Misplaced Pages

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by AndroidCat (talk | contribs) at 05:12, 8 May 2006 (→Controversies: Chopped further moved text, leaving the key piece that I noticed was missing.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Template:ScientologySeries

Narconon is not associated with Narcotics Anonymous, which is sometimes abbreviated "Narcanon".

Scientology's Narconon is an in-patient rehabilitation program for drug abusers in several dozen treatment centers worldwide, chiefly in the United States and western Europe.

History

Narconon was established February 19, 1966 as a drug rehabilitation program based on "The Fundamentals of Thought" by L. Ron Hubbard and delivered to drug abusers in the Arizona State Prisons. The name "Narconon" originally referred not to an organization but to the program. Its creator was William Benitez , a former inmate at Arizona State Prison who had served time for narcotics offenses. His work was supported by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard , and in 1972 Hubbard sponsored the incorporation of Narconon as an organization. It was co-founded by Benitez and two Scientologists, Henning Heldt and Arthur Maren.

The Narconon website reports from its inception, the program promoted an approach to rehabilitation without recourse to alternative drugs. This early program did not, however, deal directly with withdrawal symptoms. In 1973, the Narconon program adopted procedures to include drug-free withdrawal, using vitamins and mineral supplements in tandem with training procedures adapted from basic courses in Scientology.

Their affiliation with the controversial Church of Scientology has made Narconon itself a focus of controversy. The organization has taken steps to publically distance itself from the Church, though it has never denied that many of its administrators are committed Scientologists or that its methods are based on the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard. In the early days, Narconon used unaltered Scientology materials in its courses, and Church of Scientology executives were directly managing the organization (founders Heldt and Maren were high-ranking members of the Church's public relations department known as the Guardian's Office.) However, as Narconon promoted its drug-treatment services to a variety of governmental jurisdictions within the US, the organization repeatedly found itself at the center of controversy when the Scientology connection was raised by journalists or politicians. Not only did the Church of Scientology have serious public image problems, but the link with Scientology raised questions about the constitutional appropriateness of governmental bodies sponsoring a religiously-affiliated organization (see Lemon v. Kurtzman). These problems were further intensified by claims that the treatment program was medically unsound and anecdotal allegations that the Narconon treatment program serves as a Church of Scientology fundraising and recruitment program.

Narconon has developed its own secularized course materials in response to these concerns. These have evolved through several iterations to produce Narconon's current "New Life Program." While this program is very similar to pre-exising Scientology courses, Narconon insists that it is entirely "non-religious" in nature and rarely if ever mentions Scientology in its publications.

These changes have not silenced the controversy. In the early 1990s, Narconon opened a large treatment center in Oklahoma, resulting in a series of critical articles in a local newspaper. The Oklahoma Department of Health demanded that Narconon be licensed with the state, but the Board of Mental Health refused approval. Narconon's Scientologist attorney Tim Bowles filed a series of lawsuits against Oklahoma institutions and officials and eventually obtained accreditation through the Arizona-based Commission for Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities in 1992; Oklahoma officials then agreed to exempt Narconon from the state licensing requirement and the facility was allowed to operate.

More recently, Narconon offered an anti-drug program to public schools in California, free of charge. A series of articles in the San Francisco Chronicle on June 9 and 10, 2004 resulted in California school officials investigating Narconon's claims. As a result of the investigation, on February 23, 2005, the state's superintendent of public instruction, Jack O'Connell, officially recommended all schools in the state reject the Narconon program after the evaluation found it taught inaccurate and unscientific information.

While the effectiveness of their treatment program is a subject of dispute, a number of celebrities have publically attested that it was helpful in their own lives. Musician Nicky Hopkins and actress Kirstie Alley both credit Narconon for their recovery from addiction to drugs and alcohol. Alley has since become a public spokesperson for Narconon.

By the end of 2005, according to the International Association of Scientologists, Narconon was operating 183 rehabilitation centres around the world. New centres opened in that year included Hastings, UK, and Stone Hawk, Michigan.

