The Church of Scientology is enduring a public scandal that involves church head David Miscavige’s twin sister, Denise Gentile, being arrested on DUI and marijuana charges earlier this year.
The church is taking a hit because they have a strict anti-drug policy and condemn any mind-altering substances.
After her arrest was revealed, The Tampa Bay Times did an investigation and found that 53 year old Gentile had been involved with buying and selling drugs for years. She and her husband reportedly own a properties in Florida that drug users frequented, and their tenants would sometimes pay in marijuana.
Gentile is denying the charges and has pleaded not guilty. She has a pretrial set for July 25, and her brother, Miscavige, is declining to comment.
Scientology church founder L. Ron Hubbard once wrote “The single most destructive element present in our current culture is drugs,” RadarOnline reports, so these recent revelations about the depth of Gentile’s involvement with drugs comes as a shocker.
Former Scientologist Samantha Domingo said of the stituation, “It amazes me that the church proudly beats its chest about helping people come off drugs when in fact it is a common practice to label drug users as ‘degraded beings’ and use punishment and humiliation as the driving force to ‘handle’ them.”