Church of Scientology working with inmates at Victorville Prison to reduce prison population through effective drug education

Effective drug education is critical if society is to reduce its prison population, representatives of the Church of Scientology stressed at the third annual reentry summit at the Victorville Federal Prison Complex in California.

The October 24 summit, organized by the San Bernardino County Reentry Collaborative, brought together law enforcement, civic leaders, ministers and nonprofits to discuss, plan and coordinate strategies to reduce recidivism.

Drug education is key in alleviating the prison problem.  According to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics, 17 percent of U.S. state prisoners and 18 percent of federal inmates said they committed their current offense to obtain money for drugs.  Additionally, nearly one-third of state and one-fourth of federal prisoners committed offenses while under the influence of drugs. 

In November 2010, members of the Church of Scientology introduced the Truth About Drugs to Victorville staff, who created a pilot drug education program based on the materials. The curriculum includes the Truth About Drugs booklet series of 13 booklets on commonly abused drugs; “They Said, They Lied” public service announcements that serve as introductions to the lessons; and The Truth About Drugs: Real People, Real Stories documentary featuring former users who survived addiction. In April 2011, 34 inmates began training and offered the drug education to fellow inmates. 

A prison official described the results of the program: “The class has been highly successful. The tutors and the students are really receiving valuable information that they can apply to their lives.  They are participating openly in discussing how drugs have affected not only their lives but the lives of their family and friends.”

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The Church of Scientology has published a new brochure, Scientology: How We Help—the Truth About Drugs, Creating a Drug-Free World, to meet requests for more information about the drug education and prevention initiative it sponsors. To read a copy of the brochure to learn more about the Church of Scientology drug education program, visit the Scientology website.

Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard wrote, “The planet has hit a barrier which prevents any widespread social progress—drugs and other biochemical substances. These can put people into a condition which not only prohibits and destroys physical health but which can prevent any stable advancement in mental or spiritual well-being.”

The Church of Scientology supports Truth About Drugs, one of the world’s largest nongovernmental drug education and prevention campaigns. It has been conclusively proven that when young people are provided with the truth about drugs—factual information on what drugs are and what they do—usage rates drop commensurately.