The Growing Threat of Drug Use Among Young People: Pope Francis Addresses the Issue

2023-08-27 18:01:19
Pope Francis with Jose Maria del Corral and young people from Scholas Occurrentes (Gentileza Scholas)

Pope Francis warned this Sunday of the increase in drug use among young people, thanks also to the possibility of buying them online, and the “rapid expansion” of new psychoactive substances (NPS).

“The phenomenon of the abuse of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances continues to cause alarm and concern, especially due to the growth in registered consumption among adolescents and young people,” said the pontiff in a message sent to the participants of the 60th International Congress of Forensic Toxicologists held in Rome.

Francisco denounced that this phenomenon is demonstrated in the “increase in drug sales in the ‘digital squares’ of the ‘dark web’”.

“Adolescence and youth, as we know, constitute particularly delicate phases in the life of every person, characterized by notable changes at a physical, emotional and social level,” he said.

Francisco expressed his concern regarding the “increased spread of doping substances” in the sports world, due to “the manifest obsession of obtaining important results at all costs.”

”To this we must add that our current societies are, in certain aspects, fragile and marked by underlying insecurity. You can end up dragged into the compulsive search for new experiences by the need to measure yourself with the unprecedented, to explore the unknown, but also to silence the fear of feeling excluded and the need to socialize ”, he added.

All of this, in Francisco’s opinion, “represents fertile ground for the use of toxic substances.”

Among these, the Argentine pontiff pointed out, the so-called “new psychoactive substances” (NPS), in which the United Nations includes ketamine and fentanyl, among other drugs.

“NPS represent a serious and complex problem in today’s environment with a rapidly expanding market, uncertain toxicological effects, and serious consequences for public health,” he warned.

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The Pope stressed that “the ease of chemically modifying these substances later allows organized crime to evade legal controls, making it more difficult to identify the illegal compounds.”

“Many adolescents abuse NPS without knowing their danger, so it is essential to develop analysis techniques and preventive measures to contain their proliferation and encourage adequate therapeutic plans,” he said.

On the other hand, Francisco expressed his concern regarding the “increased spread of doping substances” in the sports world, due to “the manifest obsession to obtain important results at all costs.”

A problem that hides a social scourge: “The phenomenon obviously indicates something deeper that implies the importance of reflecting on today’s society, in which a culture of efficiency and productivity prevails that does not admit doubts or failures”, denounced.

Pope Francis speaks with several young people during a meeting at the Cathedral of Saint Teresa in Juba, South Sudan. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya

Faced with this problem, Francisco asked “not to remain indifferent” and demanded that toxicologists and experts in the field make efforts to “find educational, therapeutic and rehabilitation plans that allow preventing and combating the drug plague.”

(With information from EFE)

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