Нарконон: Программа лечения зависимостей и критика ее методов.

Scientology organization

Narconon International (commonly known as Narconon) is a Scientology organization which promotes the theories of founder L. Ron Hubbard regarding substance abuse treatment and addiction. Its parent company is the Association for Better Living and Education (ABLE), which is owned and controlled by the Church of Scientology. to support that contention, is there, sir? Casal: You're correct. Harris: So when Narconon states that the sauna program detoxifies its students, you're not aware, as a medical doctor, of any scientific basis for that contention? Casal: I agree. Harris: The vitamin regimen. You're familiar with the vitamin regimen? Casal: Yes, sir. Harris: What—do you have an opinion about whether or not the vitamin regimen is effective at treating addiction? Casal: I believe that it has very likely no bearing whatsoever on the treatment of addiction. Narconon asserts that methadone, amphetamines, methamphetamines, morphine, copper, mercury, and other toxins, some consumed years earlier, leave the body by means of sweating. This contrasts with the view of the body's drug retention taken by mainstream science, which has found that most recreational drugs leave the body within a few days (with the exception of cannabis, which in the case of frequent use can remain in the body for up to a month).

In 1999, Scientologists from Clearwater, Florida, tried to get a Narconon drug education program instituted into the Pinellas County school district curriculum. After a hearing on the matter, a school district committee refused to allow students to participate in an anti drug program based on Hubbard's teachings, citing that teaching students about the "tone scale" and other trappings of Scientology was inappropriate for a drug education program for their schools.

In 2004, Narconon offered an anti drug program to public schools in California, free of charge. However, a series of articles in the San Francisco Chronicle in June 2004, resulted in California school officials investigating Narconon's claims. The study found that Narconon's program did not reflect medically and scientifically based practices and that it offered students misleading information about drug use and abuse. As a result of the investigation, on 23 February 2005, the state's superintendent of public instruction, Jack O'Connell, officially recommended that all schools in the state reject the Narconon program. O'Connell's secretary announced that the school systems in Los Angeles and San Francisco had dropped the program. The president of Narconon, Clark Carr, responded that the study presented only limited information about his organization's work, and that those efforts were "accurate and relevant to the current challenges children face with drugs." urged schools to check the accreditation of drug education programs before allowing them access to students, saying, "One imperative of drug education is that we not deceive students, as once they discover that you are not telling them factual information, they are likely to disbelieve everything you say".

The UK prisons ombudsman recommended to prison governors that Narconon rehabilitation programs not be used in prisons although some schools in the UK are using these programs; The Sunday Times said this was because schools are less aware of Narconon's links to the Scientology. In September 2012, the 149 Church of England schools in the Diocese of London were warned not to accept offers from Narconon to give lectures to their pupils, following complaints from parents. In November 2016, Narconon was reported to have given talks on the dangers of drug addiction in two schools in Camden, London. Elizabeth Kitcatt, Camden School for Girls headteacher, said in a statement that the students found the talk "very useful", while Harry Shapiro, Director of DrugWise, called out the schools for being unaware to the group's ties to Scientology. A Brecknock Primary spokeswoman said: "The school's deputy head was in the room for the whole drug awareness talk and at no point was there any mention of Scientology or any religious connotations. It was marketed as an anti drug talk and that's exactly what it was". President of Narconon UK Noel Nile claimed that the group was "in the business of saving lives".

In 2008, Narconon executive Marie Cecchini published, with Richard Lennox, a paper that claimed to show that the Narconon educational program reduced drug use among youths. However, the study was funded by Narconon's parent organisation, ABLE, and subsequent correspondence in the same journal asserted that the study's conclusions were contradicted by its own data: that the control group "were more likely to resist pressures to take drugs" than the Narconon group.

In 1984, a 34 year old French woman named Jocelyne Dorfmann died from an untreated epilepsy seizure while undergoing treatment at a Narconon center in Grancey sur Ource (near Dijon). The assistant director of that center was convicted of lack of assistance to a person in danger. The Narconon center was closed. Medical experts reported that her death was caused by "an epileptic seizure due to the absence of sufficient treatment at its beginning and of emergency treatment during the seizure". Narconon staff failed to call for medical assistance, as a result of which Dorfmann died.

In 1985, a young man surnamed Del Pozo, a native of Ceuta, injected himself with an overdose of heroin while he was in Narconon Cercedilla, in the Community of Madrid. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where he died. The El Escorial Court opened an investigation, but ended up closing the case for lack of evidence and testimonies to clarify the incident.

