Narconon Community Education Projects: Recognizing Over Forty Years Of Helping At Home And Worldwide

Lake Tahoe, California, August 25, 2009 -- Narconon community education projects have deployed Narconon trained specialists to work with local organizations in delivering effective drug education programs nationwide and worldwide for over forty years.

For decades, Narconon drug treatment programs have been proven to be effective at treating addictions and are often considered the gold standard. With facilities that are second to none and staff that are highly trained, experienced and compassionate, it seemed a natural step to leverage these assets and expand into prevention. For over four decades, Narconon has partnered with local organizations to create and deliver drug education programs that have been held in schools, prisons, colleges, museums and even in military facilities. Videos produced as part of a Narconon drug education curriculum are currently being used in over seven thousand US schools and are viewed by over nine million school children. The success of these programs has led to versions being adapted to reach at-risk children in some of the world’s most notorious drug hotspots, including Mexico, Colombia, Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Honduras. Narconon has even provided drug education training to teachers in China. Reactions have been positive, exemplified by a comment made by one of the teachers attending a Shanghai seminar: “You taught us how to communicate, making complex theory easy to understand with vivid demonstration technique [sic].”

While many people are aware of Narconon addiction treatment centers and the success these facilities attain in helping those affected by drug, alcohol and other addictions, the work that Narconon has been involved in within communities may be less obvious. Recognizing that drug and alcohol abuse affects communities as well as individuals and that education is the key to preventing addiction in the first place, Narconon has been quietly partnering with organizations in at-risk communities for decades. Working in conjunction with the US Drug Enforcement agency (DEA), Narconon drug prevention specialists present drug education material to thousands of children daily at the DEA’s traveling exhibit and museum located in New York City’s Times Square. Mexico, in the midst of a vicious war between rival drug cartels and drug enforcement agencies, reached out to Narconon to provide drug education programs for its schools, as well as hands-on training on dealing with drug abusers for its law enforcement agents. In Colombia, Narconon staff conducted a drug awareness program that has reached tens of thousands of children, university students and civic groups, as well as participating in The World Congress Against Drug Addiction. Engen Petrol, a South African company that operates fuel stations, collaborated with Narconon in communicating the dangers of mixing drugs and drinking with driving. Over 26,000 drivers signed a pledge and took a bumper sticker reading: I have pledged to be an alcohol and drug free driver.

For additional information about Narconon drug treatment programs and community education projects, visit www.calnarconon.org.