LOS ANGELES, June 25 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of the International
Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, Narconon International
President Clark Carr announced the successful completion of a campaign based
on the 2003 theme, "Let's Talk About Drugs."
The International Day is a program of the UN Office of Drug Control. As
the year began, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, noted that "for the many
young people around the world who do not have the advantage of a supportive
home environment, we all have a special responsibility."
The Narconon International network with 120 organizations in 39 countries,
took these words to heart. Since last June, Narconon drug prevention staff
have reached more than 400,000 students in 36 countries with in-school
presentations on the physical and personal consequences of drug abuse.
"Conflict and instability in the Middle East and Central Asia have
unleashed a flood of hard drugs," noted Carr. "Last year, hundreds of
Narconon supporters launched our campaign by carrying the UN's message through
the streets of Hyderabad, Pakistan."
In the Ukraine, where use of heroin and club drugs has spiraled upward
since the fall of Communism, Narconon lecturers worked with police and
education officials. Across the world, Narconon Mexico partnered with police
in the towns of Pedro Escobedo and Tequesquilapan, where police delivered
lecturers daily to schools in their patrol cars. The campaign reached more
than 10,000 students.
Narconon efforts have met with thanks from local communities, from a drug
education grant awarded to Narconon Sweden to the key to the city of
Rushville, Oklahoma. A deputy sheriff in Northern California, a primary
region for marijuana cultivation, praised Narconon staff for "the highest
degree of professionalism and a true concern for helping the people they
serve." Narconon Georgia this year opened a children's center in Atlanta's
inner city to teach study and communication skills along with drug education.
In Oklahoma over 60,000 youth received Narconon lectures.
In the last year, Carr travelled to Manila, Shanghai, and Ghana to train
drug education specialists in Narconon techniques and curriculum, researched
and proven in 30 years of field use. He also met with police, educators and
rehabilitation professionals in regions of the developing world
where escalating drug abuse is a major factor in the AIDs epidemic.
"Governments and community groups throughout the world are desperate for
help," Carr noted. "Even in regions of great poverty, hard drugs such as
heroin are available and affordable to anyone. In these countries, a small
investment in drug education can mean the difference literally between life
and death."
The theme for the 2004 International Day campaign is "treatment works,"
Carr noted. "This theme has special relevance in the US," he said. "One in
four of all persons who are incarcerated worldwide are Americans. Far too many are in
prison because of drugs."
"We are looking forward to collaborating with federal and local
governments, community groups, and public service agencies over the coming
year,"Carr said.
SOURCE Narconon International
