The Vatican has been accused of putting the lives of thousands at risk by attempting to influence UN drugs policy on the eve of a major international declaration.
The Vatican’s objection to “harm reduction” strategies, such as needle exchange schemes, has ignited a fierce debate between the US and the EU over how drugs should be tackled.
A new UN declaration of intent is due to be signed in Vienna on 11 March. However, there are major disagreements between member countries over whether a commitment to “harm reduction” should be included in the document, which is published every 10 years.
Now the Vatican has issued a statement that claims that using drugs is “anti-life” and “so-called harm reduction leads to liberalisation of the use of drugs”. The Vatican’s last-minute intervention appears to have led to Italy withdrawing from the EU consensus on the issue and thrown the talks over the declaration into confusion.
via Vatican’s stance on UN drugs policy ‘risks lives’ | World news | The Guardian .
There is nothing “so-called” about the harm reduction demonstrated by clean needle exchange programs and they do not lead to more use of drugs. But at NORML we’re concerned only with marijuana, so let me tackle the Vatican’s “anti-life” statement.
Certainly the Holy See doesn’t mean the use of all drugs is “anti-life”. Pope Benedict knows there are all manner of drugs that are used to save and prolong life. The Catholic Church is even accepting of using drugs for fun:
While the Catholic church hasn’t taken a public stance on Viagra, an official at a local diocese told us, “This isn’t in the same category as the Pill; the Pill has to do with human life, but Viagra doesn’t. Viagra could be used within a marriage.”
Sure, that’s true, and there are even some men who truly need Viagra in order to maintain a healthy sex life. But the non-medical use of Viagra as merely a chemical tool for having more fun cannot be overlooked. In other words, there are both medical and recreational uses for Viagra, just as there are for coca plants, opium poppies, and cannabis bushes.
With the Holy See condemning needle exchange, I must interpret that as abuse of drugs is “anti-life”. However, Viagra can kill you and marijuana cannot, so how can the Vatican condemn needle exchange without condemning misuse of Viagra? Abusing Viagra will end your life, how much more “anti-life” can you get? Using marijuana recreationally can never kill you, how much more “pro-life” could a drug be? (And if you have both Viagra and marijuana, you have a really excellent evening!)
thanx russ when i was surfing I found this story somewhere then i told u about it and then i couldn’t find it again i just sent it to all my christian friends who are users… even one is a stasher… now keep ‘em coming
You’re trying to argue logic with an organization that could justify to itself the use of red hot irons, thumbscrews, acid, boiling water and a surprising array of torture devices.
The first drug prohibition ever in the world
was introduced by the catholic church. Read
the Emperor Wears No Clothes. They during the
Dark Ages have called people witches for their
use of herbs even and burned them alive. They
were the first organization to outlaw hemp
during the dark Ages. I am convinced that the
drug laws in America stem from influence from
the catholic church. This indeed violates our
separation of church and state. The pope needs
to only be concerned with the catholic church
and not interfere with other countries policies
on drugs or anything else.
Absolutely. Prohibition Kills people. I guess the Vatican doesn’t care. I shows that the Vatican is a fascist organization.