In 1995, two young men, Paride Ella (22) and Giuseppe Tomba (26), died suddenly at the Narconon centre in Taceno, Province of Lecco, Italy. Ella died of acute kidney failure (symptoms consistent with a niacin overdose), while the recorded cause of death for Giuseppe Tomba was heart attack. Both patients suffered similar symptoms, namely vomiting and diarrhea, for days before their deaths. The young men died within a few days of one another, in the so called "detoxification" stage of the Narconon program. The Narconon centre had no medical staff and was unable in either case to diagnose the seriousness of their condition. Before the deaths, Taceno's mayor had asked for the Narconon centre to be closed.

In 2002, a 33 year old Italian patient identified as "Federica X", from Torre dell'Orso, died from peritonitis, according to her autopsy. She first began to suffer from stomach pains on Monday 7 October, and was driven to a first aid station where she was given painkillers. Federica was driven to hospital the following evening, where she died soon after being admitted in a coma. Narconon patient Giovanni Costa later stabbed staff member Rodolfo Savino, whom Costa claimed had ignored Federica's symptoms and had given her insufficient medical aid. Costa was arrested and charged with attempted murder.

In July 2015, John Cunningham, a 58 year old Boeing employee addicted to benzodiazepines, was sent by his sister to Redwood Cliffs, a Narconon facility in Watsonville, California. The staff at Redwood Cliffs sent Cunningham to be detoxed to Bright Futures Recovery, which removed Cunningham from medications he was taking for depression. Cunningham was sent to the "local ER three times in just five days for withdrawal symptoms". On 22 August 2015, he was left alone in his room long enough for him to "hang himself by a belt in his bedroom closet". Cunningham's sister did not know that Narconon was a Scientology outfit until after her brother's death.

Rquote|right|Something's terribly wrong there. We sent her there to get better, not to die.|Robert Murphy, father of deceased Stacy Dawn Murphy and the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health (ODMHSAS), along with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI), began an investigation of deaths at Narconon Arrowhead following the deaths of three patients in a period of nine months. The investigation included the recent deaths of four patients: Stacy Dawn Murphy, aged 20, who died at Narconon Arrowhead on 19 July 2012; Hillary Holten, 21, who was found dead at the facility on 11 April 2012; and 32 year old Gabriel Graves, who died at the facility on 26 October 2011. The investigation later expanded to cover the death of 28 year old Kaysie Dianne Werninck, who died at Narconon Arrowhead on 3 March 2009. Following media attention surrounding the deaths, the National Association of Forensic Counselors (NAFC) permanently revoked the Certified Chemical Dependency Counseling certification of several Narconon Arrowhead employees, including director Gary Smith. In August 2013, the ODMHSAS permanently revoked the facility's permit for medical detoxification after Narconon had exhausted all avenues for protesting the decision. In August 2013, Inspector General Kim Poff and investigator Michael DeLong, both of the ODMHSAS, who had been investigating the deaths at Narconon Arrowhead, had their employment terminated. No reason was given for the termination, but the investigators' attorney later claimed that the two were wrongfully fired, saying: "Their termination, in part, relates to the Narconon investigation".

thumbnail|Narconon's first presence in the state of Oklahoma was at the Chilocco Indian Agricultural School, near Newkirk. Narconon made the argument that operating on an Indian reservation obviated the need for a state license. Narconon began operations in Oklahoma in 1990, as an unlicensed facility on the site of the Chilocco Indian Agricultural School near the town of Newkirk, claiming that it did not require a state license as it was operating on an Indian reservation. In 1992 Narconon applied for a state licence, and was twice refused by the ODMHSAS, which found "no evidence that drug and alcohol abuse education was part of the program" and declared the program "not medically safe", a decision to which Narconon spokesperson Kirstie Alley responded, "The arrogance and irresponsibility of the mental health board will not survive the outrage of the many thousands of parents, graduates and supporters from the scientific community". Between 1989 and 1992, Narconon, through Scientology attorney Tim Bowles, filed lawsuits against the ODMHSAS; its members; and local newspaper editor Robert Lobsinger, who had written about Narconon's Scientology connection. Narconon contacted the Mayor of Newkirk's 12 year old son at a library, and hired private detectives to research Narconon's opponents, leading residents to fear retribution if they spoke out against the organization. A Narconon spokesman quoted by The New York Times described Narconon's critics in Newkirk as "in favor of drug abuse They're either connected to selling drugs or they're using drugs." thumbnail|Narconon Arrowhead, Oklahoma, where various law enforcement agencies are investigating recent deaths. Narconon achieved exemption from the requirement for state licensing in 1992, as a result of approval from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities. Scientology leader David Miscavige commented on the case in an interview with ABC News Nightline, saying, "There are a group of people on this planet who find us to be a threat to their existence, and they will do everything in their power to stop us. And that is the mental health field. I didn't pick a war with them." In 2012, a paid advert in the Oklahoma Gazette contained allegations from a previously unknown group named "Oklahomans for the preservation of homeland security and american values, (ohsav)" The advert referred to recent TV news stories about Narconon and Scientology, named some of Narconon's critics in Oklahoma, and alleged those critics had "subjugated [their] individuality for [their] own thirst for hatred", had an "agenda of religious intolerance, racial discrimination or disdain for corporate America", and blamed them for "public disinformation hate campaigns against Blacks, Jews, Muslims and Scientologists". The advertisement showed the characteristics of a dead agenting campaign.

