Why the Church of Scientology and Scientologists Support Drug Prevention

This weekend on International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, and throughout the year, the Church of Scientology International and Scientologists help youth make the self-determined decision to live drug-free. Why? Because drug prevention works. And it saves young lives.

After a year marked by soaring drug overdose and drug-related violent crime, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime chose a theme for International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, June 26, that resonates with Scientologists who live the motto throughout the year—Share Facts on Drugs: Save Lives.

Scientology Churches provide drug education specialist training, sponsor chapters of Foundation for a Drug-Free World, and work with local educators, police, churches and nonprofits to reach youth on this vital subject.

One teacher who uses the program shared why he recommends the Foundation for a Drug-Free World’s Truth About Drugs program to anyone wishing to help kids on this urgent subject. “Exposure to this program could be the one thing that prevents them from traveling the road to addiction.”

Another, who has used Drug-Free World materials as part of her curriculum for years, describes them as “a powerful tool to inform students and teachers of the dangers of drug use and abuse.”

A counselor at an addiction treatment center “read every one [of the Truth About Drugs booklets] cover to cover” and said they “helped me understand many things.”

A police officer told the Foundation, “I teach a course on street drugs and drug-free education as part of my law enforcement/criminal justice program to high school juniors and seniors,” and he wants to spread the word and to be listed as a Drug-Free World chapter.

On the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking campaign website, the UN “invites everyone to do their part, by taking a firm stance against misinformation and unreliable sources; while committing to sharing only the real science-backed data on drugs and save lives.”

The award-winning Truth About Drugs initiative:

• Is available in 26 languages in 96 countries. 
• Its public service announcements and The Truth About Drugs—Real People, Real Stories documentary air on 850 TV stations.
• More than 135,000 people have completed 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.

To make these materials available to anyone wishing to tackle the drug crisis, the Church of Scientology International Dissemination and Distribution Center in Los Angeles, California, produces and ships out Truth About Drugs booklets, DVDs and education packages free of charge to parents, educators, law enforcement, community groups and nonprofits.

In honor of International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, the Scientology Network featured a full day of drug prevention films and documentaries. Scientology Churches held drug prevention open houses. And Scientologists, working with drug-prevention advocates in their communities, took part in rallies and set up drug information stands to make this vital information broadly available.

For more information, visit the Scientology Network or Scientology.org.