Legalization of drugs would send wrong message, warns Argentinean archbishop

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sep 10, 2009 / 14:01 pm

Archbishop Luis Villalba of Tucuman in Argentina said this week that the legalization of drugs such as marijuana would not be helpful for addicts and would send the message that such drugs are safe.

 

“Legalizing drugs runs the risk of the sending the message that drugs are not harmful,” the archbishop explained.  “The message sent with this decision is, it’s okay to take drugs, drugs are legal!” he warned during a youth pilgrimage.

 

Archbishop Villalba said that while addicts should not be turned into criminals, they should be treated as sick people who need medical care.  He continued remarking that the legalization of drugs for personal use is to “abandon” the addicts and “neglect their right to health.”  

 

“Drugs are evil and facilitating their consumption is not good, it is evil and goes against the fundamental principle that man has been created for life and not for death,” he went on. “Drugs are synonymous with death and young people must not be led into them, they must be steered away,” the archbishop warned.

 

Drug addiction “is not resolved with a decision that only addresses partial aspects of the problem,” he said.  “It is a complex issue that must be resolved comprehensively.  In this sense the legal, economic, health care, social and educational aspects must be taken into account,” the archbishop concluded.