Francis underlined in his message that it is often teens and young adults who fall into addiction, especially in a society in which they are “deprived of points of reference” during a delicate phase in their lives “characterized by significant changes at the physical, emotional, and social levels.”
“Many young people pursue the illusion of finding in drug use a suspension from anguish and lack of meaning: It is the ‘vain hope’ of a stupor that relieves them of the fatigue of being and existing, often concealed under the disguise of a desire for escapism and fun,” he said.
“The phenomenon of drug and psychotropic substance abuse continues to cause alarm and concern.”
Pope Francis also drew attention to the problem of new psychoactive substances (NPS) — drugs designed to mimic established illegal drugs, such as cocaine, MDMA, and LSD, but made with different chemical structures to avoid bans.
NPS have a “rapidly expanding market and uncertain toxicological effects and serious public health consequences,” he said. “The ease of chemically modifying such substances then enables organized crime to evade legal controls, making it more difficult to detect the illicit compounds.”
He said it is extremely important to develop treatment plans and ways of curbing the proliferation of NPS, especially because many young people abuse them without knowing their danger.