Scientology Volunteers in Catania, Italy Help Community Combat the Danger of Drugs

Church of Scientology in Sicily helps neighbors avoid the disastrous effects of drugs.

Volunteers from the Church of Scientology of Catania, Sicily, help protect their community from the disastrous effects of drugs.

They participate in a highly effective drug prevention campaign called the “Drug-Free Marshals.“ This is a program that originated in America in 1993, and has since become popular throughout the world. It is based on an American tradition of the 19th Century where civilians were sworn in as deputy marshals to help combat crime in the Wild West. Following that model, Drug-Free Marshals are sworn in to protect people—from drug abuse and addiction. They take a pledge to live drug-free lives and help their families and friends do the same.

In addition to the work they do on drug education, the Scientology volunteers, led by Public Affairs Director for the Church of Scientology of Catania, Ms. Itria Leone, organize syringe pick-up days, where they confiscate needles discarded by addicts at the side of roads, in the grass and under bushes, that could cause children playing in the area to contract HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C and other communicable diseases.

These drug education and prevention activities are one of the reasons Ms. Leone was awarded the 2009 Silver Chimera Award for the impact she has made on the community through her work as coordinator of the social reform programs of the Church of Scientology.

L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion, once said, “Save the child, and you save the nation,” and the volunteers of the Church of Scientology of Catania, who donate their time and efforts to helping the young people of their community, are committed to providing a safe future for the next generation.

For more information on the work Scientology churches are doing to handle the drug problem, visit the Scientology web site.

^{"You may have been taught that the mind is a very difficult thing to know about. This is the first principle of Scientology: It is possible to know about the mind, the spirit and life."—L. Ron Hubbard}

<sup>A lot of Scientologists are active in fighting drug abuse.

In the late 1960s at the birth of the drug culture L. Ron Hubbard started major research into the effects of drugs on the mind and spiritual awareness. He had to.

Lots of products of the drug generation were walking into Scientology churches, and they were not responding to the usual techniques Ron had formulated to help people. Looking into why, he found this one common denominator. Drugs. At that time it was mainly street drugs.

Now pharmaceuticals, particularly psycho-active drugs compete with street drugs in the damage they cause. Literally millions of kids get put on Ritalin, for example, for manifesting the "disorder" of childhood enthusiasm (terribly distressing to parents and teachers who like things quiet and should not have had kids in or gone into a career where they have to take care of them).

Scientologists, understanding how destructive drugs are, swear off them personally. But they also take on the job of helping others learn the truth about drugs.

This article in Scientology Today about a New Yorker named Mehgan Fialkoff, is a case in point, but there are Scientologists all over the world who are taking on this work, distributing booklets, talking to people, giving lectures, speaking out.

The Foundation for a Drug Free World has terrific anti-drug ads. I really recommend them to anyone who wants to join in the real war against drugs which has to be taken to the trenches, on a one-on-one basis, to be effective.

Do you know a kid who's at risk? Send then to see the videos. They are also online on the Scientology web site and the Scientology YouTube channel.


"You may have been taught that the mind is a very difficult thing to know about. This is the first principle of Scientology: It is possible to know about the mind, the spirit and life."—L. Ron Hubbard</sup>