|
|
F A C T S H E E T
Churches of Scientology
Their Anti-drug Campaigns and Activities
EUROPEAN ANTI-DRUG CAMPAIGNS
In Germany, France, Switzerland, Denmark, Belgium, Holland, Austria, Sweden, Norway, Italy and the United Kingdom—Scientologists lead “Say No to Drugs, Say Yes to Life” campaigns. Through drug-education events, street displays and booths in walking streets, benefit concerts and marches, Scientologists seek to raise public awareness about the drug problem and the solutions available.
In the last two months of the year 2000 alone, more than 800 European anti-drug events were held, with the anti-drug message reaching an estimated 150,000 people in Europe, the United Kingdom and Russia. And within the same time frame, Scientologists in Europe and Russia delivered close to 300 anti-drug education lectures, most in schools to both students and teachers. More than 15,000 have attended those lectures.
Scientologists in Denmark campaign for the creation of school environments entirely free from drugs, where students and teachers are approached to pledge to permit no tolerance toward drugs and to widely promote their school as drug-free.
In Holland, Belgium, Denmark, France, Switzerland and Italy hundreds of thousands of informative booklets on the dangers of drugs such as marijuana, heroin and Ecstasy have been distributed as a public service.
A police chief in Bordeaux, France, attributed a drop in the drug-related crime rate in his city to the local Church’s campaign and the distribution of these booklets.
Groups of church volunteers and celebrities in Italy and the United Kingdom, with local and government support, lead regular community drives to round up and safely dispose of used hypodermic needles discarded in public parks by addicts, removing these potentially lethal hazards from areas frequented by children.
|
