Russian Volunteers Bring Truth to the Drug Debate

Volunteers from the Church of Scientology St. Petersburg, Russia, hand out thousands of copies of The Truth About Drugs to counter drug abuse with the cold, hard facts.

The Brookings Institution reports that according to official figures, almost 6 percent of the Russian population, or 8.5 million people, are drug addicts or regular users and some 90 percent of them use heroin at least part of the time. As of 2014, an estimated 1.3 million Russians had HIV, most of whom contracted the disease through contaminated needles.

The report goes on to state that part of the problem is that Russia is also a transit country for Afghan heroin. Some 30 percent of the heroin produced in Afghanistan travels into and through Russia to reach its destination, prompting Viktor Ivanov, former director to the Federal Narcotics Service of Russia, to saying the flood of these drugs through the country was like “a tsunami constantly breaking over Russia—we are sinking in it.”

To help youth avoid the devastation of addiction, volunteers from the Church of Scientology of St. Petersburg hold street events where they hand out copies of The Truth About Drugs, a booklet presenting the cold, hard facts on the most commonly abused substances. Reading these booklets and watching the Drug-Free World videos helps youth resist peer pressure to experiment with drugs.

The Church of Scientology supports The Truth About Drugs initiative. Scientologists on six continents work in their communities throughout the year to empower others with the truth about drugs. The Church and its members are dedicated to eradicating drug abuse through education.