Friday, April 20, 2012
Inside Narconon's bizarre treatments
Inside Narconon's bizarre treatments
David love discusses his strange and painful experiences there. It was like 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest times 10,' he says
By CATHERINE SOLYOM, The Gazette April 20, 2012
In October 2009, six months after he had gone from "graduate" of the Narconon program to "Certified Counsellor," David Love began a crusade to have it shut down. He has filed a complaint with the Quebec Human Rights Commission.
Photograph by: MARIE-FRANCE COALLIER THE GAZETTE , The Gazette
Perhaps the lowest point in David Love's "treatment" for drug addiction at Narconon Trois Rivières was the five-hour sauna on his 25th day of fivehour saunas.
Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/health/Inside+Narconon+bizarre+treatments/6488654/story.html#ixzz1sa2Kuk7k
Scientologist-run rehab centre ordered closed in Quebec
Scientologist-run rehab centre ordered closed in Quebec
At least four clients taken to hospital in recent months
CBC News Posted: Apr 17, 2012 7:02 PM ET Last Updated: Apr 18, 2012 1:32 PM ET
The head of a regional health agency in Quebec said he had no choice but to shut down a Scientology-based rehab centre in Trois-Rivières.
In recent months, he said at least four clients were taken to hospital because of methods used at the centre.
The Narconon Trois-Rivières is one of dozens of similar centres in the U.S. and around the world where the detox treatment is inspired by the teachings of Scientology.
Mauricie regional health agency director Marc Latour said Narconon Trois-Rivières advertised an 80 per cent success rate and charged $25,000 for its program.
Latour said the centre was dangerous for patients and violated many of the criteria regulating Quebec's rehab centres.
He said there was no medical supervision and no scientific basis to the treatment.
Latour said patients went cold turkey, then underwent lengthy sauna detox sessions designed to sweat out drugs and took an unhealthy amount of vitamins.
At least four clients taken to hospital in recent months
CBC News Posted: Apr 17, 2012 7:02 PM ET Last Updated: Apr 18, 2012 1:32 PM ET
The head of a regional health agency in Quebec said he had no choice but to shut down a Scientology-based rehab centre in Trois-Rivières.
In recent months, he said at least four clients were taken to hospital because of methods used at the centre.
The Narconon Trois-Rivières is one of dozens of similar centres in the U.S. and around the world where the detox treatment is inspired by the teachings of Scientology.
Mauricie regional health agency director Marc Latour said Narconon Trois-Rivières advertised an 80 per cent success rate and charged $25,000 for its program.
Latour said the centre was dangerous for patients and violated many of the criteria regulating Quebec's rehab centres.
He said there was no medical supervision and no scientific basis to the treatment.
Latour said patients went cold turkey, then underwent lengthy sauna detox sessions designed to sweat out drugs and took an unhealthy amount of vitamins.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Narconon of Oklahoma is a Deadly Place
This is the story of two men who attended Narconon Arrowhead last month. Both became ill. One finally managed to leave but not until after the death of the other. The details of one leads to the details of the other and while more information is pending on the death, there is enough available to give you an idea of what was happening and why Narconon Arrowhead needs to be investigated and shut down.
On Qctober 25, 2011, Thirty two year old Gabriel Graves complained of a very terrible headache, a worsening continuation of the one from the day before. It started after he began going into the sauna part of the Narconon drug program he'd gone to in order to get help with his addiction. He had been sweating for hours a day after taking the daily increasing amounts of of vitamins - the combination of which, according to the materials he was made to study, were to remove drugs and toxins from his body. He complained about his headaces and his pain, and asked for pain relief but was denied any each time. Instead, he was told to get back into the sauna.
This happened to another 'student, as they call them in Narconon. Both were suffering and not getting the medical attention they needed. This other 'student' ( who will call Joe ) was experiencing a severe headache and high blood pressure, and despite the high readings and requests for something to alievate the headache, he, too was refused and told to go back in the sauna. It was said that they both had asked on several occasions for either one any over-the-counter headache relief medication and to see a doctor. Both had been told there there was none on the premises. So, the program staff refused to help Gabriel. And Joe.
According to Joe, it was said by others that Narconon was not even allowing other students to take their prescribed medications. That it was said that another student there had been refused his own blood pressure medication. They were told in the contract they signed that "Narconon is a drug-free program."
On this day Joe contacted his girlfriend and mother, pleading for help. He had called in the days since arriving but this time he thought his head was going to explode. The night before his blood pressure reading was 167/108.
From caring.com, we read:
[..] What a blood pressure reading of 167/108 means
Readings between 160/110 and 180/110 usually indicate STAGE 2 HYPERTENSION, which puts you at high risk for life-threatening problems such as heart attack and stroke.
High blood pressure in this range can cause symptoms such as headache, nausea and vomiting, mental confusion, vision changes, chest pain, or shortness of breath. If you notice any of these symptoms, your high blood pressure is considered a hypertensive emergency and you need to call 911.[..]
This was not done then. Joe did not know how serious his blood pressure situation was. Only that it read high. So on this 25th day of October, he begged his loved ones to be allowed to go home. The headache, the smoky environment, the lack of counseling as promised. No medical care. No relief for his headache. He felt as if he was losing his mind there, that they were taking a piece of his mind.
The staff told his mother "he is exaggerating everything trying to get out of doing the program" 'he's faking it'. "the wrist bp cuffs read high on everybody."
'XXXX "wasn’t doing his part in sauna", 'he just wanted to “use” and that there was not a problem.'. "He is being a baby" said the interventionist that had connected Joe's mom to the program.
WHO TO BELIEVE
The mother just did not know who to believe. This is a common complaint about Narconon. Parents feel they are at the mercy of the facility staff. They are made to not trust what their loved one is telling them about the place, about the program.
This is the interventionist, Holly L Conklin of Oklahoma, posing for her Dept of Corrections photo.
She has a history of lying.
http://www.ripoffreport.com/mental-health/a-forever-recovery/a-forever-recovery-narconon-st-2d8fd.htmhttp://protect.theinfo.org/pacer/ecf.oknd/1471899597.pdf
Read the comments here
http://www.scribd.com/doc/19465104/Holly-Conklin-Narconon-SBDC-Corrections-Profile-2012-OKLA
Holly Conklin will be the subject of another revealing upcoming article. In the meantime, back to the subject at hand...
The next morning, October 26th, there was a commotion a few doors down the hallway from where Joe roomed. Joe heard someone yell "I am not a doctor!" He looked out into the hallway and noticed this came from two doors down the hall, at the room Gabriel and his roommate had been assigned. Joe saw the "nurse" of the facility crying, walking out of Gabriels room with another staffer. He heard someone say that Gabriel had been found dead in his bed. Joe stood there, shocked and scared. Eventually Joe was instructed to move along, away from the direction of Gabriel's room. All student were made to go and stay gathered outside the building. As he walked out, he noticed staff gathered in the lobby.
Student remained outside for over an hour. During this time, they talked. Joe was told at one point, by one of the students who found Gabriel, that - without going into details- the condition of the body. It was such such that it seemed to Joe that Gabriel might have suffered an aneurysm or a stroke. He was told by another student that staff had been in Gabriel's room a long time, that Gabriel had been dead for some hours. Joe heard again about Gabriel's complaints about having painful headaches from the sauna, that he was not given any pain relief and that the headache was severe the day before he died. Joe was very upset, as he himself was suffering so from having them as well. Was it something in the sauna? Or about the long hours of being in the sauna, or was it the large amounts of vitamins, of Niacin in particular, that they had been made to take?
He stood there listening, scared and quiet, while hearing the other students talk as they waited to be informed on what was happening. One of the roommates said that they found Gabriel around 8am. Joe had been out at that time, eating breakfast and doing personal chores around the facility. He remembers being back in his room at around 10am when he heard the commotion in the hall. What were they doing for two hours? Who was it that said " I'm not a doctor!" and why?
It appeared that the authorities were not contacted until about 11 am, after the staff had met in the lobby. Even then, the ambulance and a policemen in a Dodge Charger did not arrive until just before noon.
Eventually a staffer came out and spoke to the students. "That could
be you!". Pointing into the building. Joe said that the idea that Gabriel had died from drugs was something he'd not even thought of until this was stated.
This comment by the staff member got the students talking about the possibility that maybe Gabriel had died from drugs. Someone mentioned that one of Gabriel's roommates was using Heroin. I asked Joe to explain how this could be. How could patients being doing drugs in a rehab facility?
Joe, a young abuser of alcohol doing his first stint at a rehab, told me he saw and had been offered drugs, which he refused because he was never into drugs. He believed that the reason the drugs were so rampant at Arrowhead was the fact that some of the newer staff, recent Narconon graduates, were using as well. And possibly the ones bringing them into the facility. There were quite a few people doing drugs there, he said. Many of the drugs talked about and offered were ones he'd never heard of. He said there were drugs of all kinds all over the facility but he'd heard no indication that Gabriel was among those to be using them. Joe was so sick of being at Narconon, of the headaches, the program ( he was still waiting for the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy which they were told he'd be getting when he signed up), and of the environment. He felt he was being forced to stay there and had no choice. He was one of only 3 people there who did not smoke and the place reeked of smoke and it was making him ill to breath there. The sauna was killing him and he wondered if it killed Gabriel. He wondered if the sauna and the headaches Gabriel had been complaining about had anything to do with his death. ( see obituary info at the end of the article)
Staff had everyone get back to what they were supposed to be doing and Joe reluctantly went to the sauna hoping his headache would not get any worse. He was miserable.
