The Church wishes to draw attention to the repercussions of this phenomenon. She emphasizes the fact that, in the event of the legalization of the sale and use of products encouraging drug dependence, the future of individuals is at stake. The lives of some will be diminished, that is, marred, while others, perhaps without falling into real dependence, will waste their youth without fully developing their potential. Experiments must not be carried out at people's expense. The behaviour that leads to drug dependence has no chance of being corrected if the products that encourage this behaviour are sold without restriction.
Various attitudes are possible towards the problem of drug abuse and they can all be justified.
5 Pontifical Council for the Family, op. cit., p. 8.