Foundation for a Drug-Free World - Goes for the Gold Against Drugs at Winter Olympics

2026-02-19

The Foundation for a Drug-Free World surpassed the milestone of 1,000,000 The Truth About Drugs booklets distributed across Italy during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics to help combat drug abuse.

While society often seeks a quick fix in a pill, the world of professional athletes is different. "We should all be drug-free, especially in sports where it's definitely dangerous to take drugs," says a Belgian Olympian at Milano Cortina 2026 to a Drug-Free World volunteer. "Whatever you put your mind to, you can always make it," he adds. "We do that best by being active every day."

In 2025, reports found that one in four Gen Z Italians admitted to getting high regularly, while over 160,000 students aged 15 to 19 had used at least two illegal drugs. "These numbers are too high," says Jessica Hochman, Executive Director of the Foundation for a Drug-Free World. "The best way to reduce them is through head-on prevention with real facts that make you give it serious thought before deciding to take a hit of a joint or snort cocaine at a party."

And head-on, they did. While athletes broke records in alpine skiing, figure skating, luge and speed skating, the Foundation for a Drug-Free World scored big by distributing 1,000,000 The Truth About Drugs booklets across Italy in just a few weeks. Since January, over 400 volunteers saturated Italy's boot with educational materials that explain what drugs are—without sugarcoating.

"They tell you that edibles are so concentrated with THC that they can lead you to paranoia, anxiety and sometimes psychotic episodes," says Hochman. "They tell you that cocaine is one of the most dangerous drugs, capable of causing such addiction that someone might do anything to get it, even commit violent crimes."

By giving the cold, raw facts, young people will think twice before experimenting with drugs.

"The most important part is knowledge and how bad it could be for your body," says the Olympian. "I don't think we learn about it enough in school. So we need other ways to get the information to children."

Volunteers visited over 4,000 shops, providing boxes of The Truth About Drugs booklets to distribute to customers. Some shop owners, aware of the drug situation among youth, found hope that change is possible when they took booklets for their patrons.

"To all the kids out there, I think dreaming big is the first thing you should always keep in mind," says the Olympian. "Eventually, you can maybe make it to your big dream like the Olympics. The best way to do that is by putting in the work and not by using any other ways to get there."

The Foundation for a Drug-Free World is the largest nongovernmental drug education and prevention organization. Through a worldwide network of volunteers, millions of drug prevention booklets and educational materials have been distributed in over 180 countries. Thanks to the support of the Church of Scientology, these materials are made available free of charge to anyone wishing to take action to address the drug issue that affects everyone. For more information, visit www.drugfreeworld.org.