Later that day Joe was pulled out of the sauna 'into interviews', where he was asked if he 'following the protocol'. Was he taking all the vitamins and the rest of the treatment supplements that he was supposed to take? Was he taking enough potassium and salt and drinking enough fluids?
He told them he had but he was still having this terrible headache and did not want to go into the sauna any longer until he saw a doctor to address this and his high blood pressure. He was so scared this was going to happen to him since his headaches were so bad he felt like his head was going to blow up, explode. They relented, and said he could stay out until the doctor arrived later that week.
The day after Gabriel died, students were selectively drug tested. Joe was not tested, although he volunteered to be. Of those tested, 5 failed, testing positive for drugs in their system and they were 'kicked out of the program.' Gabriel's roommate, who I will call Al, was one of them. Of those tested was a female student. She was informed that she tested positive only for being pregnant. She'd gotten pregnant while in the program at Narconon.
Because the doctor came and went without them calling Joe as promised, he just up and left the program, just walked away. He felt so sick that he could not take it any longer. They caught him about a mile up the road and convinced him to go back.
He was urged to go back in the sauna again, as the doctor again would not be back until later next week. Joe refused but he gave in the next day and started the program again. On Monday, October 31st, his blood pressure was already topping at 174/111. When he finally saw the doctor, he was given an 'adjustment' and told it was a tension headache. Presumably this doctor was a chiropractor. Joe was told it was ok to go back in the sauna. He reluctantly agreed, again but soon he felt so ill and abandoned that he considered leaving with fed up another student, who was leaving after finishing the sauna part; Joe decided to leave with him and his relatives. On the day they came to pick the men up, Narconon staff told these relatives many things about Joe, including his medical and rehab problems in an effort to convince thenm to not take Joe with them. This was a violation of law. The relatives could not believe how staff were treating Joe. They took him with them and left. Eventually he arrived home, still with a terrible headache and high blood pressure. He's under medical care now.
There is more to Joe's story, for another time. His mother became educated on what goes on at Narconon and realized that she had been lied to about the program and about how her son was doing. She feels cheated and betrayed. The death of Gabriel and the Narconon program haunts them both. This should have never happened. Whether it was from drugs or not, that is not the issue here. No one expects that when they send their loved one to a Narconon facility that the person would be denied medical care, or that they would never come home. But on the issue of drugs being available at Narconon, it is the ultimate betrayal because no one sends their loved one to a rehab facility so they can get access to drugs.
Gabriel was a beloved father of two young girls; a cherished son and brother. He was very artistic. He loved playing music, writing poetry and sketching. He cherished his daughters. He went to Narconon to overcome an addiction. He and his family did not deserve what happened and, at best, Narconon Arrowhead was negligent in it's supervision and care of patients at it's facility.
I'm not sure what Gabriel and his loved ones were promised but from experience I have found that what is promised by Narconon staff and commissioned sales people is usually not the truth. Drugs have been known to be available at other Narconon facilities in the recent past and have been the subject of reports to governing agencies. This is the second wrongful death in 2 years at Narconon Arrowhead. Something must be done to investigate the program and the facility and how it is that this and the other known problems. How they have managed to get and keep this license? ( click image for full view)
I will continue with my own investigation, utilizing resources and working together with others , like Colin Henderson, who are exposing Narconon in Oklahoma. There is much going on right now to make sure the children of Oklahoma are not being indoctrinated into the false ideas of this program. It was in the news today:
http://mcalesternews.com/local/x960872537/Local-Narconon-leader-speaks-out-on-conflict-over-school-presentation
Rest in Peace, Gabriel W. Graves
November 4, 1978 - October 26, 2011
Condolences to your loved ones.
Gabriel's obituary can be found at these links:
http://www.tulsaworld.com/ourlives/article.aspx?subjectid=426&articleid=20111029_Ob_obsl_8265190
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/oklahoman/obituary.aspx?n=gabriel-graves&pid=154304147
http://owassoreporter.com/obituaries/gabriel-w-graves/article_ee9dd0a2-04af-11e1-ae32-001cc4c002e0.html
______________________________________________________________________________
Mary McConnell
http://www.reachingforthetippingpoint.net
shortcut http://reaching4.info
Wednesday, November 02, 2011
NarCONon IS Scientology Web Site Moved
Please note that the NarCONon IS Scientology web site has moved. The original domain name Crackpots.ORG has changed to Crackpots.US. If you have web content that links to the old domain name, please update you links to the new domain.
If you have questions about the domain name move, please email me at frice@sonic.net
If you have questions about the domain name move, please email me at frice@sonic.net
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Survey for Former Narconon Attendees
Have you been to Narconon? Please consider taking the Narconon Survey
The Downtown Independent Research Team is conducting an important and confidential independent survey for former clients of Narconon which is being housed at Reaching for the Tipping Point.
They want to hear about your experiences, good or bad. Your participation is important and needed.
The Downtown Independent Research Team is an anonymous volunteer effort by several individuals with knowledge of drug rehabilitation, consumer advocacy, governmental licensing agencies, sociology, psychology, and Scientology.
The Downtown Independent Research Team's first study focuses on the methods and effectiveness of the Church of Scientology's Narconon program, also known as First Step, New Life, and Sauna Detox. There are few existing independent studies on the effectiveness of and methods used in the program. While a number of complaints of misbehavior on the part of Narconon exist on the Internet, they are dispersed chaotically among various message boards, blogs, consumer complaint sites, and court records.
The Downtown Independent Research Team seeks to collate statistics based on reports from individuals who have used the Narconon program, and to determine if the alleged misbehavior is widespread and common to all branches of Narconon, or if it is limited to a select few. Additional goals are to determine how people choose the Narconon program from the many substance abuse rehabilitation programs that exist, and how people respond if they don't receive the services they paid for.
The survey link is:
http://reachingforthetippingpoint.net/narcononsurvey/
The Downtown Independent Research Team has added an About Us page, and a contact form, for anyone who might have questions or comments:
http://reachingforthetippingpoint.net/narcononsurvey/about.html
http://reachingforthetippingpoint.net/narcononsurvey/contact.php
Please spread the word about this survey to anyone you know who has attended Narconon so the facts about the program may be documented in a formal report.
The Downtown Independent Research Team is conducting an important and confidential independent survey for former clients of Narconon which is being housed at Reaching for the Tipping Point.
They want to hear about your experiences, good or bad. Your participation is important and needed.
The Downtown Independent Research Team is an anonymous volunteer effort by several individuals with knowledge of drug rehabilitation, consumer advocacy, governmental licensing agencies, sociology, psychology, and Scientology.
The Downtown Independent Research Team's first study focuses on the methods and effectiveness of the Church of Scientology's Narconon program, also known as First Step, New Life, and Sauna Detox. There are few existing independent studies on the effectiveness of and methods used in the program. While a number of complaints of misbehavior on the part of Narconon exist on the Internet, they are dispersed chaotically among various message boards, blogs, consumer complaint sites, and court records.
The Downtown Independent Research Team seeks to collate statistics based on reports from individuals who have used the Narconon program, and to determine if the alleged misbehavior is widespread and common to all branches of Narconon, or if it is limited to a select few. Additional goals are to determine how people choose the Narconon program from the many substance abuse rehabilitation programs that exist, and how people respond if they don't receive the services they paid for.
The survey link is:
http://reachingforthetippingpoint.net/narcononsurvey/
The Downtown Independent Research Team has added an About Us page, and a contact form, for anyone who might have questions or comments:
http://reachingforthetippingpoint.net/narcononsurvey/about.html
http://reachingforthetippingpoint.net/narcononsurvey/contact.php
Please spread the word about this survey to anyone you know who has attended Narconon so the facts about the program may be documented in a formal report.
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Holland Examines Scientology's NarCONon fake front
http://www.revu.nl/nieuws/2009/08/12/=91iedereen-in-dossier=92-bij-scientology-nederland/#more-6410
The SP political party, through MP Arda Gerkens, are set today to ask the Minister of Justice questions on the practices of Scientology Netherlands, and its fake "rehab" center Scientology calls "Narconon" to swindle money out of for drug addicts.
This after an article titled "Undercover in Scientology" was published in the popular news magazine the Revu this week. The SP would like to know why the Data Protection Authority (CBP) does not want to comment, now that the Revu article has uncovered illegal filing practices at Scientology.
The Scientology "Church" Netherlands retains thousands of personal records, sometimes with extensive information, without giving concerned individuals the right to access or correction, and does not grant any requests for removal of this information.
