Church of Scientology Sponsors Red Ribbon Week Forum on Strategies to Reduce Drug Demand

Jesse Morrow, Social Reform Director of the Church of Scientology
National Affairs Office in Washington, D.C., introduces those attending
the first annual anti-drug forum of the Truth About Drugs.

Honoring Red Ribbon Week and its message of prevention and education, The Church of Scientology National Affairs Office in Washington, D.C. co-hosted the first annual anti-drug forum of the Foundation for a Drug-Free World on October 22.

Held in Chestnut Hall in the new National Affairs Office in Fraser Mansion at Dupont Circle, the forum focused on effective strategies to reduce the demand for illicit drugs. It was chaired by Jesse Morrow, Social Reform Director of the Church of Scientology National Affairs Office.

Red Ribbon week is a national drug prevention and education week, held in the last week of October each year to honor the memory of DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, who was tortured and killed in 1985 by drug traffickers while working undercover in Mexico.    October is also National Substance Abuse Prevention Month, as designated in 2011 by President Obama.

The panel featured John Redman, Executive Director of Californians for Drug-Free Youth (CADFY), the group that created the first statewide Red Ribbon Week Campaign in 1985; Peggy Sapp, President of the National Family Partnership (NFP), the organization that initiated the first national Red Ribbon Week and sponsors the campaign; Courtney Bennett, Community Organizer for Wards 5 & 6 of the DC Prevention Center; and Imani Walker, Executive Director of the Rebecca Project for Human Rights.

The consequences of drug abuse affect everyone at all levels of society, whether or not they or their friends or families are directly involved. For example, drug abuse kills more than 37,000 Americans each year, more than the number of annual traffic fatalities. Teen deaths from drugs doubled in the first decade of this century. This year, the National Drug Control Policy Office reported that illicit drug use in America contributed to $193 billion in crime, heath-related costs and lost productivity.

In his presentation, Redman pointed out that much of the public discourse on legalization misrepresents the issue. He debunked myths that promote drugs as harmless, showing they are far more potent now than in the 1960s and 1970s.

Bennet’s presentation concerned synthetic marijuana, far stronger and more dangerous than marijuana. She covered its accessibility, the alarming effects of its use and its increased popularity among D.C. youth.

“Any successful drug prevention endeavor must include factual drug education at its base to empower individuals with the knowledge to decide for themselves,” said Morrow, “Once they have that knowledge, they make the right choice.”

The Church of Scientology National Affairs Office, opened Sept 12, 2012, at Fraser Mansion at Dupont Circle, was established to promote solutions to society’s greatest challenges. The historic building is configured to host a wide range of functions, from human rights symposiums and drug education workshops to panel discussions, press conferences and awards ceremonies.

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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 sponsors 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.

 
^{A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology.~~~L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion}

Meet a Scientologist - Barbara Schneider's Happy Ending

Scientologist Barbara Schneider is a model, TV personality, paramedic, Scientology counselor and mother of four who didn’t anticipate how well things would turn out 18 years ago when things went wrong.  

Born and working as a paramedic in Lugano, Switzerland, in the early 1990s a failed relationship left her desperate to get away.

“I went to a travel agent and told him I needed a change,” she says. “I wanted to be someplace far away and on the sea.”

The next thing she knew, she was flying to Majorca with her 3-year-old son. Once there, she was paying a friend a visit at a hotel when a man directed her ‘right this way for the audition.’  She tried to tell him that was not why she was there, but he insisted, and she ended up being cast as co-host of a TV show.

Despite the change in scenery and an exciting new job, a year and a half later, Schneider was still suffering.

“My twin sister Elena could tell I was unhappy,” says Schneider. “She had been a Scientologist since we were 16 and she was convinced Scientology would help me.”

Agreeing to give it a try, she received some Scientology spiritual counseling and was amazed—the upset vanished.

Schneider relocated to Clearwater, Florida—the spiritual headquarters of the Scientology religion.  It was there that she met and married husband Roberto. 

A Scientology auditor (religious counselor), she credits the skills she has gained from her training for her success as a mother and in so many other aspects of her life.

“I don’t know how I would raise a family in the world today without what I’ve learned in Scientology,” she says.

She is tremendously proud of how self-reliant and responsible her children are.

“My kids have a very good life but they work hard for it,” she says.  “It’s not automatically—‘Oh, you’re 16 so here’s a car.’ They earn what they get by studying hard and doing well in school. Even with my little one who’s only four, she loves contributing to the family.  She helps me around the house.  We make it a game and she’s proud of what she does.”

Schneider’s commitment to helping others extends beyond the family.  A Scientology Volunteer Minister, she traveled to Port-au-Prince in January 2012 with her three sisters and several close friends to help in the wake of the Haiti earthquake. 

 “We are all mothers and the children there really touched our hearts,” she says. “We took on helping more than 100 children who were living on the streets, orphaned or separated from their parents. We built tents, turned an old school bus into a cafeteria, cooked and served their meals, arranged medical care, and tutored them.  Where possible, we helped them find their families.  My sisters stayed on for months and made sure the children would be cared for when they left.”

Involved with helping others since she was a child, Schneider finds being a Scientology auditor (counselor) enormously gratifying.

“What I like most is to touch someone’s life with a bit of magic—that’s what I really love to do,” she says, “to inspire them, bring out the best in them, so they can see solutions on their own and go ahead and resolve their problems and be happy.”

To meet more than 200 Scientologists and hear their stories, watch the “Meet a Scientologist” videos at www.Scientology.org. 

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The popular “Meet a Scientologist” profiles on the Church of Scientology International Video Channel at Scientology.org now total more than 200 broadcast-quality documentary videos featuring Scientologists from diverse locations and walks of life. The personal stories are told by Scientologists who are educators, teenagers, skydivers, a golf instructor, a hip-hop dancer, IT manager, stunt pilot, mothers, fathers, dentists, photographers, actors, musicians, fashion designers, engineers, students, business owners and more.

A digital pioneer and leader in the online religious community, in April 2008 the Church of Scientology became the first major religion to launch its own official YouTube Video Channel, with videos now viewed more than 7 million times.

^{A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology.~~~L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion}