Just Say No

Washington Post/March 19, 2002
By Lloyd Grove

In last year's Oscar-winning movie "Traffic," Erika Christensen memorably played the crack-addled teenage daughter of the nation's drug czar portrayed by Michael Douglas. Now Christensen, whose widely-praised performance was at once poignant and unsparing, is in Washington campaigning against illegal narcotics.

"I did a lot of research for 'Traffic' and discovered there are rehabilitation programs that don't use drugs to get people off drugs, and they're very effective," the 19-year-old actress told us yesterday after she spoke to the National Foundation for Women Legislators and met with the real drug czar, John Walters, and the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Asa Hutchinson. "It was great to meet Mr. Walters and Mr. Hutchinson. 'Traffic' was more like a documentary than an entertainment film and one of the things I've noticed here is the unbelievable connection between Hollywood and D.C."

Christensen, who had never visited the nation's capital before this week, said she comes to her anti-drug activism through the Church of Scientology, which arranged for us to interview her. Her parents, Steve and Kathy Christensen, raised her in the belief systems of science fiction writer and Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. The church frowns on most drug use, including medically prescribed legal pharmaceuticals such as Prozac and Ritalin.

"I started studying the technology and content of Scientology probably when I was around 12," Christen said, "and became interested in the Narconon rehabilitation program as a faith-based program affiliated with the church and using the technologies developed by L. Ron Hubbard. . . . Of course there are situations where a drug could be useful medically but as a general rule drugs can be very destructive."

The Los Angeles native has been acting professionally since age 11, and she said her parents now work full-time on her successful career. This summer she'll appear in a meaty role in "The Banger Sisters" as Susan Sarandon's daughter and other projects are coming fast and furious.

"Growing up I basically went to a private school till I started acting and I started working. After that, I could never make it to school so my mom home-schooled me."

What about college?

"Maybe I can take some classes sometime," she said. "Right now I'm just working to learn the business and expanding my horizons. I want to write and Steven Soderbergh" - the director of "Traffic" - "has mentioned that opportunity to me. I figure I'll explode if I don't write."