Drug Education Before "Just Say No"

Before drug education is schools, before Nancy Regan's "Just Say No", before D.A.R.E., before the cocaine explosion in the 80's and the methamphetamine explosion in the 90's, one passionate yet soft-spoken young man realized that the best cure for drug addiction was actually drug education.

It was April, 1968, and Bill Benitez was enjoying his second year drug free and first year out of Arizona State Prison where he had founded a new drug rehabilitation program – Narconon. Already he recognized rehab was only part of it. He and other graduates needed to help children learn how to avoid this horror. So here he was at Scottsdale High School, giving one of the first “drug education” lectures recorded anywhere.

"Cataloguing its archives," comments Mary Rieser, Executive Director of Narconon Drug Rehab Atlanta Recovery Center. "Narconon staff recently uncovered this recorded lecture. It is literally historic and a very, very interesting document. It reveals that much of what Narconon drug educators and others have worked decades to codify as effective was recognized intuitively by Benitez from the outset."

“Running through your beautiful minds,” he said to those high school youths, “you may be wondering why a lecture on narcotics addiction?” Of course, drugs were narcotics then, not drugs. In a modest but confident manner, Willy went on to describe how even right then drugs, especially LSD, were being promoted to them by international magazines.

“You may ask, ‘What does he know about it?” he said, explaining he had not learned his lessons secondhand. He related what became firm Narconon drug education principles, long before they were ‘validated’ by others – that is, avoid scare tactics and don’t talk down to kids. “I’m not here to give you a sermon or talk goody goody talk,” said Bill quietly. “I’m not here to talk about evil and sin. I’m just here to give you some account of what I have seen in the 19 years I was a drug addict.”

Narconon was very young then, only 2 centers, one still inside the state prison and one outside for young offenders. Bill was proud that the 12 first graduates of the Narconon program were all still crime and drug-free. Narconon now comprises 150 centers in 50 countries, has produced tens of thousands of graduates, and its drug prevention specialists present to over half a million children yearly. But the fundamentals of the program, based on works by humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard and read by Benitez, were already in place.

“Before a person can pull out of narcotics or any difficulty, the only way he can get out of the pits,” Bill told the kids, “would be that he become more able – he has to have greater ability.” He described how in Narconon he had learned the anatomy of self control and responsibility. The person himself is “the only one who can resolve his problem because he is the one who created it,” Bill said.

He left the students with what has become another drug education fundamental – what is and what is not cool. “Part of being hip,” Bill said, “was going to the penitentiary. But a person that gets high is anything but hip. He’s out of the game of life. He’s playing against himself and his team.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with an alcohol or other drug problem, contact Narconon Atlanta Recovery Center today for immediate assistance.  Visit www.atlantarecoverycenter.com or call 1-877-413-3073.