Narconon's treatment method

The "New Life Program" consists of two principal stages: "detoxification" and "rehabilitation." The "New Life Detoxification Program", adapted from Hubbard's Purification Rundown, involves a daily regimen of individually tailored vitamins, oil and multi-minerals with special attention to the minerals magnesium and calcium and closely supervised dosages of niacin, plus exercise and lengthy sessions in a sauna.

The remainder of the Narconon course uses "training routines" or "TRs" originally devised by Hubbard to teach communications skills to Scientologists. In the Narconon variant, these courses are designed to "rehabilitate" drug abusers. These training routines include TR 8, which involves the individual commanding an ashtray to "stand up" and "sit down", and thanking it for doing so, as loudly as they can. Former Scientologists say that the purpose of the drill is for the individual to "beam" their "intention" into the ashtray to make it move.

Patients spend an average of 3 to 4 months in the Narconon facilities in the United States, for a fee which is different at every Narconon Center. The price ranges from $10,000 to about $30,000.

Controversies

Since its establishment, Narconon has faced considerable controversy over the safety and effectiveness of its rehabilitation methods and the organization's links to the Church of Scientology. The medical profession has been sharply critical of Narconon's methods, which rely on theories of drug metabolism that are not widely supported. Particular criticism has been directed at the therapy's use of vitamins (including massive doses of niacin) and extended sauna sessions. Although Narconon claims a success rate of over 70%, no verifiable evidence for this appears to have been published by the organization, and independent researchers have found considerably lower rates — as low as 6.6% in the case of a Swedish research study.

Narconon is part of the Association for Better Living and Education International (ABLE). Narconon refers frequently to its connection to L. Ron Hubbard and its website acknowledges that Narconon's name and logo are trademarks and service marks owned by the Association for Better Living and Education International (ABLE) and are used with its permission. In return for license of the trademarks from ABLE, Narconon centers pay 10% of their gross income to Narconon International.

In January 2001, Narconon came under fire when they appeared to copy the entire layout and site design of the webzine Urban75.com for their websites heroinaddiction.com and cocaineaddiction.com, among others. The editor of Urban75 posted up comparisons of the copying, showing that Narconon had not even removed Urban75s hidden javascript code, unique to Urban75. Fredric L. Rice, writing to TheRegister, noted the irony of this scandal, writing that "Scientology has sued countless individuals and organizations putatively for "copyright violation" and the organization claims loudly that they're at the "forefront of protecting proprietary information on the Internet." After pressure from Urban75 readers, Narconon eventually removed the copied layout, but never responded to queries about the site or admitted any copying.

Recent history

Notes and references

1. United States vs. Mary Sue Hubbard et al., 493 F. Supp. 209, (D.D.C. 1979)
2. Narconon personnel composition
3. "Scientology-link group is banned", Alan McEwen, Edinburgh Evening News, 18 March, 2004
4. "Schools urged to drop antidrug program", The San Francisco Chronicle, 23 February 2005
5. "IAS 21st Anniversary Event, Impact 112, 2006
6. Hubbard Communication Office Bulletin of 6 February 1978RD
7. Narconon training routines
8. Hubbard, Narconon Communication & Perception Course Book 4a, 2004 edition. (pg. 447-482)
9. Reitman, Janet Inside Scientology Rolling Stone, Issue 995. March 9, 2006.
10. "Case for the Cure", Tulsa World, 6 November 2005
11. Swedish research study of Narconon program
12. Narconon license agreement (Archived March 18, 2005)

External links

Neutral

• California Department of Education

Favorable

• Narconon's Web site
• Scientology's official Purification Rundown Web site
• Foundation for Advancements in Science and Education, a Scientology front group (pdf file)

Critical

• The Communications TRs
• Narconon Exposed — covers media reports, source documents, studies and research papers.
• Stop Narconon (David S. Touretzky)
• Operation Clambake Archive on Narconon (Operation Clambake)

• Scientology organizations
• Addiction