The parents of Kaysie Dianne Werninck, who died at Narconon Arrowhead on 3 March 2009, filed a lawsuit against the center claiming her death was "a result of the defendant's [Narconon's] gross negligence". The case was settled.

Gabriel Graves, who died at the facility in October 2011, was the subject of an open records request made to the ODMHSAS by the Tulsa World newspaper, which revealed reports of use and distribution of drugs at the facility. Graves' autopsy recorded his cause of death as "unknown".

Hillary Holten, whose parents filed a lawsuit against Narconon Arrowhead, is alleged by her parents to have died due to lack of medical care. Their lawsuit states that she "had a history of Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, a condition that required the daily administration of Dexamethasone and in extreme circumstances, an injection of liquid cortisone", and that Narconon Arrowhead did not properly manage her condition. Gary Smith of Narconon refrained from comment, adding that "there are federal rights to privacy laws which prohibit us from discussing anything about former clients."

Stacy Murphy's father said Narconon officials told him that, when his daughter was found dead alone in the "detox" room, she had not been checked on for two and a half hours. "That's too long, if they thought she was overdosed, why didn't they have someone with her the whole time?" he said, adding, "We sent her there to get better, not to die". Gary Smith responded in an email statement that, "It is always deeply saddening when drug addiction takes a life or destroys a family. For the family the pain of losing a loved one to addiction is unimaginable." "There was no doctor there, no nurse on staff. There's nothing like that there The staff, they're all former patients. My understanding is that everyone there is pretty much a former patient. The drugs that would have saved Stacy's life were either not available or no one there knew how to administer it." Now told reporters that he feared retaliation by Narconon for talking to the police and media: "I'm afraid for my life." Stacy's roommate, Destanie Ramsey, called police on the night of her death in order to leave Narconon Arrowhead, where she claimed she was being held against her will.

Protests over the deaths took place outside Narconon Arrowhead; one protest in late June 2012, planned to include bereaved family members, was disrupted by road resurfacing works outside the facility, paid for by Narconon. Pittsburg County Commission Chairman Gene Rogers explained that, "[Gary Smith] called me and said they might be having a problem with the public that weekend and he wanted help policing the area and he asked about doing overlaying [of the road]". Oklahoma State Senator Tom Ivester commented that, "Clearly something isn't right and we have a moral obligation to do everything in our power to end this predatory business being run by the Church of Scientology disguised as drug treatment", adding, "This is a disgusting business that preys on desperate family members and their sick loved ones, scamming them out of thousands of dollars with the promise of providing hope and new life. It's a disgrace to have these people operating in the state of Oklahoma." In direct response to the Arrowhead deaths, Ivestor introduced legislation to expand Oklahoma's ability to regulate rehab facilities. In response to an NBC Rock Center segment on the facility, Narconon President Clark Carr called its criticism of Narconon "bigoted" and described the program as addicts' "last chance for a decent, honest, drug free life".

Narconon facilities in California have been cited repeatedly for violations by state inspectors. Violations included administering medication without authorization, having alcohol on the premises, and not having proper bedding for patients. Narconon has also attempted to silence opposition, including sending letters to neighbors of a proposed facility in Leona Valley threatening legal action for criticism. Residents had been concerned that Narconon would increase crime. The local town council recommended an eight foot security fence and independent security, which was objected to by Narconon officials.

