use was bringing me closer to the power of God but maybe not in a truly permanent and fruitful sense. What I mean is because God sees something in me, He may have been working in me all along regardless of my very regular marijuana smoking. If anything, he might have been developing my faith to the point where I could subsist on His Word rather than on my own physical attempts at gaining a fleeting salvation.

I wonder also, does Lucifer have the power to influence or deceive in the way where I can be using a drug like pot or even wine (to excess) and be tricked by Lucifer into believing God is in my heart when it is actually Lucifer "congratulating me" or encouraging me to continue seeking my own gratification, rather than aiding those in real need around me?