Check out this Truth About Drugs Video

Check out this Anti-Ecstacy PSA

National Night Boston 2007: “Unity Through Community”

Boston’s Scientology Ministry invites the community for its National Night Out Boston 2007 Block Party

On Tuesday, August 7th, from 5:00 to 6:00 pm at 1783 Washington Street in Lower Roxbury, the Boston Scientology Ministry will host a National Night Out Boston 2007 Block Party.

 

The Ministry will present information and lectures on education and other social reform issues. Children will be deputized as official Drug Free Marshals after taking the pledge to be drug-free.

The Boston Scientology Ministry was established three years ago to assist the community in the eradication of crime and violence by handling the issues that underlie crime and violence. One of the Ministry’s most successful programs is the Reading and Study Skills program for all ages. For more information on the ministry and the Church’s programs visit www.bostonvolunteerministers.org.

For more information regarding the Ministry contact:

Rev. Robert Castagna
(617) 927-2247
rwcastagna@yahoo.com

For more information about National Night Out Boston please go to www.BostonCrimeWatch.com or call the Neighborhood Crime Watch Unit of the Boston Police Department at 617-343-4345.

National Night Out Boston 2007 is the 24th annual citywide celebration to unify our communities throughout the City of Boston. This program cultivates and strengthens partnerships between the community, youth, police, city agencies and community-based organizations. National Night Out also acknowledges the remarkable contributions of Neighborhood Crime Watch groups, and seeks to increase participation in crime watch programs among local residents.

Boston Scientology Church Gets into Action on United Nations Day Against Drug Abuse

BOSTON – Local members of the Church of Scientology, a religion well-known for its stance against mind-altering drugs, brought their Drug Free Marshals program to children around the inner-city on Tuesday, June 26, as part of the Church’s international movement to forward the United Nations’ International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

Church members gave out Drug Free Marshals badges to children while traveling to different areas of the city in a van that promoted the U.N. anti-drug efforts and the Drug Free Marshal pledge that children take throughout the world.

“Children had fun with their sheriff badges and the Drug Free Marshals Program does a great job in helping children to make a decision against taking illegal drugs,” said Gerard Renna, spokesperson for the Boston Church. “Our Church’s Founder, L. Ron Hubbard, heavily researched the barriers to personal advancement and self-awareness that drugs create and we are very pleased to give back to society by assisting the United Nation’s important anti-drug effort.”

Saluting the Drug-Free Hungary Marathon 2007

For most runners, the marathon is the longest run they will ever attempt. But the Marathon for a Drug-Free Hungary team will probably never look upon a mere marathon as a challenge again, after completing their 7-week-long annual trans-Hungarian run, to promote drug free living and bring the truth about drugs to the youth of their country…

Read more of this story here.

Drug-Free Pledge, A Parent’s Best Holiday Gift

BOSTON — As a gift to parents, the Church of Scientology of Boston’s Volunteer Ministry put out holiday cards with drug-free pledges that children would sign for their parents.

The holiday cards are part of the Church’s Drug Free Marshals program that has children take drug-free pledges and deputizes them as “marshals” with badges to spread the word that people are better off without drugs.

“The response was terrific,” said Gerard Renna, Church of Scientology of Boston Director. “One community activist loved the holiday card so much that she took a batch with her to give to children and parents in her neighborhood. What better gift could a parent have than a pledge from their child to remain drug-free?”

pic: Drug-Free at the Boston Common

Chris Katides, Danny Coleman, Jarrod Desjardin and Paul Bradford spread the Truth About Drugs message at the Boston Common.

more pics: Spreading the Drug-Free Message

The top two pics feature 50-year-old Drew Roberts of Roxbury at the 2006 Youth Summit in Boston. (Notice the Way to Happiness t-shirt and Way to Happiness booklets he is handing out!) The third picture features local teens at Roberts’ table at the Youth Summit with Truth About Drugs booklets.

Roberts is also mentioned in the press release below (Scientology Anti-Drug Campaign). A former drug user who landed in prison several times because of drug-related crimes, Roberts is now dedicated to helping others avoid the drug trap. Though he is not a Scientologist, Roberts has backed the church’s drug-free campaign on multiple occasions, even handing out 1,500 Truth About Drugs booklets in a single day.

Press Release: Scientology Anti-Drug Campaign

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 3, 2006

Scientology “Say No to Drugs, Say Yes to Life” Campaign Adds K‘no’wledge to War on Street Drugs and Violence
Anti-Drug Campaign Focuses on Education, Unites Scientologists and Non-Scientologists in Anti-Drug Effort

BOSTON –The Church of Scientology has reached out to the community with a drug education and prevention program aimed at educating youth about the dangers of drugs and challenging them to remain drug-free.

At the core of the program are booklets that detail the harmful effects of drugs like cocaine, marijuana, crystal meth, heroin, crack cocaine, ecstacy, LSD, painkillers, and Ritalin, or “kiddie cocaine” as it is commonly called.

Each booklet contains information including common street names of each drug, the drug’s short- and long-term effects, quotes from actual users about their experiences with the drug, statistics detailing the scope of the drug’s abuse, as well as information about what the drug is and where it is found.

The booklets also dispel common myths, including those surrounding marijuana.

“Marijuana users would have you and your children believe that you are merely inhaling a benign herb,” said Peggy Harrison, the local program coordinator. “But in reality, this allegedly safe drug contains over 400 known toxins and cancer-causing chemicals, disrupts nerve cells in the brain – harming one’s memory – and damages the immune system.”

The drug education and prevention program has motivated non-Scientologists like 50-year-old Drew Roberts of Roxbury to assist in the anti-drug effort.

Red Ribbon Week

Take a visible stand against drugs by supporting the week-long Red Ribbon campaign, the nation’s oldest and largest drug prevention program. For more information, click here.

pic: Local business owner displays anti-drug material

Local business owner Peter Patel on Adams Street in Dorchester accepted the Truth About Drugs material for his store on Friday.

You can display this material in your business or provide it to local shops and businesses for them to display. Elsa Saccoccio of North Providence, R.I. had this to say about placing the material into a local Blockbuster:

“I placed two Truth about Drugs Booklets drops filled with 20 of each of the 10 drug booklets at my local Blockbuster about two weeks ago and when I returned a week later the manager was very happy to see me because the drop was out of booklets and she wanted more. The manager told me her customers couldn’t get enough of them. We had a brief conversation about the various people she knew who were either on drugs or whose life had been ruined by them. I was so happy that I could help and very appreciative that the Church of Scientology had provided such great educational material.”

For more information on how to get and distribute this anti-drug material, contact the Church of Scientology Boston at 617-266-9500. Ask for Paul Bradford, Peggy Harrison or Rev. Gerard Renna in the Community Affairs office.

pic: Drug-free pledge

Boston teacher Becka Meir adopts the drug-free pledge with two students at the Scientology Volunteer Ministry in Boston.

For more information about the Drug-Free Marshals youth drug-education and prevention program, and how you can take the pledge, click here.

Upcoming Event

Anti-Drug soldiers are wanted for a two-day assault on drugs at Downtown Crossing and the Boston Common on Oct. 14 and 15. Can you help?

Contact Paul Bradford for details.

Welcome

Welcome to Boston’s Truth About Drugs blog. This site will contain updates about local activities and interviews with local personalities spearheading the anti-drug movement in and around Boston, as well as pictures, videos, and general information related to the anti-drug movement. The goal is to promote the TRUTH about drugs so people can make informed decisions to remain drug-free and lead happier lives.

If there’s something you’d like to see posted or if you have ideas for the site, please let me know. Until next time…peace!