Scientologists Take to the Paris Streets Against Drugs

With the weatherman finally announcing a break in record low temperatures, ”No to Drugs, Yes to Life” Association volunteers from the Church of Scientology of Paris braved the weather Sunday—still unseasonably cold—to distribute more than 2,000 drug education and prevention booklets in the 17th arrondissement.

According to the Inter-departmental Mission for the Fight Against Drugs and Drug Addiction, more than 5 million people in France have experimented with cannabis, 1.2 million use the drug on a regular basis and more than 500,000 are addicted.

But studies suggest that youth who avoid taking drugs until they are 21 are unlikely to ever abuse them, so education is the answer.

“Punishment is not the answer to drug abuse,” says Scientologist Robert Galibert, President of the ‘No to Drugs, Yes to Life’ Association. “By providing the facts about drugs to young people, we enable them to make educated decisions to live healthy lives.”

Founded more than 20 years ago by actor Xavier Deluc, the association has been sponsored by the Church of Scientology since its inception. Seventy volunteers of the Paris association have distributed 48,000 drug education booklets and organized 48 information events in the city in the past year.