Community Groups Challenged to Unite in the 2006 Fight Against Drugs
The President of the Church of Scientology International, Rev Heber C. Jentzsch, is challenging community groups to unite in a massive campaign to educate people around the world on the real facts about drugs, in the face of statistics from the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crimes World Drug Report, showing an estimated 200 million people, or 5% of the worlds population age 15-64, consume illegal drugs.
(PRWEB) January 2, 2006 -- The President of the Church of Scientology International, Rev Heber C. Jentzsch, is challenging community groups to unite in a massive campaign to educate people around the world on the real facts about drugs, in the face of statistics from the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crimes World Drug Report, showing an estimated 200 million people, or 5% of the worlds population age 15-64, consume illegal drugs.
Churches of Scientology internationally have printed and distributed more than eight million copies of booklets on the subjects of marijuana, ecstasy, cocaine and heroin. Supplementing this massive information program have been 224,220 drug awareness billboards and posters, over 45 million fliers, 89,000 public awareness events and more than 10,200 newspaper and television stories promoting a drug-free message - all financed by the Church of Scientology and its members.
Here in Los Angeles the Church’s youth drug-prevention program, Drug-Free Marshals, is a welcome sight at Police open houses, national night out events, and at youth clubs and recreation centers. Drug-Free Marshals have gotten the word out to 100,000 of youth over the last decade. Humanitarian, L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the Church of Scientology believed, "Save the child and you save the nation." The Church has partnered with numerous groups, including Mothers in Action and recently had the opportunity to issue the 7-point Drug Free Marshal pledge to lead drug-free lives to the Marine hockey club of Camp Pendelton. The highly popular Community Day organized through the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Clergy Council under Sheriff Leroy D. Baca is just around the corner, where more than a thousand youth are expected to take the pledge and receive copies of the booklets produced by the Church as a public service.
Pointing to the Church's experience for nearly two decades in community drug education, Rev. Jentzsch said that many youth and young adults are misinformed about drugs but that equipping them with the facts can reduce drug misuse. Scientologists offer use of their drug education booklets to other groups and organizations because they are effective said Rev. Jentzsch.
"Many people have stopped taking drugs or decided never to start as a direct result of reading our booklets or attending one of our public awareness events but we need to reach everyone," said Rev. Jentzsch. "If community groups join forces the impact would be enormous," he added. "With a populace composed of 200 million users and billions more to educate, it's time to move to an entirely new level."
Over the past year, the Church estimates that close to 50,000,000 people have been reached with its anti-drug message, with one hundred thousand children and teenagers sworn-in as Drug-Free Marshals and more than 525,000 anti-drug booklets and 5,600,000 fliers against drugs distributed internationally.
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