Drug War Issues
Politics & Advocacy
St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican (courtesy Rome.info)
The ex-employee was convicted of cocaine possession after cocaine was found in a drawer in the room where he worked. He had been fired because he had recently been convicted of other criminal offenses in Italian courts.
While the Vatican legal code does not address illegal drug use or possession, the creative minds on the Vatican tribunal relied on the international anti-drug conventions to which it is a signatory. In addition, they cited a 1929 law which allows verdicts in cases not covered specifically by its laws but which involve injury to âhealth, morality and religion."
Now there is probably no political entity on earth that can stand proudly and say it never persecuted anyone for his choice of substances.
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Comments
drugs in the Vatican
They use wine, containing alcohol, for celebrating the Eucharist? If so, their drug of choice has been responsible for many deaths over the years. What moral hypocrisy! Why not ban alcohol from the Vatican, as well? The Baptists ban it from their members, don't they?!
I don't condone the use of cocaine. It is like playing a game of Russian roulette. One never knows when they might be one of the fatal statistics. But how do we get the message out? The kids can't see ther forest for the trees! Too much propaganda, and not enough cold scientific truth, has been presented by the authorities! And, the authorities still think that jailing drug addicted people will somehow stop the problem. NOT!
Risk takers are present in society, no matter whether it be skydivers or drunks playing Russian roulette. [ I know a lady whose husband died in exaclty that manner (Russian roulette while drinking). Boy, were the widow and the kids really messed up in the head!!] These risks can have terrible consquences. The worst being, the effect on our kids.
The question is, how can we stop these risk taking actions?!? By putting them all in jail? They would just take up new risks while there! Our society is a mess! Too many people seem to have a "death wish"! Maybe the Vatican is attacking the wrong problem, ignoring what caused the person to want to use illegal drugs in the first place! Do they not guide people in their search for moral truth?
Risk takers
I don't see a way to completely "cure" og "fix" those risk takers. They'll always be there. In my country we just lost one of those Train Surfers. He had climbed a train and evidently got whacked on the head when the train went under a tunnel. He just lay there, dead, on top of the train until someone spotted him at a bridge.
In truth, he should have taken up drugs for his kicks. Way safer!
Some risk taking should be persecuted, like e.g. reckless driving. But in those (mostly) victimless, self-inflicted deaths I can't help but think that part of the kick is the whole "noooo don't do it" wail that rises and the thought of a "world that cares". I wonder if it was just as attractive to Train Surf if everybody was just like "sure, whatever, go kill yourself".
Some of the time the worst risk takers have actual diseases, like ADHD. Which is why treatment would work better.
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