The report was done by Revu journalist Stella Braam, with the participation of journalists and Ivo van Woerden and Zvezdana Vukojevic, going undercover in the "church" that in May this year was indicted in France for running an organized scamming operation. She was amazed at the records department she found. "Students, staff, anyone who has had anything to do with Scientology has their files. Even people who have only bought a book," says the department head. Allegedly there are records of at least 60,000 people.
Scientology, according to the Amsterdam Chamber of Commerce, is a publisher. They do not pay minimum wages and do not conform to the government rules for publishers. The Inspection for Employment has now started to carry out research under the Minimum Wage Law, says spokeswoman Suzanne van Gils: "If there is a contract, the employer must pay the legal minimum wages.
The SP political party, through MP Arda Gerkens, are set today to ask the Minister of Justice questions on the practices of Scientology Netherlands, and its fake "rehab" center Scientology calls "Narconon" to swindle money out of for drug addicts.
This after an article titled "Undercover in Scientology" was published in the popular news magazine the Revu this week. The SP would like to know why the Data Protection Authority (CBP) does not want to comment, now that the Revu article has uncovered illegal filing practices at Scientology.
The Scientology "Church" Netherlands retains thousands of personal records, sometimes with extensive information, without giving concerned individuals the right to access or correction, and does not grant any requests for removal of this information.
The report was done by Revu journalist Stella Braam, with the participation of journalists and Ivo van Woerden and Zvezdana Vukojevic, going undercover in the "church" that in May this year was indicted in France for running an organized scamming operation. She was amazed at the records department she found. "Students, staff, anyone who has had anything to do with Scientology has their files. Even people who have only bought a book," says the department head. Allegedly there are records of at least 60,000 people.
Scientology, according to the Amsterdam Chamber of Commerce, is a publisher. They do not pay minimum wages and do not conform to the government rules for publishers. The Inspection for Employment has now started to carry out research under the Minimum Wage Law, says spokeswoman Suzanne van Gils: "If there is a contract, the employer must pay the legal minimum wages.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Scientology Criminals Lie About Being NarCONon
On July 17th in Scientology history
===================================
Town Welcomes, Then Questions a Drug Project
July 17, 1989, AP, New York Times
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE2DF1138F934A25754C0A96F948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all
Townspeople say the California group, Narconon International, has not been honest about its affiliation with the Church of Scientology, its financing, its medical credentials and its plans for the project, which is to attract mostly out-of-state clients.
Narconon officials denied that the project had anything to do with Scientology, the townspeople say, until Newkirk officials produced a Scientology magazine with a article titled, "Trained Scientologists to Staff Huge Oklahoma Facility."
Tags: Gary Smith, Heber Jentzsch, Narconon, Oklahoma, Simon Hogarth, Spain
===================================
Judge rules Time can't be sued for calling Scientology 'cult of greed'
July 17, 1996, CNN
http://www.cnn.com/US/9607/17/scientology/index.html
A federal judge has thrown out the remaining part of a $415 million lawsuit brought by the Church of Scientology against Time Warner Inc. The suit charged that Time magazine maliciously libeled the church in a 1992 article that called it a "cult of greed."
Tags: Legal
===================================
When Scientology attacks?
July 17, 2008, WWMT
http://www.wwmt.com/news/scientology_1351310___article.html/church_lot.html
The video of two men involved in an altercation outside a Church of Scientology has garnered a lot of hits on YouTube, but it happened right here in West Michigan.
Two men protesting the Church of Scientology got more than they bargained for when a man and a woman from the church came out and confronted them last week.
Tags: Anonymous, Battle Creek
===================================
Web version:
http://home.primus.ca/~ronsharp/FrontCiteTW.html#ScientologyToday
===================================
Town Welcomes, Then Questions a Drug Project
July 17, 1989, AP, New York Times
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE2DF1138F934A25754C0A96F948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all
Townspeople say the California group, Narconon International, has not been honest about its affiliation with the Church of Scientology, its financing, its medical credentials and its plans for the project, which is to attract mostly out-of-state clients.
Narconon officials denied that the project had anything to do with Scientology, the townspeople say, until Newkirk officials produced a Scientology magazine with a article titled, "Trained Scientologists to Staff Huge Oklahoma Facility."
Tags: Gary Smith, Heber Jentzsch, Narconon, Oklahoma, Simon Hogarth, Spain
===================================
Judge rules Time can't be sued for calling Scientology 'cult of greed'
July 17, 1996, CNN
http://www.cnn.com/US/9607/17/scientology/index.html
A federal judge has thrown out the remaining part of a $415 million lawsuit brought by the Church of Scientology against Time Warner Inc. The suit charged that Time magazine maliciously libeled the church in a 1992 article that called it a "cult of greed."
Tags: Legal
===================================
When Scientology attacks?
July 17, 2008, WWMT
http://www.wwmt.com/news/scientology_1351310___article.html/church_lot.html
The video of two men involved in an altercation outside a Church of Scientology has garnered a lot of hits on YouTube, but it happened right here in West Michigan.
Two men protesting the Church of Scientology got more than they bargained for when a man and a woman from the church came out and confronted them last week.
Tags: Anonymous, Battle Creek
===================================
Web version:
http://home.primus.ca/~ronsharp/FrontCiteTW.html#ScientologyToday
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Scientology's Cult-Based Drug Fraud In Hawaii Rejected
The Governor rejected Scientology's fake "drug treatment" scam, fortunately, saving hundreds of people from being rooked and swindled by these insane Scientology crooks.
http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/18760/76/
See the below critical letter to the editor from the Exec Dir. of Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii explaining why it should be voted against. Further down you can find more info on the bill and where to write.
Letters to the Editor - Hawaii Editorials - Starbulletin.com
For Wednesday, March 25, 2009
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Mar 25, 2009
Cult-based treatment isn't the answer
Normally, we would support a legislator's initiative to propose drug treatment over incarceration. Unfortunately we cannot support Rep. Rida Cabanilla's proposed House Bill 358 (Star-Bulletin, March 20) as it is terribly misguided. She says this bill is based on the "nationally recognized Second Chance program of New Mexico." In fact, this program is based on the principles of Scientology and has not been proven to be effective.
The basic principles themselves are controversial and not science-based. If legislators are going to propose treatment programs, it behooves them to do some research and ensure that taxpayer money is used for effective, evidence-based programs. There are many of them.
We agree with Cabanilla that incarceration is expensive, ineffective and leads to high rates of recidivism. We hope she will instead vote for proposals which would add drug treatment beds to our prisons, increase community-based programs for nonviolent drug offenders and establish re-entry programs. One such bill is SB 540 SD2 HD1 which adds beds at Oahu Community Correctional Center for the second part, the re-entry portion of the Residential Drug Abuse Program currently being used in Hawaii facilities.
Jeanne Y. Ohta
Executive director
Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii
http://www.starbulletin.com/editorials/20090325_Letters_to_the_Editor.html
--------------------------------
[..]Governor Lingle Submits Potential Veto List to Legislature
Written by KGMB9 News - news@kgmb9.com June 30, 2009 05:42 PM From the Governor's Office:
Governor Linda Lingle today submitted to the State Legislature a list of 65 bills that she is considering for potential vetoes. [..]
In addition, due to the unprecedented $2.7 billion revenue shortfall between now and June 30, 2011, as projected by the Council on Revenues, the Lingle-Aiona Administration has increased scrutiny of all bills for potential budgetary implications. As a result, a number of bills were put on the potential veto list because they call for new or increased spending at a time when the State cannot afford to expand the cost of government or further deplete the State's limited fiscal resources. Twelve bills on the list fall into this category of potentially negative fiscal implications (HB 36, HB 343, HB 358......
[..]
HB358 CD1 measure history is here:
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2009/lists/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=
=3DHB&billnumber=3D358
Email:
governor.lingle@hawaii.gov This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or gov.policy@hawaii.gov This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Fax:
(808) 586-0006
Mail:
Office of the Governor
Hawai'i State Capitol, Executive Chambers
Honolulu, Hawai'i 96813
Here is the link to an article written by a Scientology crook supporter and Haewaii Rep promoting "Second Chance": and HB 358
To get a further idea, read what I wrote previous to the Hawaii House of reps:
NOTICE OF DECISION MAKING
HB358 HD1 - RELATING TO DRUG TREATMENT.
Authorizes placement of certain offenders in secure drug treatment facilities.
DATE: Monday, April 6, 2009 TIME: 10:00 a.m.
PLACE: Conference Room 016, State Capitol 415 South Beretania Street
Dear Committee members,
Thank you for taking the time to consider my comments.
I am very concerned that HB358 HD1 has not been worded accurately to ensure that a "Secure Drug Treatment Facility" means that it is Hawaii State Health Department licensed in the delivery of alcohol and drug treatment, and that the providers and counselors meet the criteria set by the State of Hawaii licensing of such.
The facilities under this revision must be rooted by ACT =A711-98 TITLE 11 DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH CHAPTER 98 SPECIAL TREATMENT FACILITY alcohol and drug treatment facility & provider minimum criteria.
