Empowering Youth and Adults With the Truth About Drugs

City of Markham Mayor Scarpitti presents a proclamation to the local chapter of Foundation for a Drug-Free World at the Taste of Asia Festival

Each summer, thousands of visitors pour into the City of Markham, Ontario, for the Taste of Asia Festival. The vibrant event features performances, art, crafts and food representing dozens of nations from China to Japan and India to Indonesia—each unique and special. And every year since 2004, the Toronto chapter of Foundation for a Drug-Free World has reached out at the festival with its drug education and prevention campaign. Drug-Free World volunteers distribute the Foundation’s acclaimed Truth About Drugs booklets, encouraging young and old to sign a pledge to live drug-free and to help families and friends make the same commitment. 

As always, this year’s festival was a dynamic tapestry of the best of Asian food and culture. But it played out against the stark reality of a serious threat to the lives and happiness of festival-goers from across the province. Ontario is in the midst of a drug overdose crisis. According to Drug-Free World volunteers, prevention has never been more important. City of Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti agreed. He presented a proclamation to Foundation for a Drug-Free World volunteers, marking the city’s adoption of the UN International Day Against Drug Abuse, whose motto for 2024 is The Evidence is Clear: Invest in Prevention.

“Drug abuse is very serious,” said Melanie Dickson-Smith, who heads the Toronto chapter of Foundation for a Drug-Free World which is supported by the Church of Scientology Toronto. “Now more than ever, youth need to be informed of the short- and long-term effects of drugs. We are very gratified to have the support of Mayor Scarpitti and Markham City Council in raising awareness of this issue.”

Foundation for a Drug-Free World is a Los Angeles-based nonprofit with consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Thanks to the support of Churches of Scientology and Scientologists, the Foundation makes its acclaimed secular drug education and prevention materials and programs available free of charge.

For decades, Scientologists have engaged in drug education and prevention in their communities, inspired by humanitarian and Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard, who wrote, “Research has demonstrated that the single most destructive element present in our current culture is drugs.”