Pope calls for support to those who fall into drug addiction

Pope Francis sends a message to participants in the 60th International Congress of Forensic Toxicologists in Rome, and raises the alarm over the increase in drug use among young people, which highlights situations of fragility in our societies centered on performance and productiveness.

By Lisa Zengarini

“Behind every addiction there are concrete experiences, stories of loneliness, inequality, exclusion, lack of integration” to which “we cannot be indifferent”.

Listen to the cry of the most fragile

In a message sent on Sunday, 27 August, to forensic toxicologists meeting in Rome for their 60th International Congress, Pope Francis called for reaching out to those who suffer from drug addiction, by listening to their suffering and addressing the fragilities of our societies.

“The Lord Jesus stopped, came close, healed the wounds”, he said. “We too are called to act in the style of His proximity, to stop in the face of situations of fragility and pain, to listen to the cry of loneliness and anguish, to bend down to raise up and bring back to life those who fall into the slavery of drugs”.

Increased consumption of narcotic drugs among teenagers

While thanking participants in the Congress, which runs until 31 August, for their "commitment, time and energy" dedicated to the prevention and fight against drug addiction, Pope Francis shared his concerns over the alarming increase in the consumption of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances among teenagers and young people, thanks also to the possibility of buying them online on the so-called dark web.

The Pope noted that the critical stage of adolescence and youth, added to the fragility and insecurities of today's societies, are important factors that can lead young people "to dangerous choices and behaviours, such as the use of psychoactive drugs, the abuse of alcohol, or experiencing extreme situations, both virtual and real.”

“Adolescence and youth are particularly delicate phases in the life of every person, characterized by significant changes on a physical, emotional and social level. Added to this is the fact that our current societies are fragile in many respects and marked by a basic 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 with your peers”.”

New Psychoactive Substances and doping in sport

Pope Francis pointed in particular to the rapidly expanding market of the so-called New Psychoactive Substances (NPS). “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.

Modern society’s culture of efficiency and productivity

Another point raised in the message is the increase in the use of doping substances in sports, which manifests the “obsession” to achieve high results and high-performance “at all costs".

This phenomenon, Pope Francis remarked, should make us reflect on modern society’s “culture of efficiency and productivity”, which does not admit “hesitations or failures.”

The Pope noted that the “need to always appear up to expectations”, to exhibit a good and successful image of oneself, banishing fragility and weakness, is "an insurmountable obstacle to the pursuit of integral human development."

In this context, the message continued, disoriented young people are more prone to rely on drugs to stem their anguish and lack of purpose and to overcome the "fatigue of existing".

Concluding Pope Francis expressed his hope that the work of toxicologists may contribute to identify “educational, therapeutic and rehabilitation plans that can prevent and combat the scourge of drugs, promoting alternative cultural models and encouraging people - especially young people - to seek the reasons for living they have lost.”

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