ROME — Pope Francis pulled no punches in his condemnation of drug dealers Wednesday, calling them “murderers” and calling drug liberalization laws a “fantasy.”
Marking the United Nations’ International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, the pontiff called out “the evil intentions and actions of drug dealers and traffickers,” insisting twice that they are “murderers.”
Drugs “trample on human dignity,” the pope contended in his weekly general audience, and a “reduction in drug addiction is not achieved by liberalizing drug use” — as has been proposed or already implemented in some countries — “this is a fantasy!”
“It’s like this,” he continued, “you liberalize, and drugs are consumed even more.”
The pope’s words followed a series of recent legislative moves in the United States liberalizing the use of cannabis. The recreational use of cannabis is now legal in 24 states, three U.S. territories, and Washington, DC.
“Having known so many tragic stories of drug addicts and their families, I am convinced that it is a moral duty to end the production and trafficking of these dangerous substances,” he added.
Drug traffickers are “traffickers of death,” he declared, “driven by the logic of power and money at any cost!”
“And this scourge, which produces violence and sows suffering and death, demands an act of courage from our society as a whole,” he said.
Francis went on to say he was “comforted” by the efforts undertaken by various bishops’ conferences to promote just legislation and policies regarding the treatment of people addicted to drug use and prevention to “stop this scourge.”
The drug addiction of millions of people around the world is “tragic,” the pope stated, and, faced with the scandal of the illicit production and trafficking of such drugs, “we cannot be indifferent.”
We pray, he said, for “these criminals who spend and give drugs to the young. They are criminals. They are murderers. Let us pray for their conversion.”
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