The proposed "secure drug treatment facility' being touted as a model for this is called "Second Chance Program" but I must tell you that the drug treatment portion of this program ( NARCONON ) does not meet Hawaii State licensing criteria, nor are their counselors licensed by Hawaii standards.
Aa a matter of fact, there is an existing 'Narconon Hawaii' center in Honolulu which has never been able to provide the consumers or state of Hawaii any drug and alcohol rehabilitation services because their counselors and facility do not meet Hawaii licensing standards.
Hawaii's existing programs Inmate Recidivism Rates are better than that of Second Chance Program. Per the 2008 University of New Mexico Institute For Social Research "Second Chance Center Preliminary Study" prepared for the State of New Mexico and Second Chance Center :
[..]Preliminary Recidivism
In an approximately one year period three students (8.6%) who completed the program picked up new charges (Burglary, DWI 3rd, and Aggravated Assault), 8 students (22.9%) had technical probation violations, and 24 students (65.7%) did not have a probation violation or new charge.[..]
Preliminary Reporting of Recidivism by Criminal Justice Agency for the State of Hawaii: July 1, 2007 =96 June 30, 2008 shows recidivism rates in Hawaii were no higher than 5%.
Multi-agency efforts were required to achieve this. Why strain all the agencies involved in what is already a challanging exercise in trying to coordinate when there still is no Master Plan in place.(1) Preliminary Reporting of Recidivism by Criminal Justice Agency: July 1, 2007 =96 June 30, 2008 A contracted 'secure drug treatment facility' would require as much if not more controls in place than state run facilities.
You cannot leave that up top the contractor, as New Mexico did. What began as a bright and costly idea has now turned out to be a failure. Second Chance was evicted recently from it's rental facility, in part because they allowed violent criminals in desite lease agreement to not treat and house that high a risk category of offender.
(1) The 2008 and 2009 REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE BY THE HAWAII DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, PREPARED BY THE ALCOHOL AND DRUG ABUSE DIVISION states:
{..] REPORT PURSUANT TO
SECTION 10 OF ACT 161, SESSION LAWS OF HAWAII 2002, ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SECTION 321-193.5, HAWAII REVISED STATUTES Act 161, Session Laws of Hawaii (SLH) 2002, was enacted =93to require first time non-violent drug offenders, including probation and parole violators, to be sentenced to undergo and complete drug treatment instead of incarceration."
Section 21 of the Act specifies that:
The Department of Public Safety, Hawaii Paroling Authority, Judiciary, Department of Health, Department of Human Services, and any other agencies assigned oversight responsibilities for offender substance abuse treatment by law or administrative order, shall establish a coordinating body through an interagency cooperative agreement to oversee the development and implementation of offender substance abuse treatment programs in the State to ensure compliance with the intent of the master plan developed under Chapter 353G.
Section 10 of Act 161, SLH 2002, specifies that:
The Department of Health shall submit an annual report to the Legislature before the convening of each Regular Session, beginning with the Regular Session of 2004, on the status and progress of the interagency cooperative agreement required under Section 2 of this Act and the effectiveness of the delivery of services thereto, and
expenditures made under this Act.
It should be noted that there are caveats to Act 161 SLH 2002, implementation.
There is no mention of a "master plan" in Chapter 353G2 as cited in Section 2 of Act 161, SLH 2002; and no funds were appropriated in Act 161. The interagency initiative to implement offender substance abuse treatment services, however, has been an on-going collaborative activity.[..]
http://gen.doh.hawaii.gov/sites/LegRpt/20091/2008_ADAD%20Annual%20Report.pdf
Those "caveats" as mentioned in several annual reports, need to be fixed first by getting a Master Plan and some funding for coordination efforts before expanding the alternative programs Hawaii provides.
Sincerely,
Mary McConnell
http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/18760/76/
See the below critical letter to the editor from the Exec Dir. of Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii explaining why it should be voted against. Further down you can find more info on the bill and where to write.
Letters to the Editor - Hawaii Editorials - Starbulletin.com
For Wednesday, March 25, 2009
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Mar 25, 2009
Cult-based treatment isn't the answer
Normally, we would support a legislator's initiative to propose drug treatment over incarceration. Unfortunately we cannot support Rep. Rida Cabanilla's proposed House Bill 358 (Star-Bulletin, March 20) as it is terribly misguided. She says this bill is based on the "nationally recognized Second Chance program of New Mexico." In fact, this program is based on the principles of Scientology and has not been proven to be effective.
The basic principles themselves are controversial and not science-based. If legislators are going to propose treatment programs, it behooves them to do some research and ensure that taxpayer money is used for effective, evidence-based programs. There are many of them.
We agree with Cabanilla that incarceration is expensive, ineffective and leads to high rates of recidivism. We hope she will instead vote for proposals which would add drug treatment beds to our prisons, increase community-based programs for nonviolent drug offenders and establish re-entry programs. One such bill is SB 540 SD2 HD1 which adds beds at Oahu Community Correctional Center for the second part, the re-entry portion of the Residential Drug Abuse Program currently being used in Hawaii facilities.
Jeanne Y. Ohta
Executive director
Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii
http://www.starbulletin.com/editorials/20090325_Letters_to_the_Editor.html
--------------------------------
[..]Governor Lingle Submits Potential Veto List to Legislature
Written by KGMB9 News - news@kgmb9.com June 30, 2009 05:42 PM From the Governor's Office:
Governor Linda Lingle today submitted to the State Legislature a list of 65 bills that she is considering for potential vetoes. [..]
In addition, due to the unprecedented $2.7 billion revenue shortfall between now and June 30, 2011, as projected by the Council on Revenues, the Lingle-Aiona Administration has increased scrutiny of all bills for potential budgetary implications. As a result, a number of bills were put on the potential veto list because they call for new or increased spending at a time when the State cannot afford to expand the cost of government or further deplete the State's limited fiscal resources. Twelve bills on the list fall into this category of potentially negative fiscal implications (HB 36, HB 343, HB 358......
[..]
HB358 CD1 measure history is here:
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2009/lists/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=
=3DHB&billnumber=3D358
Email:
governor.lingle@hawaii.gov This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or gov.policy@hawaii.gov This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Fax:
(808) 586-0006
Mail:
Office of the Governor
Hawai'i State Capitol, Executive Chambers
Honolulu, Hawai'i 96813
Here is the link to an article written by a Scientology crook supporter and Haewaii Rep promoting "Second Chance": and HB 358
To get a further idea, read what I wrote previous to the Hawaii House of reps:
NOTICE OF DECISION MAKING
HB358 HD1 - RELATING TO DRUG TREATMENT.
Authorizes placement of certain offenders in secure drug treatment facilities.
DATE: Monday, April 6, 2009 TIME: 10:00 a.m.
PLACE: Conference Room 016, State Capitol 415 South Beretania Street
Dear Committee members,
Thank you for taking the time to consider my comments.
I am very concerned that HB358 HD1 has not been worded accurately to ensure that a "Secure Drug Treatment Facility" means that it is Hawaii State Health Department licensed in the delivery of alcohol and drug treatment, and that the providers and counselors meet the criteria set by the State of Hawaii licensing of such.
The facilities under this revision must be rooted by ACT =A711-98 TITLE 11 DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH CHAPTER 98 SPECIAL TREATMENT FACILITY alcohol and drug treatment facility & provider minimum criteria.
The proposed "secure drug treatment facility' being touted as a model for this is called "Second Chance Program" but I must tell you that the drug treatment portion of this program ( NARCONON ) does not meet Hawaii State licensing criteria, nor are their counselors licensed by Hawaii standards.
Aa a matter of fact, there is an existing 'Narconon Hawaii' center in Honolulu which has never been able to provide the consumers or state of Hawaii any drug and alcohol rehabilitation services because their counselors and facility do not meet Hawaii licensing standards.
Hawaii's existing programs Inmate Recidivism Rates are better than that of Second Chance Program. Per the 2008 University of New Mexico Institute For Social Research "Second Chance Center Preliminary Study" prepared for the State of New Mexico and Second Chance Center :
[..]Preliminary Recidivism
In an approximately one year period three students (8.6%) who completed the program picked up new charges (Burglary, DWI 3rd, and Aggravated Assault), 8 students (22.9%) had technical probation violations, and 24 students (65.7%) did not have a probation violation or new charge.[..]
Preliminary Reporting of Recidivism by Criminal Justice Agency for the State of Hawaii: July 1, 2007 =96 June 30, 2008 shows recidivism rates in Hawaii were no higher than 5%.
Multi-agency efforts were required to achieve this. Why strain all the agencies involved in what is already a challanging exercise in trying to coordinate when there still is no Master Plan in place.(1) Preliminary Reporting of Recidivism by Criminal Justice Agency: July 1, 2007 =96 June 30, 2008 A contracted 'secure drug treatment facility' would require as much if not more controls in place than state run facilities.
You cannot leave that up top the contractor, as New Mexico did. What began as a bright and costly idea has now turned out to be a failure. Second Chance was evicted recently from it's rental facility, in part because they allowed violent criminals in desite lease agreement to not treat and house that high a risk category of offender.
