POPE FRANCIS OPPOSES LEGALIZING DRUGS, INCLUDING MARIJUANA

Francis calls attempts to legalize recreational drugs ‘highly questionable,’ saying that the problem of drug use is not solved with drugs

Addressing the International Drug Enforcement Conference in Rome on Friday, Pope Francis came out strong against the legalization of drugs, including marijuana.

Here is what the Pope said:

The scourge of drug use continues to spread inexorably, fed by a deplorable commerce which transcends national and continental borders. Attempts, however limited, to legalize so-called 'recreational drugs,' are not only highly questionable from a legislative standpoint, but they fail to produce desired effects.

Let me state this in the clearest terms possible. The problem of drug use is not solved with drugs! Drug addiction is an evil, and with evil there can be no yielding or compromise. To think that harm can be reduced by permitting drug addicts to use narcotics in no way resolves the problem.

Francis has spoken out against the legalization of drugs on a number of previous occasions. Last July, the Pope visited with drug addicts and hospital staff at Saint Francis of Assisi Hospital in Rio de Janeiro, where he said:

A reduction in the spread and influence of drug addiction will not be achieved by a liberalization of drug use, as is currently being proposed in various parts of Latin America. Rather, it is necessary to confront the problems underlying the use of these drugs, by promoting greater justice, educating young people in the values that build up life in society, accompanying those in difficulty and giving them hope for the future.

Of note is the fact that the Pope did not make an exception for medical marijuana, in his opposition to the legalization of drugs.

As someone who is utterly opposed to the legalization of marijuana, including medical marijuana, I applaud the Pope’s stand in the face of a growing chorus by those who keep clamoring for the legalization of pot.