Narconon | News

“Although we have been rescuing addicts and salvaging communities for decades, it is not enough,” said Hower Rodriquez, regional director of Narconon South America. “Violence is following the drugs and the money up to the US border and will go further, as it did here decades ago, unless we band together to effectively reduce demand” he added, speaking to the other 100 attendees from Narconon rehabilitation and prevention centers on every continent except Antartica.

The majority of the executives at the Narconon directors’ conference, hosted by Narconon International at different locations worldwide every year, are graduates of the rehabilitation program, based on the research and methods of humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard. Narconon was founded and named by a Latino, William Benitez, in 1966 when he was a heroin addict incarcerated in Arizona State Prison, so the Hispanic Narconon centers feel a special affinity. Other attendees came from as far away as Moscow and South Africa, Kathmandu and Madrid. There are now about 150 Narconon drug rehab and prevention centers in 50 countries.

Charles Tennison, continental director of Narconon Latin America, received an award from Clark Carr, President of Narconon International, for his recent work in Juarez. Juarez, Mexico has become a war zone of battling drug cartels with the number of drug-related murders just for 2008 varying from 1,600 to 6,000, depending on whose statistics you quote. Tennison went recently to Juarez to meet with city and regional representatives to assess how Narconon can help. “The streets of Juarez are almost empty by day,” Tennison said, “and we were warned not to go into certain areas. But our job IS to go there. We need to support the majority of decent citizens, fathers and mothers of children who they hope to keep drug free.”

Tennison, supported by Marisela Espinal, a director of the Narconon Mexico rehab center near Mexico D.F. delivered drug education talks to children, teachers, and the military throughout Juarez. They also began to distribute thousands of a little booklet called The Way to Happiness, the last course of the Narconon program, a common sense guide to ethical and moral living and very popular with Narconon students and their families.

“We have only begun to help,” said Tennison. “And I will need all your help, too. The drug problem touches everyone, every nation, every city, every family. Juarez is not alone. We’ll be there.”

Narconon International http://www.narconon.org/