(1) The 2008 and 2009 REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE BY THE HAWAII DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, PREPARED BY THE ALCOHOL AND DRUG ABUSE DIVISION states:
{..] REPORT PURSUANT TO
SECTION 10 OF ACT 161, SESSION LAWS OF HAWAII 2002, ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SECTION 321-193.5, HAWAII REVISED STATUTES Act 161, Session Laws of Hawaii (SLH) 2002, was enacted =93to require first time non-violent drug offenders, including probation and parole violators, to be sentenced to undergo and complete drug treatment instead of incarceration."
Section 21 of the Act specifies that:
The Department of Public Safety, Hawaii Paroling Authority, Judiciary, Department of Health, Department of Human Services, and any other agencies assigned oversight responsibilities for offender substance abuse treatment by law or administrative order, shall establish a coordinating body through an interagency cooperative agreement to oversee the development and implementation of offender substance abuse treatment programs in the State to ensure compliance with the intent of the master plan developed under Chapter 353G.
Section 10 of Act 161, SLH 2002, specifies that:
The Department of Health shall submit an annual report to the Legislature before the convening of each Regular Session, beginning with the Regular Session of 2004, on the status and progress of the interagency cooperative agreement required under Section 2 of this Act and the effectiveness of the delivery of services thereto, and
expenditures made under this Act.
It should be noted that there are caveats to Act 161 SLH 2002, implementation.
There is no mention of a "master plan" in Chapter 353G2 as cited in Section 2 of Act 161, SLH 2002; and no funds were appropriated in Act 161. The interagency initiative to implement offender substance abuse treatment services, however, has been an on-going collaborative activity.[..]
http://gen.doh.hawaii.gov/sites/LegRpt/20091/2008_ADAD%20Annual%20Report.pdf
Those "caveats" as mentioned in several annual reports, need to be fixed first by getting a Master Plan and some funding for coordination efforts before expanding the alternative programs Hawaii provides.
Sincerely,
Mary McConnell
Monday, July 06, 2009
Sueing Scientology NarCONon Criminals
Man goes to Narconon rehab for help and gets held against his will; made to endure Scientology teachings and bizarre anti-gay attacks. Wife sues.
A lawsuit was filed in Nevada County, CA last week by a woman who paid for rehabilitation help for her then fiance, only to find out that she was repeatedly deceived and the services were dangerous and not as promised. Sarah Locatelli of Grass Valley, CA states the Narconon program using Scientology practices, made Daniel Locatelli subject to verbal attacks, often of an anti gay substance. He was denied medical care when he needed it and the staff kept him and his belongings against his will when he asked to leave. He finally escaped after 4 days.
The Locatelli vs Narconon Southern California, Narconon Joshua Hills et al complaint can be read in full here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/17118323/Locatelli-vs-Narconon-Southern-California-Narconon-Joshua-Hills-et-al
Background
Locatelli filed suit against Newport Beach's Narconon Southern California and Narconon Joshua Hills, then located at what is now the location of Narconon Palm Spring on Hopper Rd, Palm Desert Springs. It is now located at 82652 Lordsburg Dr in Indio Riverside County in CA . She filed the complaint after repeated requests for a refund were ignored.
Among the claims against the facilities and their employees and agents are breach of contract, fraud in the inducement, negligent misrepresentation and fraudulent misrepresentation. A referral help site unknowingly run by Narconon and it's agents is noted, as well as derogatory statements made to Mr. Locatelli during the 'therapy' which show a culture of hostility and intolerance.
Narconon is a part of the 'secular arm' of the Church of Scientology but the program is clearly all Scientology and has been for many years. Most aren't aware of this when visiting their web sites or talking with their intake people on the phone. As Locatelli came to find out, Narconon hides the fact outright. Records show that Narconon representatives tell victims they are not affiliated with Scientology when asked. Yet the program componients are the same as Scientology classes and texts, just repackaged differently.
There is a history of complaints against Narconon where this is voiced. Multiple unsuspecting victims in complaints filed with state agencies and in courts across the country over the last 10 years have complainted about the degrading nature of the routines, the false promises of therapy and human rights abuses victims were subjected to while there. Scientology is currently being sued by former staff members for similar and more horrific civil and human rights abuses and labor law violations in the state of California.
What is common and uncommon about this case:
The Locatelli family, like thousand of others, first became victims of Narconon and it's internet and telephone deceptive trade practices. Mrs. Locatelli did everything she could to locate the best care they could afford for Daniel yet he wound up in the care of The Church of Scientology without her even knowing it. She found what was supposed to be a referral hotline, which in fact is run by Narconon and it's agents for the sole purpose of sending it's victims to Narconon.
Mr. Locatelli, having attended both facilities for a total of 4 days, was held hostage held against his will, denied medical attention while ill and made to endure the church's questionable practices and it's hostility toward homosexuality and indifference to the most basic of civil and human rights. Due to the vulgar nature of the verbal attacks, the program training routine 'bullbaiting' quotes noted in the complaint will not be mentioned here.
Now, when one reads the complaint, it is obvious that the comments made during his time there were crude and offensive to anyone in what was supposed to be a professional setting to receive help for a problem. It does not matter whether Mr. Locatelli is gay or not, although he isn't. He was forced to listen to and accept the intolerant mocking comments levied at him because the Scientology based training routine prohibits one from being able to respond, lest one is made to endure all the more of it and then some. Throughout the whole time Daniel was there, the staff allowed the church's anti-homosexuality indoctrination to go on and even encouraged it.
http://www.washblade.com/2007/5-18/view/editorial/10592.cfm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality_and_Scientology">pro-scientology
In their attempts to help others avoid what happened to them, a web site was created by friends of Locatelli to warn others about Narconon and their internet scam, titled:
Narconon Is A Code Name for Scientology . You can see the documents that Mrs. Locatelli, then as fiancee Sarah Vogel, received after Mr. Locatelli arrived home, which she never signed here http://narcononfailedlovingnewdad.blogspot.com/
Narconon Joshua Hills Board of Directors - Names You May know:
Interestingly,Palm Springs and Las Vegas' WALK OF STARS and MOTION PICTURE HALL OF FAME directors - Danny Pharmer, Robert Alexander and Janie Hughes are listed as among the board of directors of Narconon Joshua Hills and are presumably going to be added to the list of defendents as the case progresses.
Tiffany Pharmer, the director of Narconon Joshua Hills, runs an assisted living home and is a real estate sales woman with Coldwell Banker's Yeoman Group in the Palms Springs area. Both Daniel and Tiffiany Pharmer are unlicensed substance abuse counselors and were required to train and be certified within 5 years but let their registration with California Association of Addiction Recovery Resources expire last December indicating that they were never trained as required.
Complaints influencial in the Narconon Newport Beach closure in 2010
Narconon Southern California,a subsidiary of Narconon International which orchestrated the internet, telephone and financial scheme, has a long history of complaints and of being a problem in the Newport Beach area. Mr. Locatelli was asked by The City of Newport Beach to provide an affidavit on his experience with Narconon being over capacity and because of this and the many other complaints, infractions and obvious disregard for the welfare of it's patients & the community, the city refused to approve it's use permit application. As a result, it's license to operate in the city expires February 28, 2010.
Their counselors are not CARF certified as their international website suggests. Narconon Exposed is well known web site dedicated to informing the public about Narconon and it's practices. Sadly, most people find it after they have been ripped off by Narconon.
Others victimized by a similar set of tactics:
Ripoffreport.com has over many complaints about Narconon listed and many of these
are about Narconon Southern California and it's Newport Beach facility. In reviewing documents related to complaints sent to state agencies about Narconon, a common theme emerges to back up what Locatelli states in her claims.
For instance, 75 year old California resident Lillian Weaver and E.K. of Washington State were each taken in by fake referral sites run by Narconon & it's affiliates, the false promises of appropriate medical care availability and forced unwanted Scientology practices they were never informed about in advance, which turned out to be the whole of the program. Unbeknownst to them and their loved ones was the knowledge that Scientology is hostile towards traditional medical and mental health practices. Both were kept against their will when they wanted to leave and Mrs. Weaver's son had his diabetes and thyroid medicines & glucometer withheld for 2 days upon entry, endangering his health especially as he lacked a thyroid to produce what the medicine was necessary for! E.K.'s daughter became ill from the mega doses of vitamins they put her on, causing her to become ill. Both parent's loved ones suffered physically and emotionally due to this, the deception and the facility's subsequent negligence against the one the loved one once they arrived.
E.K. sent his daughter to what was supposed to be a licensed, medically based traditional theraputic program in NV owned by Narconon of Southern California. Within days he found out that the facility and their counselors were not licensed, there were no medical professionals or care on site as promised for his daughter's all bladder disease which was exaserbated by the volumous amount of vitamins they insisted she ingest. She was so ill and in pain that he called and insisted they take his daughter to the airport so he could transport her to another rehab center or he would fly out and get her himself. He only received a refund when he reported the situation to the FBI Internet fraud unit, to all 3 state Attorney General offices and the NV licensing agencies.
