Drug Prevention Cyclists Race to Reach Youth With the Truth About Drugs
After a two-year hiatus because of COVID, athletes are once more sprinting through the Czech Republic to reach youth with the truth about drugs. Founder Vlastimil Špalek and his team of drug-prevention activists are featured in an episode of Voices for Humanity on the Scientology Network.
Athletes on the grueling 10-day, 1,200-kilometers (745-mile) circuit through the Czech Republic view this sporting event as a race against time. The 18th annual Drug-Free Czech Cyclo-Run (pausing only when prevented by the pandemic) is a campaign to help protect youth from the tragedy of drug abuse and addiction. And the numbers tell the tale.
Roughly one in three Czech Republic children and teens have experimented with an illicit substance, says the group’s spokesperson. This is an estimated 200,000 youths, including children as young as 10.
Cycling through a circuit of 41 towns and cities, the team will complete their tour of the country in 10 days.
A Cyclo-Run, a term they coined, cycles from town to town and leads youth and community leaders and officials through an anti-drug run in each of their destinations.
In each town, they also meet with officials and community leaders, provide youth with drug education lessons, and lead them in taking the association’s drug-free pledge.
“As long as people think drugs are a matter of personal freedom and don’t see the harm in them, they are willing to try them,” says Vlastimil Špalek, Cyclo-Run founder and chairman of Drug-Free World Czech Republic. “And once they start using, they’re soon addicted. It is not good enough just to tell young people not to get involved with drugs. You have to give them a way to get the facts themselves, come to their own conclusions, and make their own decisions about whether or not to get involved.”
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, “Prevention strategies based on scientific evidence working with families, schools, and communities can ensure that children and youth, especially the most marginalized and poor, grow and stay healthy and safe into adulthood and old age. For every dollar spent on prevention, at least ten can be saved in future health, social and crime costs.”
Noting the role substance abuse plays in the disintegration of the social fabric, Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard wrote, “Research has demonstrated that the single most destructive element present in our current culture is drugs.”
Foundation for a Drug-Free World was formed in 2006 to serve as the primary distributor of educational materials and to develop new materials to meet the challenge of continually changing drug trends. The Foundation has grown to a network of some 200 chapters around the world. Thanks to the support of the Church of Scientology and Scientologists, it provides the Truth About Drugs secular program and materials free of charge to drug educators worldwide.
Voices for Humanity is a Scientology Network original series of short documentaries introducing changemakers from all faiths, cultures and nations as they extend help to their communities through Scientology-sponsored humanitarian programs.
Since launching with a special episode featuring Scientology ecclesiastical leader Mr. David Miscavige, Scientology Network has been viewed in 240 countries and territories worldwide in 17 languages. Broadcast from Scientology Media Productions, the Church’s global media center in Los Angeles, the Scientology Network is available on DIRECTV Channel 320 and can be streamed at Scientology.tv, on mobile apps and via the Roku, Amazon Fire and Apple TV platforms.
The Scientology religion was founded by author and philosopher L. Ron Hubbard. The first Church of Scientology was formed in Los Angeles in 1954 and the religion has expanded to more than 11,000 Churches, Missions and affiliated groups, with millions of members in 167 countries.
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