Schoolies: a time to relax, reflect, party and load up your genitals with enough HPV to last a lifetime. That is, unless you’re the Church of Scientology. Then you’re there to work.Gold Coast hotel managers have reported that members of the church spent the period handing out booklets that promised to reveal "the truth about drugs". Talk about a tough crowd. Speaking to Seven News, an unnamed hotelier said she was given the books by a group called Drug Free World Organisation to provide to guests. She later realised Drug Free World Organisation was sponsored by the Church of Scientology. "It's very deceiving because I didn't expect it to be related to a religion or a cult following," she reflected.In a statement to Seven News, the group said they are “proud to have the Church of Scientology as a key sponsor, insisting their message is positive and accurate regardless of its religious affiliations.”In 2008, the Herald Sun reported that the church had sponsored similar drug info-booklets from Drug Free Ambassadors Australia and were providing condoms — in all fairness, the condoms are a pretty good idea.On their website, the Church outlines their stance on illegal drugs, stressing their belief that drugs “cause extremely damaging effects on a person—physically, mentally and spiritually. Specifically, that drugs decrease awareness and hinder abilities. They are a ‘solution’ to some other problem, but ultimately prove an even bigger problem.”They continue: “Mr. Hubbard developed an entire body of technology to enable individuals to recover from the harmful mental and spiritual effects of drugs, including the Purification Rundown. His discoveries in this field are also widely used in the secular world, particularly in the international network of Narconon drug rehabilitation centers.”In 2015, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that Narconon had been associated with several deaths in the US, and the aforementioned “purification” is reported to include dangerous five-hour long sauna sessions. So, while educating wasted teenagers about drug safety is far from the worst idea in the world, you could possibly maybe ask for a better resource.Follow VICE on Twitter.
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