Pope Francis recently reaffirmed his stance on the legalization of recreational drugs, and this time he was more emphatic than before. He believes that any relaxation of the drug laws is wrong and that doing so only puts more drugs in the hands of the addicted.
This pope has had personal experience with the effects of addiction, having walked the streets in his native Argentina and viewed the devastation of the many lives it touches. So as I was reading the article about what the pope said, something leapt out on the page.
The drug czar in Argentina who believes that the legalization of recreational drugs deserves a debate is a Roman Catholic priest. Interesting that in this country the vocations of political and religious overlap.
More or less adapting the phrase used in the 1980s in the U.S., "just say no," the pope suggested that people as a whole must take on a new attitude.
To reject illegal drugs, he said, "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."
And I say, what about, "yes to God." With God in our lives, there is always hope and a pathway to love, acceptance, and joy no matter the circumstances. The positive attitude that flows from a personal relationship with Jesus is just as addictive and counters the negative, violent and putrid output in society today.
Because drugs are manufactured in Argentina and many Central American countries from the plant that converts to cocaine, poor residents become addicted to "paco," which is made from the leftovers from the plant and other chemicals. In Buenos Aires, the then Francis Bergoglio supported the priests who opened drug rehab centers to help those addicted on paco. The pope washed the feet of recovering paco addicts.
In Mexico the whole mess related to drugs and the cartels is even more murky. In Mexico, the cartels support the Catholic Church because they are the ones with money. The cartels are the real money makers and at the top layers live really opulent lives compared to the rest. It bothers me though that the church in Mexico gets dirty, blood money. I wonder what the pope thinks about this. Will he speak out about it at some point?
No one knows what the pope's stance on medical marijuana is, but there is a strain known as Charlotte's Web that has very little of the hallucinogenic properties and more of another substance that is known to stop seizures. For this reason and many others, so long as it is regulated, I support medical marijuana and the production of this type of plant. The company formerly known as Yoder Brothers in Barberton was bought out, and the new company located in a couple of different places may apply for various licenses to grow this strain of marijuana. It is useless to the drug trade because it does not produce a high. In fact, they would probably look upon it as competition because at least some of the marijuana sold illegally now is used by people who are in dire health trouble.
So that's about it for today. I'm tapped out. My sister continues her struggle. Her right leg is giving her problems and I don't think the hospital has yet to figure it out. They've been doing some ultrasounds on it but so far nothing has shown of concern.
Karen
No comments:
Post a Comment