FRANCE

In France, Scientologists have organized marches and street events to further promote the Church’s drug prevention message, and have reached hundreds of thousands of French people all over the country. Champion motorcyclist Marc Arrighi, who broke the world rear-wheel-stand speed record in 1996, is among those who have actively promoted the “Say No to Drugs” campaign. More than 40 radio stations in France regularly air ads for the booklets at no charge.

Church members have also distributed copies of the drug education booklets directly to discotheques throughout the country, where the use of drugs — especially ecstasy — is common. More than 50 clubs regularly currently distribute copies of the anti-drug educational booklets to their clientele.

“There is currently nothing being done, especially by the government, to handle the drug problem,” said one nightclub owner who regularly distributes copies of the booklets. “It is very effective because young people who get a booklet read it and, because it is small, put the booklet in their pocket. There are never any booklets left behind on the tables.”

Police and government officials in France have given their support to the Church’s anti-drug campaigns there, which have continued to reach thousand and thousands of people.

When a police chief in Marseille, France, was given copies of the booklets and briefed on the “Say No to Drugs” campaign, he asked to have drug education lectures given to police throughout the country. Similarly, a representative from a national police magazine contacted the Church to ask if copies of the booklets could be placed in all local police offices. French police officers have told volunteers that the Church’s campaign has contributed to reduced crime in the city and such actions represent the only real hope for drug salvage in France.

One MP who received the booklet asked for additional copies to distribute broadly in his own village. A Member of Parliament in France who received a copy of the “Cocaine” booklet said that he had been personally fighting against the liberalization of drug laws for more than 10 years, was very pleased that the Church was distributing such booklets and asked for several hundred copies to distribute himself. An MP who was also the director of a private school for 3,000 children thanked the “Say No to Drugs” Association for sending him the “Joint” booklet and said he would continue to support their anti-drug campaign.