Pope Francis: Drug Dealers Are ‘Criminals,’ ‘Murderers’

ROME — Pope Francis pulled no punches in his condemnation of drug dealers Wednesday, calling them “murderers” and calling drug liberalization laws a “fantasy.” Marking the United Nations’ International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, the pontiff called out “the evil intentions and actions of drug dealers and traffickers,” insisting twice that they are “murderers.” Drugs “trample on human dignity,” the pope contended in his weekly general audience, and a “reduction in drug addiction is not achieved by liberalizing drug use” — as has been proposed or already implemented...