States Vary in Regulations; The FBI Internet Fraud site is Helpful
For E.K., a Cease and Desist Order went out to the Narconon in NV for all unlicensed counselors and specifically to the executive director of their Narconon Rainbow Canyon facility, who had claimed on the internet to be licensed but was found to not. While owned by the Southern California organization, Nevada and it's stringent laws oversaw the matter for E.K. and Washington helped represent him as a constituent Locatelli says that she's had a complaint in with the California Alcohol and Drug program for over 1 year and they have a separate team investigating all complaints on Narconons in California. ADP is limited in oversite and underfunded, compounding the slow process on complaints.
ADP does, however, have a separate investigator on complaints about other programs using Narconon under different names, such as San Francisco County programs
New Life Center SF( aka Social Betterment Development Company / SBDC) and Alternative To Meds Center both of which are not licensed. ATMC was denied license and the City of San Francisco denied them a use permit for this unlicensed activity, but thy still operate to the dismay of the community. Both are considered dangerous programs. Recently a negligent death case was settled against New Life SF and owner Richard Prescott ( former director of Narconon Northern CA) after a patient committed suicide while on medication under poor supervision and nonexistent onsite medical care promised but not provided.
Locatelli went to Narconon to learn about drug and recover from them and found that there was no drug education nor traditional individual or group therapy as promised and required by the state of California. He was made to read materials written by Science fiction writer L Ron Hubbard and was supervised in the program steps by other patients called "students" instead of state required licensed substance abuse counselors. None of the counselors was licensed and the facility was overcrowded and in violation of local and county zoning laws.
The Little Hoover Commission and the Justin Foundation investigate and keep tabs on the state of affair of CA rehabs and have isolated the loopholes that tie the hands of state agencies and give bad programs the free reign to victimize consumers, providing low to no quality care substance abuse services. One should read these reports before going or sending a loved one to a rehab facility, especially in the state of California. ADP was unavailable for comment.
The cost is more than most and refunds are prevented at all costs.
Narconon, depending upon the center and the desperation for funds and financial constrains of the victims, can cost between $20,000 to $35,000 Of the $26,000 Mrs. Weaver paid Narconon Southern California, she so far has only received a $15,000 chargeback credit from Bank of America after their thorough investigation and consideration of all the facts. Discover VISA, however, refused to accept the documentation and statements, closing her case without any arbitration rights allowed. Narconon, however, wrote in response to Weaver's Better Business Bureau complaint, that she'd received all her money back from all credit cards, so Mrs. Weaver is still trying to get them to pay back the balance of $11,000 via BBB. It would cost her more to go to court than the amount of the claim, so she is avoiding that last as a last resort.
Locatelli can appreciate Weaver's efforts and the obstacles she went through. Her bank,
Washington Mutual , was on the verge of federal takeover at the time she requested her VISA refund. They had they audacity to deny the chargeback claim without even contacting the merchant Narconon for response. Her calls and letters to the bank, to the facilities and the Narconon reps fell on deaf ears and that is why she has resorted to suing both Narconon facilities. At ripoffreport.com, one can see that some have gotten their refunds while others not. Perseverence seems to be the key.
E.K. is one of the few who got his money without having to sign the traditional gag agreement, Although he promised not to badmouth Narconon, his complaint was already in the hands of others ( myself included )before the time of their settlement.
In E.K.'s case, his checks to "Narconon Nevada" were deposited into a Narconon of Southern California bank account in Las Vegas, NV instead of being sent to CA as he was told would happen. As they are not licensed in NV and their corporation status in NV was revoked last year, the settlement was probably made in part just to shut him up and make the problem go away. I have used that complaint as the basis of his information for this article, with his permission. You can read it in full here.
Mrs. Weaver says "Because of my son's medical problems, the referral Hotline gave our number to a man claiming to be a medical doctor who told us that Narconon was the best program to fit his needs. Well, "Dr. David Morris" of GA turned out to be a scientologist with an agenda - and a chiropractor, in violation of GA state Ciropractic disclosure laws."
There ought to be a law! Buyer Beware.
Locatelli says that the ordeal was " a terrible situation that no one should have to go through." They were fortunate that Daniel went right from that Narconon into an appropriate day program and continued in his recovery successfully despite all this, but that does not always happen to victims of these kind of scams. "
People looking on the internet for substance abuse services for a loved one are a target for unscruplous vultures. Rehabs specialize in honing in the 'must act now at any cost' sales pitch, often promising anything over the phone. Once the contract is thrown infront of the abuser, he or she is usually in a vunerable state as well. Often the contract is sent to the parent or family member after the patient arrives and services are started and what arrives states nothing that was promised over the phone.
"Some people lose their life savings to Narconon and other rehab scams. This happens every day and it's not just Narconon ripping people off like this, although they control most of the web sites on the internet. It's not fair and the federal Trade Commission should do something about it." says Locatelli.
Lillian Weaver agrees. " I trusted these people. That was a big mistake."
Federal and state deceptive trade practice and telecommunication laws are not widely known or enforced, leaving victims as easy prey. Victims often find themselves put into debt without refund while they scramble for another program to get the willing loved one the care they need once they escape the bad program.
"I am paying the credit card balance Narconon lied about and told BBB that it had been refunded when it wasn't. To help my son after that fiasco, I've had to use up my savings for another program and my retirement money to repay the credit card balance Narconon is refusing to give me back. It was not supposed to be that way and it's just plain wrong. These people have no conscience at all" says Weaver.
From the mistakes of others, protect yourself and your loved ones
When a person goes to a substance abuse rehabilitation program, and pays dearly for it based upon claims made, one would expect it to be a safe, nurturing and effective program based upon tried and true traditional definition of therapy. That is often not the case these days. That is why the buyer must beware of internet and telephone
claims made those claiming to be rehab referral companies or hotlines or intervention specialists.
Locatelli suggests one "get your questions and answers in writing first. Then search on the internet for independent information at http://www.ripoffreports.com http://www.narcononvictims.com and http://narconon-exposed.org . Also check with your state alcohol and drug program complaint department."
Additionally, there are consumer driven complaint processes such as your county and state Consumer Affairs, and the Better Business Bureau who tend to side with the merchants but at least the number of complaints and their particulars are noted.
It's taken some victims years to get their money back and for many it's too exhausting and costly to pursue legal measures to get their day in court. Locatelli is the exception to the rule on filing her case in course herself. She hopes to inspire others to never give up,
too.
If you would like further information about this case or other victims of Narconon, write to contact@california-rehab-referral.com and don't forget to visit Narconon-Exposed and ripoffreport.com keyword search Narconon.
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/07/06/18605842.php
A lawsuit was filed in Nevada County, CA last week by a woman who paid for rehabilitation help for her then fiance, only to find out that she was repeatedly deceived and the services were dangerous and not as promised. Sarah Locatelli of Grass Valley, CA states the Narconon program using Scientology practices, made Daniel Locatelli subject to verbal attacks, often of an anti gay substance. He was denied medical care when he needed it and the staff kept him and his belongings against his will when he asked to leave. He finally escaped after 4 days.
The Locatelli vs Narconon Southern California, Narconon Joshua Hills et al complaint can be read in full here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/17118323/Locatelli-vs-Narconon-Southern-California-Narconon-Joshua-Hills-et-al
Background
Locatelli filed suit against Newport Beach's Narconon Southern California and Narconon Joshua Hills, then located at what is now the location of Narconon Palm Spring on Hopper Rd, Palm Desert Springs. It is now located at 82652 Lordsburg Dr in Indio Riverside County in CA . She filed the complaint after repeated requests for a refund were ignored.
Among the claims against the facilities and their employees and agents are breach of contract, fraud in the inducement, negligent misrepresentation and fraudulent misrepresentation. A referral help site unknowingly run by Narconon and it's agents is noted, as well as derogatory statements made to Mr. Locatelli during the 'therapy' which show a culture of hostility and intolerance.
Narconon is a part of the 'secular arm' of the Church of Scientology but the program is clearly all Scientology and has been for many years. Most aren't aware of this when visiting their web sites or talking with their intake people on the phone. As Locatelli came to find out, Narconon hides the fact outright. Records show that Narconon representatives tell victims they are not affiliated with Scientology when asked. Yet the program componients are the same as Scientology classes and texts, just repackaged differently.
There is a history of complaints against Narconon where this is voiced. Multiple unsuspecting victims in complaints filed with state agencies and in courts across the country over the last 10 years have complainted about the degrading nature of the routines, the false promises of therapy and human rights abuses victims were subjected to while there. Scientology is currently being sued by former staff members for similar and more horrific civil and human rights abuses and labor law violations in the state of California.
What is common and uncommon about this case:
The Locatelli family, like thousand of others, first became victims of Narconon and it's internet and telephone deceptive trade practices. Mrs. Locatelli did everything she could to locate the best care they could afford for Daniel yet he wound up in the care of The Church of Scientology without her even knowing it. She found what was supposed to be a referral hotline, which in fact is run by Narconon and it's agents for the sole purpose of sending it's victims to Narconon.
