While in Brazil last July, Pope Francis weighed in on the drug legalization debate. "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," he said in a speech. "The scourge of drug-trafficking, that favors violence and sows the seeds of suffering and death, requires of society as a whole an act of courage."
At the same time the Pontiff spoke with compassion: "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. We all need to look upon one another with the loving eyes of Christ, and to learn to embrace those in need, in order to show our closeness, affection and love."
His latest comments about drugs were made at thee International Drug Enforcement Conference in Rome on June 20: "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. Attempts, however limited, to legalize so-called recreational drugs (in Uruguay and two American states) are not only highly questionable from a legislative standpoint, but they fail to produce the desired effects."
