Just Say No: Pope on Legalizing Recreational Drugs

Vatican City: Pope Francis has come out strongly against the legalization of recreational drugs, lending his voice to the debate which is raging from the US to Uruguay and beyond.

Francis told members of a drug enforcement conference meeting in Rome on Friday that even limited attempts to legalize recreational drugs "are not only highly questionable from a legislative standpoint, but they fail to produce the desired effects."

Francis has frequently railed against the "evil" of drug addiction and has met with addicts on several occasions.

Just last month, Uruguay - next door to Francis' native Argentina - approved selling marijuana cigarettes in pharmacies, and recreational marijuana is legal in the US states of Colorado and Washington.