http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narconon
Narconon International is a substance abuse treatment program[1][2][3][4] developed by L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology.[5]
The program has garnered considerable controversy as a result of its origins in Scientology[6][7][8] and its methods. Its drug rehabilitation treatment has been described as "medically unsafe",[9] "quackery"[1
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[11][12] and "medical fraud",[13] while academic and medical experts have dismissed its educational program as containing "factual errors in basic concepts such as physical and mental effects, addiction and even spelling".[14]
Narconon is headquartered in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California[15] and operates several dozen residential centers worldwide, chiefly in the United States and Western Europe. Narconon is a subsidiary of ABLE, a Scientology corporation, to which Narconon pays 10% of its gross revenue.[16]
The organization was first formed in 1966 by Scientologist William Benitez, a former inmate of Arizona State Prison. Benitez got in contact with L. Ron Hubbard after reading his book, The Fundamentals of Thought and with Hubbard's help Narconon was incorporated in 1970.[17]
Narconon has been described by many government reports and former patients as a Church of Scientology front group.[18][19][2
[21][6][22][1
[23][24][25][11] Both The Church of Scientology and Narconon state that Narconon is a secular program, that it is independent of Scientology,[26] and that it provides legitimate drug education and rehabilitation.[27][28]
Professor Stephen Kent, a sociologist who has interviewed numerous former Scientologists,[29] says that "The connection between Narconon and Scientology is solid. Of course, Scientology tries to get non-Scientologists involved in the programme, but the engine behind the programme is Scientology."[18]
In turn, Narconon has claimed that mainstream medicine is "biased" against it, and that "people who endorse so-called controlled drug use cannot be trusted to review a program advocating totally drug-free living."[3
Narconon has said that criticism of its programs is "bigoted",[31] and that its critics are "in favor of drug abuse ... they are either using drugs or selling drugs."[32]
Hubbard's writings, which underlie the program, state that drugs and their metabolites are stored in the body's fatty tissue, causing the addict's cravings when partially released later on, and can be flushed out through a regimen known as Purification Rundown, which involves exercise, sauna and intake of high doses of vitamins.[33][34] This hypothesis is contradicted by experimental evidence, and is not accepted by mainstream medicine or education.[22][33][35][36][37][38] Narconon's claimed 80% success rate has been described by drug experts as "simply untrue".[39]
Narconon's facilities have been the location of several deaths, some of which have been linked to a lack of trained medical personnel on site. Narconon's international staff training facility, Narconon Arrowhead, is located near the town of Canadian, Oklahoma.[4
Celebrity supporter Tom Cruise has said "in Scientology, we have the only successful drug rehabilitation program in the world. It's called Narconon."[41][42] However, there exist no independently recognized studies which confirm the efficacy of the Narconon program.[35]
NVM keep fighting the good fight.
