Jesse, a Foundation for a Drug-Free World drug prevention specialist from Texas, is passionate about keeping kids from falling into the trap that ruined his life.
Los Angeles, California, November 10, 2016 (Newswire.com) - It wasn’t just Jesse—it was his whole family, both sides. Alcohol, meth, marijuana and cocaine darkened his childhood. And it became his fate.
“My story is not a pretty one,” says Jesse. “I did drugs, I sold drugs. Everybody was doing it. I thought I was cool. I was wrong. Biggest mistake of my life was picking up that first marijuana joint.”
"I want to help prevent teenagers from trying drugs. We've got to start with this young generation and get them back on track."
Former addict turned drug prevention specialist
He picked up that joint when he was 15, and he didn’t stop smoking and selling for six years.
“I influenced others to do the drug. I would say ‘it’s okay, it’s not going to mess you up.’ But marijuana is a gateway drug.”
Once people start using marijuana, they begin looking into other drugs, he says, anything to get high. For Jesse, that other drug was cocaine. And it was a dead-end existence.
Then two years ago, Child Protective Services (CPS) threatened to take away his girlfriend’s daughter if he didn’t stop using.
He quit and he has never looked back.
To close out his CPS case this month, Jesse was directed to complete all 19 lessons of the Truth About Drugs program of the Foundation for a Drug-Free World.
One of the world’s largest nongovernmental drug education programs, the Foundation for a Drug-Free World empowers youth and adults with the straight facts so they can make informed decisions to live drug-free. The Church of Scientology makes all elements of the program available free of charge to educators, law enforcement and volunteers.
Although Jesse began it reluctantly and only because it was mandatory, it quickly became a game-changer for him.
“This program will blow your mind,” he says. “It’s filled with knowledge and truth. It changed my life, and now I get to tell people about it. I want to help prevent teenagers from trying drugs. We’ve got to start with this young generation and get them back on track.”
The Truth About Drugs materials include booklets on every drug of choice containing drug street names, short and long-term effects and quotes from former users; Public Service Announcements for each drug; and the award-winning Truth About Drugs: Real People, Real Stories documentary in which former addicts share their devastating personal accounts of life on everything from marijuana to methamphetamine. Every feature of the program is online at drugfreeworld.org.
“When I first saw the Truth About Drugs program I thought it was just like all the others,” says Jesse, “but I was wrong.” He speaks from experience when he says “this program actually teaches you what the drugs will do to you and how addicting they can be and how they can lead to many other drugs.”
The full curriculum walks the individual through a lesson on each drug. They can also be used in a group setting, which is exactly what Jesse plans to do.
“I'll help anybody I can whenever I can and I see that this is the best way that I can help everybody, because there’s a lot of alcohol, drugs and lies out there,” he says. “I want to present this program in schools, to all students, and if I get one student out of 300, I will succeed, because if I can get to one of them I know I can get to the rest of them eventually, and we can make this a drug-free world.”
The Foundation for a Drug-Free World Truth About Drugs program is in use by teachers, law enforcement, and volunteers across Texas. Through a network of volunteers and partnerships, the Foundation has distributed 8 million copies of The Truth About Drugs booklets over the past year—more than 80 million copies since the booklets were first published in 2006.
Source: ScientologyNews.org
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