Mr. Locatelli, having attended both facilities for a total of 4 days, was held hostage held against his will, denied medical attention while ill and made to endure the church's questionable practices and it's hostility toward homosexuality and indifference to the most basic of civil and human rights. Due to the vulgar nature of the verbal attacks, the program training routine 'bullbaiting' quotes noted in the complaint will not be mentioned here.
Now, when one reads the complaint, it is obvious that the comments made during his time there were crude and offensive to anyone in what was supposed to be a professional setting to receive help for a problem. It does not matter whether Mr. Locatelli is gay or not, although he isn't. He was forced to listen to and accept the intolerant mocking comments levied at him because the Scientology based training routine prohibits one from being able to respond, lest one is made to endure all the more of it and then some. Throughout the whole time Daniel was there, the staff allowed the church's anti-homosexuality indoctrination to go on and even encouraged it.
http://www.washblade.com/2007/5-18/view/editorial/10592.cfm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality_and_Scientology">pro-scientology
In their attempts to help others avoid what happened to them, a web site was created by friends of Locatelli to warn others about Narconon and their internet scam, titled:
Narconon Is A Code Name for Scientology . You can see the documents that Mrs. Locatelli, then as fiancee Sarah Vogel, received after Mr. Locatelli arrived home, which she never signed here http://narcononfailedlovingnewdad.blogspot.com/
Narconon Joshua Hills Board of Directors - Names You May know:
Interestingly,Palm Springs and Las Vegas' WALK OF STARS and MOTION PICTURE HALL OF FAME directors - Danny Pharmer, Robert Alexander and Janie Hughes are listed as among the board of directors of Narconon Joshua Hills and are presumably going to be added to the list of defendents as the case progresses.
Tiffany Pharmer, the director of Narconon Joshua Hills, runs an assisted living home and is a real estate sales woman with Coldwell Banker's Yeoman Group in the Palms Springs area. Both Daniel and Tiffiany Pharmer are unlicensed substance abuse counselors and were required to train and be certified within 5 years but let their registration with California Association of Addiction Recovery Resources expire last December indicating that they were never trained as required.
Complaints influencial in the Narconon Newport Beach closure in 2010
Narconon Southern California,a subsidiary of Narconon International which orchestrated the internet, telephone and financial scheme, has a long history of complaints and of being a problem in the Newport Beach area. Mr. Locatelli was asked by The City of Newport Beach to provide an affidavit on his experience with Narconon being over capacity and because of this and the many other complaints, infractions and obvious disregard for the welfare of it's patients & the community, the city refused to approve it's use permit application. As a result, it's license to operate in the city expires February 28, 2010.
Their counselors are not CARF certified as their international website suggests. Narconon Exposed is well known web site dedicated to informing the public about Narconon and it's practices. Sadly, most people find it after they have been ripped off by Narconon.
Others victimized by a similar set of tactics:
Ripoffreport.com has over many complaints about Narconon listed and many of these
are about Narconon Southern California and it's Newport Beach facility. In reviewing documents related to complaints sent to state agencies about Narconon, a common theme emerges to back up what Locatelli states in her claims.
For instance, 75 year old California resident Lillian Weaver and E.K. of Washington State were each taken in by fake referral sites run by Narconon & it's affiliates, the false promises of appropriate medical care availability and forced unwanted Scientology practices they were never informed about in advance, which turned out to be the whole of the program. Unbeknownst to them and their loved ones was the knowledge that Scientology is hostile towards traditional medical and mental health practices. Both were kept against their will when they wanted to leave and Mrs. Weaver's son had his diabetes and thyroid medicines & glucometer withheld for 2 days upon entry, endangering his health especially as he lacked a thyroid to produce what the medicine was necessary for! E.K.'s daughter became ill from the mega doses of vitamins they put her on, causing her to become ill. Both parent's loved ones suffered physically and emotionally due to this, the deception and the facility's subsequent negligence against the one the loved one once they arrived.
E.K. sent his daughter to what was supposed to be a licensed, medically based traditional theraputic program in NV owned by Narconon of Southern California. Within days he found out that the facility and their counselors were not licensed, there were no medical professionals or care on site as promised for his daughter's all bladder disease which was exaserbated by the volumous amount of vitamins they insisted she ingest. She was so ill and in pain that he called and insisted they take his daughter to the airport so he could transport her to another rehab center or he would fly out and get her himself. He only received a refund when he reported the situation to the FBI Internet fraud unit, to all 3 state Attorney General offices and the NV licensing agencies.
States Vary in Regulations; The FBI Internet Fraud site is Helpful
For E.K., a Cease and Desist Order went out to the Narconon in NV for all unlicensed counselors and specifically to the executive director of their Narconon Rainbow Canyon facility, who had claimed on the internet to be licensed but was found to not. While owned by the Southern California organization, Nevada and it's stringent laws oversaw the matter for E.K. and Washington helped represent him as a constituent Locatelli says that she's had a complaint in with the California Alcohol and Drug program for over 1 year and they have a separate team investigating all complaints on Narconons in California. ADP is limited in oversite and underfunded, compounding the slow process on complaints.
ADP does, however, have a separate investigator on complaints about other programs using Narconon under different names, such as San Francisco County programs
New Life Center SF( aka Social Betterment Development Company / SBDC) and Alternative To Meds Center both of which are not licensed. ATMC was denied license and the City of San Francisco denied them a use permit for this unlicensed activity, but thy still operate to the dismay of the community. Both are considered dangerous programs. Recently a negligent death case was settled against New Life SF and owner Richard Prescott ( former director of Narconon Northern CA) after a patient committed suicide while on medication under poor supervision and nonexistent onsite medical care promised but not provided.
Locatelli went to Narconon to learn about drug and recover from them and found that there was no drug education nor traditional individual or group therapy as promised and required by the state of California. He was made to read materials written by Science fiction writer L Ron Hubbard and was supervised in the program steps by other patients called "students" instead of state required licensed substance abuse counselors. None of the counselors was licensed and the facility was overcrowded and in violation of local and county zoning laws.
The Little Hoover Commission and the Justin Foundation investigate and keep tabs on the state of affair of CA rehabs and have isolated the loopholes that tie the hands of state agencies and give bad programs the free reign to victimize consumers, providing low to no quality care substance abuse services. One should read these reports before going or sending a loved one to a rehab facility, especially in the state of California. ADP was unavailable for comment.
The cost is more than most and refunds are prevented at all costs.
Narconon, depending upon the center and the desperation for funds and financial constrains of the victims, can cost between $20,000 to $35,000 Of the $26,000 Mrs. Weaver paid Narconon Southern California, she so far has only received a $15,000 chargeback credit from Bank of America after their thorough investigation and consideration of all the facts. Discover VISA, however, refused to accept the documentation and statements, closing her case without any arbitration rights allowed. Narconon, however, wrote in response to Weaver's Better Business Bureau complaint, that she'd received all her money back from all credit cards, so Mrs. Weaver is still trying to get them to pay back the balance of $11,000 via BBB. It would cost her more to go to court than the amount of the claim, so she is avoiding that last as a last resort.
Locatelli can appreciate Weaver's efforts and the obstacles she went through. Her bank,
Washington Mutual , was on the verge of federal takeover at the time she requested her VISA refund. They had they audacity to deny the chargeback claim without even contacting the merchant Narconon for response. Her calls and letters to the bank, to the facilities and the Narconon reps fell on deaf ears and that is why she has resorted to suing both Narconon facilities. At ripoffreport.com, one can see that some have gotten their refunds while others not. Perseverence seems to be the key.
E.K. is one of the few who got his money without having to sign the traditional gag agreement, Although he promised not to badmouth Narconon, his complaint was already in the hands of others ( myself included )before the time of their settlement.
In E.K.'s case, his checks to "Narconon Nevada" were deposited into a Narconon of Southern California bank account in Las Vegas, NV instead of being sent to CA as he was told would happen. As they are not licensed in NV and their corporation status in NV was revoked last year, the settlement was probably made in part just to shut him up and make the problem go away. I have used that complaint as the basis of his information for this article, with his permission. You can read it in full here.
Mrs. Weaver says "Because of my son's medical problems, the referral Hotline gave our number to a man claiming to be a medical doctor who told us that Narconon was the best program to fit his needs. Well, "Dr. David Morris" of GA turned out to be a scientologist with an agenda - and a chiropractor, in violation of GA state Ciropractic disclosure laws."
There ought to be a law! Buyer Beware.
Locatelli says that the ordeal was " a terrible situation that no one should have to go through." They were fortunate that Daniel went right from that Narconon into an appropriate day program and continued in his recovery successfully despite all this, but that does not always happen to victims of these kind of scams. "
People looking on the internet for substance abuse services for a loved one are a target for unscruplous vultures. Rehabs specialize in honing in the 'must act now at any cost' sales pitch, often promising anything over the phone. Once the contract is thrown infront of the abuser, he or she is usually in a vunerable state as well. Often the contract is sent to the parent or family member after the patient arrives and services are started and what arrives states nothing that was promised over the phone.
