FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Is it True That You Can Try Drugs Once Without Any Harmful Effects?

Absolutely not, according to former addicts and the “Say No to Drugs” volunteers of Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

“No little kid grows up thinking, ‘One day I’m going to be a heroin addict!’ They want to be superheroes or firefighters or something like that,” says a former addict in The Truth About Drugs—Real People, Real Stories documentary from Foundation for a Drug-Free World. “But if you start using, all those things get further away. It just becomes your life. That is your job. When you’re a heroin addict, that’s what you do. That’s all you do.”

But what about marijuana? People say that’s a gateway drug. Is that true? 

“You can argue that all you want,” says a former addict in the video on marijuana. “The fact of the matter is when you smoke pot, the people you hang out with are going to have other drugs. Eventually, you are going to run into it.” “As much as I hate the word ‘gateway drug’ I’m a prime example of it,” says another addict.

Volunteers from the Say No to Drugs—Say Yes to Life Association of Austria, Germany and Switzerland use these booklets and audiovisual materials to provide people with compelling and factual information so they can make the self-determined decision not to take drugs.

“Our children are the generation of tomorrow on whose shoulders the future of civilization will rest,” said a volunteer from the Say No to Drugs Association sponsored by the Scientology Churches of Vienna. Through contact with parents and teachers, these volunteers have seen many examples of the effectiveness of drug prevention. “It is our priority to give young people the opportunity to choose a drug-free life. By being exposed to factual information about what drugs do, they can make the self-determined decision to live drug-free lives.”

Free drug education courses are available in 20 languages for youth, educators and community leaders from the Foundation for a Drug-Free World website.

Observing and studying the devastating effects of the proliferation of drugs in society in the 60s and 70s, humanitarian and Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard said, “Research has demonstrated that the single most destructive element present in our current culture is drugs.”

To realize the Church’s greater humanitarian objectives, Scientology ecclesiastical leader Mr. David Miscavige set forth a strategy to raise awareness, educate and activate millions of voices for a better world. One such campaign is the Truth About Drugs initiative of Foundation for a Drug-Free World. He ensured the campaign’s informational components would be available, free of charge, to all who request them. 

For more information, visit the Foundation for a Drug-Free World website.

The Scientology religion was founded by author and philosopher L. Ron Hubbard. The first Church of Scientology was formed in Los Angeles in 1954 and the religion has expanded to more than 11,000 Churches, Missions and affiliated groups, with millions of members in 167 countries.

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