In April 2007, it was revealed that the public procurator in Moscow's South District had begun an investigation into Narconon's activities in Russia. The Moskovskij Komsomolets newspaper reported that legal proceedings were begun against the head of the clinic "Narconon Standard" for violating bans in Russian medical practices. Russian law enforcement became interested after receiving many complaints from citizens about the high fees charged by Narconon. The Narconon office in Bolshaya Tulskaya St. was searched, and documents and unidentified medications were seized. One year later, as part of an investigation in Ulyanovsk into the Church of Scientology, police searched a Narconon office in the town of Dimitrovgrad.

In September 2012, Pur Detox, a Narconon offshoot, was sued in Orange County, California, for negligence, medical malpractice, and negligent supervision. William Sweeney, the plaintiff, "suffered severe personal injuries" after a suicide attempt, jumping from a third floor balcony at the clinic, in Dana Point. Sweeney's complaint alleges that he was taken off his prescribed psychiatric medication at the facility, and that it was this which led to his suicide attempt.

In December 1988, the president of the Church of Scientology International, Heber Jentzsch, was arrested in Spain after an investigation into Narconon that resulted in (later dropped) allegations that he and Scientology were defrauding Spanish citizens and running its centers with unqualified staff. The judge in the case said at a news conference after the arrests that the only god of Scientology was money, and compared the church to a pyramid scheme in which members pay increasing sums of money. The judge said that Narconon swindled its clients and lured them into Scientology. By the end of 1991, the Spanish court found there was no evidence to support prosecutors' allegations that drug rehabilitation and other programs sponsored by Scientology in Spain amounted to illicit gatherings aimed at activities such as fraud. In April 2002, the charge was formally dropped. The court also ordered that the bail bond deposited for Jentzsch's release in 1988 be returned to Scientology along with interest, which nearly doubled the original amount.

On 8 November 2006, the Associated Press reported that Narconon was one of the Scientology groups that would pay back a total of $3.5 million of illegal funds from EarthLink co founder Reed Slatkin:

text=Slatkin, who was once an ordained Scientology minister, paid $1.7 million from his scheme directly to Scientology groups, while millions of dollars more were funneled through other investors to groups affiliated with the church, bankruptcy trustee R. Todd Neilson said in court filings. Among the church groups to receive ill gotten gains from Slatkin's scheme were Narconon International, the Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre International and the Church of Scientology Western United States, the filings said. The $3.5 million being returned by the church groups was the result of a negotiated compromise, Scientology attorney David Schindler and Alexander Pilmer, an attorney for Neilson, said.

In July 2008, the head of Narconon in Kazakhstan was deported: Kazakh Justice Minister Zagipa Baliyeva announced that "foreigners from the USA, Georgia, South Korea and Japan have been deported from the country by law enforcement agencies and in line with court rulings for violating the rules regarding the stay of foreigners and carrying out missionary activities without registration. In particular, with a further ban on entering Kazakhstan for five years, the head of the Narconon public foundation affiliated with the Church of Scientology has been deported," adding, "27 cases were uncovered where heads of non traditional religious organizations violated the law on the freedom of conscience and religious organizations; in particular, materials propagating radical ideas and teachings of non traditional religions were seized from them".

In January 2001, Narconon came under fire when they appeared to plagiarize 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 Urban75's hidden JavaScript code, unique to Urban75. The Register noted the irony of this scandal, quoting a critic who wrote, "Scientology has sued countless individuals and organizations putatively [sic] for 'copyright violation' and the organization claims loudly that they're at the 'forefront of protecting proprietary information on the Internet'."

In April 2013, agents of the insurance commissioner of the U. S. state of Georgia and the Gwinnett County district attorney's office searched the group's offices in Norcross, Georgia, questioning employees as they arrived at work and impounding more than a dozen computers and boxes full of documents. The insurance commissioner said during the investigation that, "We have credible information that indicates that insurance fraud is taking place with Narconon". The family of one patient said that the group was billing insurance companies for treatments that had never been given, and the doctors for whom the costs were being billed claimed never to have met the patient. State investigators discovered nearly $3 million of insurance fraud at Narconon Georgia; in September 2013, the facility surrendered its state license in order to avoid criminal charges.

In March 2014, attorney Ryan Hamilton filed two civil lawsuits against Narconon with the state of California. The first civil suit was filed on behalf of Angelo Amato of Illinois, who purchased Narconon's Purification Rundown at Narconon Fresh Start (a. k. a. Sunshine Summit Lodge) in Warner Springs, after Amato searched the Internet for drug treatment facilities and believed claims by Scientology that purported to be from an "independent consultant" web site. Amato claims to have been defrauded of $31,000 and began the Narconon program only to discover that it was actually Scientology being practiced, alleging that no actual drug treatment was offered at the facility.

