Narconon

Scientology's Narconon purports to deliver a rehabilitation program for drug abusers

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

in several dozen treatment centers worldwide, chiefly in the United States and western Europe. Although it is often confused with Narcotics Anonymous (NA), which is sometimes inaccurately abbreviated as "Narcanon", Narconon is not a twelve-step program and has no relationship with NA. (See http://www.na.org/ for Narcotics Anonymous information.)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The organization was originally created in 1966 with L. Ron Hubbard by William Benitez, at the time an inmate at Arizona State Prison serving time for narcotics offenses. Co-founders were Henning Heldt and Arthur Maren, high ranking officers of the Guardian Office, the legal and investigational branch of Scientology. The latter two were later sentenced to five years in prison due to their participation in Operation Snow White. In these early days, it was very closely linked with Scientology—the name Narconon actually referred to a set of Scientology courses delivered to drug abusers, and Scientology executives were directly involved in the management of the organization. Today, it still has relations with Scientology. Narconon's lecturers and top administrators readily acknowledge that they are Scientologists.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Narconon today delivers a "New Life Program," employing variants of several Scientology courses. The program consists of two principal stages: "detoxification" and "rehabilitation." The detoxification regimen is an adaptation of Hubbard's Purification Rundown (known as the "New Life Detoxification Program" in Narconon) a demanding regimen requiring large doses of niacin and other vitamins (sometimes known collectively as Dianazene); exercise; and lengthy sessions in a sauna. The remainder of the Narconon course utilizes "training routines" originally devised by L. Ron Hubbard to teach communications skills to Scientologists. In the Narconon variant, these courses are designed to "rehabilitate" drug abusers.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Since its establishment, Narconon has faced considerable controversy. The main issues of controversy have been 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 and sauna sessions in quantities several times greater than medically recommended. 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 downplays its connection to Scientology, insisting that it is entirely "non-religious" in nature, and Scientology is never mentioned in its publications. There is little hard evidence that Narconon sets out to recruit for Scientology—a claim both Narconon and Scientology vehemently deny. However, Narconon's courses are firmly rooted in Scientology religious doctrines, from which they are adapted, and Narconon is directly subordinate to a Church of Scientology organization, the Association for Better Living and Education (ABLE). Another member of ABLE is Criminon, focused on prisoner rehabilitation.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Scientology: Scientology is a system of beliefs, teachings and rituals, originally established as an alternative psychotherapy in 1951 by science-fiction author L. Ron Hubbard, then recharacterized by him in 1953 as an "applied religious philosophy."...

Rehabilitation: Rehabilitation is the restoration of lost capabilities, or the treatment aimed at producing it....

Drug abuse: Drug abuse has a wide range of definitions, all of them relating to the use, misuse or overuse of a drug for a nontherapeutic effect. Some of the most commonly abused drugs include alcohol, amphetamines, barbiturates, cocaine, methaqualone, opium alkaloids, and minor tranquilizers. Use of these dru...