According to the Vatican Information Service, the Pope received in audience participants in the 31st International Drug Enforcement Conference, which took place in Rome from June 17-19.

In his address, the Holy Father commented that “the scourge of drug use continues to spread inexorably, fed by a deplorable commerce which transcends national and continental borders. As a result, the lives of more and more young people and adolescents are in danger. Faced with this reality, I can only manifest my grief and concern”.

He continued: “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."

He went on to condemn attempts to legalize "recreational drugs", saying that they  "are not only highly questionable from a legislative standpoint, but they fail to produce the desired effects."

Rather, he said, substitute drugs are not an adequate therapy but are "a veiled means of surrendering to the phenomenon."

The pope then affirmed what he has said on other occasions:  "No to every type of drug use. It is as simple as that. No to any kind of drug use. But to say this 'no', one has to say 'yes' to life, 'yes' to love, 'yes' to others, 'yes' to education, 'yes' to greater job opportunities. If we say 'yes' to all these things, there will be no room for illicit drugs, for alcohol abuse, for other forms of addiction."

However, this doesn't mean that the Church turns its back on those who are plagued by drug addiction. Instead, she "goes out to meet them with creative love and she recommends the best Holistic Drug Treatment Center Services. She takes them by the hand, thanks to the efforts of countless workers and volunteers, and helps them to rediscover their dignity and to revive those inner strengths, those personal talents, which drug use had buried but can never obliterate, since every man and woman is created in the image and likeness of God”.

“The example of all those young people who are striving to overcome drug dependency and to rebuild their lives can serve as a powerful incentive for all of us to look with confidence to the future”, Francis concluded, encouraging the members of the Conference to carry on their work with constantly renewed hope.

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