Church of Scientology Distributes Drug Abuse and Addiction Facts Internationally

Members, friends and allies of Scientologists and Church of Scientology missions and churches in countries around the world are carrying out an all-out international effort this month to do something effective about drug abuse and addiction in their communities.

Treating April as “Drug Information Month,” volunteers distribute copies of 13 separate drug education booklets, which give simple and direct facts about drugs. These free booklets cover the effects of drugs such as marijuana, alcohol, prescription drugs, cocaine, heroine, crystal meth, crack, painkillers, LSD, Ecstasy, and Ritalin (known as “kiddie cocaine”), and show how these substances destroy a person’s health, creativity, family and relationships.

Scientologists distributed over 3,000 drug facts booklets in Hamburg, Germany, and thousands more in Berlin and Dusseldorf. Volunteers in Cagliari, Italy helped several hundred people learn the truth about drugs, many of whom asked for more booklets to pass on to their friends.

Teams in Marseilles, Angers, Clermont, Bordeaux, Nice and Lyon, France passed out more than 10,000 booklets. In Paris, volunteers went right to the most notorious neighborhoods in the city, passing out booklets to at-risk teenagers and youth while local police quietly stood by to guard against retaliation from drug dealers. “Our booklets were in such high demand,” said one of the volunteers. “We had teachers coming up to us to ask for copies for their students, two medical doctors wanted them for their waiting rooms and a professor liked them so much he grabbed some booklets and joined us.”

In Amsterdam, where the sale of so-called “soft drugs” is legal and “coffee shop” is a code name for a hash bar, volunteers passed out over 500 drug education booklets. In Auckland, New Zealand volunteers handed out some 1,200 copies at a marketplace.

Countless lives are lost to drugs. Newspapers and TV news shows spotlight the famous artists who die from drug overdose, but most people have experienced personally the loss of a friend or family member through drug abuse. Many of those who resort to selling sex are supporting their habits. Our prisons are full of men and women who are there because they dealt drugs or are drug addicts who committed crimes to support their habits. Governments, nonprofit organizations and private individuals spend billions every year in an attempt to combat this tragedy. Scientologists and Scientology churches, missions and groups partner with people from all faiths, professions and walks of life to do something effective to counter drug abuse. For more information visit the Scientology video channel at www.scientology.org or www.youtube.com/ChurchofScientology

Scientology Volunteer Ministers Restore Hope in the Land of Dreams

In a very quiet way, day by day, Scientology Volunteer Ministers on the Outback Goodwill Tour help people overcome the barriers to their happiness and renew the dreams of the people of dreams—the indigenous people of the Australian Outback.

The plagues that dominate indigenous Australian culture are drug and alcohol abuse and illiteracy. In 2005, the reading levels of less than half of third year Aboriginal students and only 31 percent of fifth year students met national standards. While only 5 percent of Australia’s 10-17-year-olds are Indigenous, they make up 40 percent of all young people in the nation’s juvenile justice system. A report released in June 2009 found that Indigenous Australians are 13 times more likely to end up in jail than the rest of the population. The report found a clear link between drug and alcohol abuse and the high number of incarcerated Indigenous people.

The Scientology Volunteer Ministers Goodwill Tour tackles these problems in villages and camps on a one-on-one basis, using Study Technology, the Answers to Drugs Booklet, and Scientology Assists—”spiritual first aid” that helps establish the person’s communication with his or her body to overcome the pain and discomfort often associated with withdrawal. This spiritual technology, developed by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard, is making a difference in the lives of these people, one person at a time.

Alice Springs is a cultural meeting place for the 60,000 Indigenous Australians of the Northern Territory. An additional 2,000-3,000 Indigenous people pass through 18 outlying town camps and thousands visit the Todd dry riverbed, a sacred site that runs through the town. Volunteer Ministers have introduced hundreds living in the city and camps and those making the spiritual trek to the city to technology to help with drug addiction, literacy, ethics and morality.

An elder from Alice Springs heard about the Volunteer Ministers on the “bush telegraph” (in other words, by word of mouth) and how much their Scientology Assists had helped people. When she encountered the volunteers she had them train her to give Assists and she now uses them regularly with her own friends and family. A Lutheran pastor from Hermannsburg heard about Assists and he too is now delivering them—and has taught 30 others this technology.

With their motto “Something can be done about it,” the Goodwill Tour reaches hundreds of people each month, and through training them in these tools for better living, reach out to an entire culture.

For more information on the Volunteer Ministers Goodwill Tours visit the Scientology Volunteer Ministers website at www.volunteerministers.org.

THE FASTEST-GROWING RELIGION IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Charting the Course for Scientology Expansion

Each year in June, top Scientologists from around the world assemble aboard the Sea Org Motor Vessel Freewinds religious retreat for the “OT Summit.” It comprises a week of briefings, seminars and strategic planning sessions presided over by Chairman of the Board Religious Technology Center, Mr. David Miscavige.

This year’s Summit marked the announcement and release of historic advances for the Scientology religion.

In this way, Mr. Miscavige keeps parishioners fully abreast of Church accomplishments, current planning and goals for the coming year and beyond. He provides them with the “big picture” of Scientology expansion and the future of the religion, including their part in the acquisition, renovation and staffing of new Churches, the utilization of new training courses and restored L. Ron Hubbard scriptural materials.>>