In February 2014, Hamilton filed an additional civil suit against Narconon with the state of Nevada. His clients, Michael Tarr and his mother Cathy, sued Narconon Fresh Start (doing business as Rainbow Canyon Retreat) for fraud, breach of contract and negligence. The Tarrs claimed that, while residing at Narconon to treat his former heroin addiction, Michael did not receive detoxification treatment but rather indoctrination into Scientology, and asked the court to award them punitive damages as well as a refund of Narconon's $33,000 fees and their legal expenses. The Tarrs' civil suit followed closely behind a previous lawsuit filed by Hamilton on behalf of David, Stacy, and Jack Welch of Texas, who also allege that Narconon Fresh Start committed breach of contract, fraud, and negligence. In April 2014, Hamilton filed another lawsuit against Narconon Nevada, this time on behalf of Harry and Lauren Geanacopulos and their son Peter. The Geanacopulos family's complaint argues that Narconon's programme content and success rate were misrepresented to them and that it has no genuine medical or scientific basis. Hamilton claimed to possess a Narconon internal document showing that the program was used as a "bridge" to introduce clients to Scientology.

On 5 June 2014, one time Narconon employee Eric Tenorio was issued a subpoena to appear before a multi county grand jury in Oklahoma that was investigating alleged insurance fraud and credit card fraud being committed at Narconon Arrowhead. The grand jury is empowered to hand down state and federal indictments and to subpoena current and previous employees, agents, and operators of the facility. The grand jury investigation of Narconon Arrowhead came shortly after Tenorino filed documentation with the state of Oklahoma and with the NAFC, which resulted in NAFC filing their own civil lawsuits against 82 named defendants working for Narconon.

At the Scientology facility in Fort Collins, Colorado, operating under the name "A Life Worth Living", there have been numerous law enforcement call outs, medical emergencies, and other related requests for emergency services reported under a Freedom of Information Act request made available to the public on the Scribd document server, detailing numerous recorded incidents of Scientology operatives refusing to allow patents to leave, refusing to return their property, and patients making 9 1 1 calls that are interrupted by Scientology operatives.

thumbnail|Stall for 'The Truth About Drugs', one of the names under which Narconon and Scientology market their programs. Narconon also operates and markets drug rehabilitation facilities under other names, partly to hide that they are part of Scientology. There are also other Scientology affiliated drug rehabilitation groups that are based on the Purification Rundown. Blu by the Sea in Emerald Coast, Florida, is the name of the former Narconon Gulf Coast. Droganon was active in Spain in the 1980s and was controlled by the Scientology. Drug Free Ambassadors is a Narconon program targeting schools and youth organizations. Elevate Addiction Services, a group of clinics formerly operating under the name Narconon of Northern California, broke away from Narconon in 2014/2015 after an arbitration where they agreed to no longer use the sauna and vitamin method or teach Narconon/Church of Scientology programs, and would no longer be licensed by Narconon. The name was changed to Halcyon Horizons and several other entities operating under the trade name of Elevate Addiction Services. Still owned by the same Scientologists and using much of the earlier faculty, similar practices are in use. Fresh Start is a pseudonym sometimes used by Narconon's facility in Nevada. Israel Says No to Drugs is a Scientology affiliated organization based in Jaffa, Israel. Pur Detox (also Pür Detox with an umlaut) is a Scientology affiliated clinic in Dana Point, California. The clinic has come under scrutiny due to a lawsuit by one of the former patients. The Church of Scientology was not a party to the lawsuit. Sober Living in Orange County is the Purification Rundown operated at the Orange County Scientology Org itself. Suncoast Rehabilitation Center is a trade name or subsidiary of Narconon Spring Hill Inc., Florida. The center has come under scrutiny from the local authorities for their patient housing. The nearby Novus Medical Detox Center, while not directly affiliated to Scientology, is operated by the landlord of the Suncoast center. Teen anon or Streetcats is a Narconon program at the Narconon Vista Bay facility. The Truth About Drugs and Foundation for a Drug Free World are slogans under which Scientology and Narconon advertise their programs while concealing their Scientology origins. Though not directly linked to Narconon, the New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project and Second Chance Program are both Scientology affiliated and also use the Purification Rundown.