Why is a madcap cult-like religion teaching British kids about drugs and addiction?
That’s right, the Church of Scientology is the main provider of teaching materials on addiction to UK schools.
A charity called Narconon – which is funded by the Church of Scientology and has a number of Scientologists on its staff – also gives talks to kids at schools around the country, where they teach “the truth about drugs” based on the bizarre teachings of sci-fi writer and founder of the Church of Scientology L Ron Hubbard.
Well known
This is not new information, however. An investigation by the Evening Standard two years ago found thousands of pupils at primary and secondary schools are being exposed to anti-drug lectures based on Scientology.
A couple of days ago when The Guardian reported how Amazon is now donating money to Narconon.
The article explains how Narconon – who believe that “all drugs are poison” – has drug treatment centres around the world where they “use cocktails of vitamins, exercise and lengthy daily sauna sessions as part of its treatment programme.”
Dangerous methods
The charity’s methods – a so-called ‘detoxification’ using ultra-high doses of niacin and other vitamins along with multi-hour saunas – have been labelled quackery and harmful.
Wikipedia details 13 deaths at Narconon treatment centres, including two young men who died suddenly at the Narconon centre in Taceno, Italy during the so-called ‘detoxification’ stage of the Narconon program.
Speaking to the Standard in 2017, Professor David Nutt, who chaired the government’s Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs until 2009, said:
“We have known for years that Scientologists have been targeting schools through drugs education packages.
“They are the main provider of teaching aids to schools, as neither government nor local authorities put any money into this topic. It’s an outrage.”
Soft introduction to Scientology
Not only are Narconon teaching inaccurate and biased material on addiction, it is claimed they are also using access in order to children to introduce them to Scientology.
Excerpt from the Standard article:
Professor David Touretzky of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, who has written extensively about Scientology and Narconon, said the organisation targets pupils “any chance they get”.
He called Narconon “a money- making scam and a source of potential new Scientologists” adding: “The first step is to get people to see L Ron Hubbard as a benevolent authority figure instead of a sociopathic cult leader. The drug education programme is just about taking that first step.”
Science fiction/religion
Scientology members, including famous actors such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta, believe that humans are haunted by the spirits of aliens brought to Earth in spaceships and massacred with hydrogen bombs by a galactic warlord called Xenu 75 million years ago.
This is based on the writing of L Ron Hubbard, who is described by Narcocon as a humanitarian and researcher, but described by most others as a narcissistic fantasist.
Incidentally, he was also a drug user and heavy smoker.
