(CNN)Are you stoned? That's the message Pope Francis seemed to be sending lawmakers Friday, saying the growing worldwide trend toward legalizing recreational drugs is a very, very bad idea. "Drug addiction is an evil, and with evil there can be no yielding or compromise," he told participants at the International Drug Enforcement Conference in Rome. The Pope's call isn't shocking. Francis has spoken of the dangers of drug use before. But it lends his voice and the authority of the Catholic Church to the growing worldwide debate over legalizing or at least decriminalizing some recreational drugs, most notably marijuana.
@highlight
Legalizing drug use is a bad idea, Pope Francis says
@highlight
"There can be no yielding or compromise" to the evil of drugs, he says
@highlight
Public sentiment isn't with him; most Americans at least now favor legalization
@highlight
Uruguay recently legalized marijuana, and Jamaica is set to decriminalize it soon
@placeholder officials said this month that they plan to modify that nation's laws to decriminalize pot use and possession.