How the Need to Reach Youth With the Truth About Drugs Inspires a Movement

Misinformation and ignorance open the door to abuse and addiction according to the United Nations World Drug Report. A drug prevention champion featured on Voices for Humanity on the Scientology Network safeguards youth of the Czech Republic with the Truth About Drugs initiative.

This year’s World Drug Report emphasizes the urgency of reaching youth with the truth about drugs. And this is what drives the outreach of the Czech chapter of Foundation for a Drug-Free World whose work is featured on the Scientology Network on DIRECTV channel 320, streaming at Scientology.tv and on mobile apps, and via the Roku, Amazon Fire and Apple TV platforms.

The report found that over the past 24 years, while cannabis potency “increased by as much as four times in parts of the world...the percentage of adolescents who perceived the drug as harmful fell by as much as 40 percent.” In releasing the annual report, Ghada Waly, executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, wrote of the crucial role of drug education:

“Lower perception of drug use risks has been linked to higher rates of drug use, and the findings of UNODC’s 2021 World Drug Report highlight the need to close the gap between perception and reality to educate young people and safeguard public health.”

This is borne out by the annual report of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction Drug Report that states “not only is a wider variety of people now personally experiencing drug problems, but drug problems are impacting on our communities in a wider variety of ways.”

In an episode of Voices for Humanity on the Scientology Network, Vlastimil Špalek, chairman of the Czech Foundation for a Drug-Free World, says “What drives me and my team is one purpose: A drug-free Czech Republic.”

Špalek adopted The Truth About Drugs initiative because it works. He saw that when youth read the Truth About Drugs booklets on the 14 most commonly abused drugs, it empowers them with what they need to make the firm, self-determined decision to live drug-free.

An athlete, Špalek turned his love of sports into a way to reach the youth of his country with an annual event called the Czech “Cyclo-Run” Against Drugs. Drug prevention advocates cycle from city to city where they are joined by crowds of school children and sports enthusiasts who run with them through the town, promoting drug-free living. Wherever they go, athletes deliver drug education lectures and meet with officials to urge their adoption of the campaign.

Although the pandemic cut across the Cyclo-Run for the past two years, planning is underway to relaunch it in 2022, and in the meantime, volunteers carry on with activities. Špalek and his team of drug educators give drug-prevention lectures in schools. And volunteers reach out to families in their cities with Truth About Drugs booklets. In the town of Pilsen, a team of moms has adopted the program and shares booklets with parents and children to provide them this vital information. 

“I knew this program had the potential of saving countless lives,” says Špalek in his Voices for Humanity episode. “It has. And that’s why I’ve never given up my fight against drugs.”

Drug education and prevention work. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime states, “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.”

To enable anyone to take effective action against drug abuse and addiction, Scientology Churches schedule drug prevention open houses where anyone may learn how to use this campaign, receive booklets and videos, and request training on how to deliver the program. 

The Church of Scientology provides Truth About Drugs resources free of charge to educators, parents, school resource officers, nonprofits and community leaders.

The Truth About Drugs initiative

• Is available in 20 languages in 96 countries.
• Its public service announcements and The Truth About Drugs—Real People, Real Stories documentary have aired on 850 TV stations.
  
• More than 395,000 people have enrolled on the free online drug education eCourse on the Foundation for a Drug-Free World website at www.drugfreeworld.org.
  
• The Foundation has reached some 13 million students through more than 30,000 schools, institutions and groups that use the Truth About Drugs curriculum.

In his research into the devastating impact of drugs on society, author, humanitarian and Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard wrote, “Research has demonstrated that the single most destructive element present in our current culture is drugs.” This galvanized the Church and Scientologists to initiate the Truth About Drugs, a secular program through which they have worked for two decades to empower millions with the truth about drugs. 

To learn more about Vlastimil Špalek and the Foundation for a Drug-Free Czech Republic, watch Voices for Humanity on the Scientology Network. For more information on the Truth About Drugs initiative, visit the website of Foundation for a Drug-Free World or contact your nearest Scientology Church or Mission.