"Some people lose their life savings to Narconon and other rehab scams. This happens every day and it's not just Narconon ripping people off like this, although they control most of the web sites on the internet. It's not fair and the federal Trade Commission should do something about it." says Locatelli.
Lillian Weaver agrees. " I trusted these people. That was a big mistake."
Federal and state deceptive trade practice and telecommunication laws are not widely known or enforced, leaving victims as easy prey. Victims often find themselves put into debt without refund while they scramble for another program to get the willing loved one the care they need once they escape the bad program.
"I am paying the credit card balance Narconon lied about and told BBB that it had been refunded when it wasn't. To help my son after that fiasco, I've had to use up my savings for another program and my retirement money to repay the credit card balance Narconon is refusing to give me back. It was not supposed to be that way and it's just plain wrong. These people have no conscience at all" says Weaver.
From the mistakes of others, protect yourself and your loved ones
When a person goes to a substance abuse rehabilitation program, and pays dearly for it based upon claims made, one would expect it to be a safe, nurturing and effective program based upon tried and true traditional definition of therapy. That is often not the case these days. That is why the buyer must beware of internet and telephone
claims made those claiming to be rehab referral companies or hotlines or intervention specialists.
Locatelli suggests one "get your questions and answers in writing first. Then search on the internet for independent information at http://www.ripoffreports.com http://www.narcononvictims.com and http://narconon-exposed.org . Also check with your state alcohol and drug program complaint department."
Additionally, there are consumer driven complaint processes such as your county and state Consumer Affairs, and the Better Business Bureau who tend to side with the merchants but at least the number of complaints and their particulars are noted.
It's taken some victims years to get their money back and for many it's too exhausting and costly to pursue legal measures to get their day in court. Locatelli is the exception to the rule on filing her case in course herself. She hopes to inspire others to never give up,
too.
If you would like further information about this case or other victims of Narconon, write to contact@california-rehab-referral.com and don't forget to visit Narconon-Exposed and ripoffreport.com keyword search Narconon.
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/07/06/18605842.php
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Citizens Fight Scientology NarCONon Frauds Again
When Scientology moves one of their frauds in to town, the quality of life of normal citizens suffers greatly -- always. When it's one of their frauduelnt quack medical frauds they call "NarCONon" moving in, the crime rate soars, police call-outs increase, and local hospitcal emergency rooms get twice the emergency call-outs for non-paying treatment than before Scientology.
These scumbag criminals should be in prison, not being allowed to commit fraud across the country like this.
Brooksville neighbors fight residential "drug rehab" run by Church of Scientology
By Barbara Behrendt, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Sunday, June 7, 2009
http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/article1007913.ece
BROOKSVILLE -- Teena Fager used to enjoy her back yard, but that was before the new neighbors moved in behind her.
What really put her off was the night earlier this year when she heard yelling coming from the property along her back lot line.
"It was some guy," she said. "It was like someone being tortured."
Fager prepared to call 911, but then she heard other voices -- women and men laughing.
It made her uneasy, and she doesn't use her back yard anymore.
She's not alone in her fear.
In August, the 3-acre site behind Fager's home was bought by Toucan Partners LLC, a firm with ties to the Church of Scientology. The elderly residents who previously had inhabited the small assisted living facility were moved out.
They were replaced with drug and alcohol addicts seeking rehabilitation under the care of [Scientology] Narconon of Spring Hill, an organization affiliated with the Church of Scientology. The facility is called the Suncoast Rehabilitation Center and is on Cessna Drive.
On Tuesday, Fager and her neighbors plan to ask the County Commission to deny the operators of the treatment facility permission to expand from two to five buildings and from 22 to 54 beds. Neighbors say that a county staff member should never have given permission for the old assisted living facility to be turned into a drug rehabilitation center.
Commissioners agreed to hear the case at the request of concerned residents. Previously, the county Planning and Zoning Commission approved a special exception that would allow the addition of the two new dormitories, an administration building and various swimming and sports facilities.
Originally, the property was part of a larger tract of 11.6 acres. And years ago, the county granted permission to place 15 buildings and 150 beds for congregate living on the larger piece of property.
Knowing that the treatment center was affiliated with Scientology, Fager was concerned about the nature of the program offered there. Recently, the center's director, Eric Mitchell, gave her a tour.
During the tour, Mitchell assured her that the center wants to cooperate with the community and that the work the center does helps many people get off drugs and alcohol. [Which is a lie and deliberate fraud.]
The center's Web site describes a program in which an addict is helped to kick his or her addiction by using vitamins, sauna treatments and exercise [which doesn't work.] Drugs are not used to assist with the withdrawal [actually they routinely are used which is why these crooks have been indicted in the past however nothing Scientology tries works.]
Mitchell has said that the program includes voluntary participants who average a 90- to 120-day stay. None are there through court order. It is not like an affiliated medical detoxification center in New Port Richey where patients stay for about seven days through the acute withdrawal stages.
Mitchell said he has invited people to visit the facility and wants people to know that the center is currently sponsoring drug education and prevention activities in the county [more attempted fraud.] He also noted that the center has widespread support locally from residents and businesses [another lie and attempted fraud.]
Shawn Jones, a 31-year-old patient at the rehab center, said residents shouldn't be concerned about the people seeking help there. They are all there voluntarily. "There is nobody that doesn't want to be here," he said.
Jones, a Florida resident who was a cocaine user, said that the program had changed his life. "I feel better than I have ever in my whole life," he said [of course he was ordered to say stuff like that by Scientology's ringleaders least they not sign his "voluntary" court-ordered release papers.]
Fager said that after seeing the facility and talking to people there, she still plans to aggressively oppose the expansion. As an official with her neighborhood's crime watch, her security concerns have not been answered sufficiently, she said.
She has been helping her cousin, Sandy DeConinck, who has been going door to door gathering signatures to present to the commission.
DeConinck said that the exercise has allowed her to educate neighbors about what is planned. "I kind of feel like there is strength in numbers," she said. "A lot of people are uninformed."
Like others in the area, she worries about her property value and hopes that county commissioners will take a hard look at the project.
"I'm hoping that the elected officials will take a look at this and do the right thing for the people who put them in office," DeConinck
said.
Other neighbors have expressed concerns that the patients from the center have come onto their property or that they wander through the neighborhood at night. One told county officials that the patients seemed to be scoping out mailboxes and homes throughout the area.
Neighbor Thomas Cooper has written to county commissioners and to Sheriff Richard Nugent. Cooper, whose wife is disabled, said he worries about security. His swimming pool, which his wife needs for therapy, is just 18 feet from the fence around the treatment center.
"It's sort of an alarm to me," Cooper said, noting that the community is full of elderly residents and children. "It's a nice neighborhood. Why don't they take it down to Tampa? We certainly don't need it here."
Barbara Behrendt
These scumbag criminals should be in prison, not being allowed to commit fraud across the country like this.
Brooksville neighbors fight residential "drug rehab" run by Church of Scientology
By Barbara Behrendt, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Sunday, June 7, 2009
http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/article1007913.ece
BROOKSVILLE -- Teena Fager used to enjoy her back yard, but that was before the new neighbors moved in behind her.
What really put her off was the night earlier this year when she heard yelling coming from the property along her back lot line.
"It was some guy," she said. "It was like someone being tortured."
Fager prepared to call 911, but then she heard other voices -- women and men laughing.
It made her uneasy, and she doesn't use her back yard anymore.
She's not alone in her fear.
In August, the 3-acre site behind Fager's home was bought by Toucan Partners LLC, a firm with ties to the Church of Scientology. The elderly residents who previously had inhabited the small assisted living facility were moved out.
They were replaced with drug and alcohol addicts seeking rehabilitation under the care of [Scientology] Narconon of Spring Hill, an organization affiliated with the Church of Scientology. The facility is called the Suncoast Rehabilitation Center and is on Cessna Drive.
On Tuesday, Fager and her neighbors plan to ask the County Commission to deny the operators of the treatment facility permission to expand from two to five buildings and from 22 to 54 beds. Neighbors say that a county staff member should never have given permission for the old assisted living facility to be turned into a drug rehabilitation center.
Commissioners agreed to hear the case at the request of concerned residents. Previously, the county Planning and Zoning Commission approved a special exception that would allow the addition of the two new dormitories, an administration building and various swimming and sports facilities.
Originally, the property was part of a larger tract of 11.6 acres. And years ago, the county granted permission to place 15 buildings and 150 beds for congregate living on the larger piece of property.
Knowing that the treatment center was affiliated with Scientology, Fager was concerned about the nature of the program offered there. Recently, the center's director, Eric Mitchell, gave her a tour.
During the tour, Mitchell assured her that the center wants to cooperate with the community and that the work the center does helps many people get off drugs and alcohol. [Which is a lie and deliberate fraud.]
The center's Web site describes a program in which an addict is helped to kick his or her addiction by using vitamins, sauna treatments and exercise [which doesn't work.] Drugs are not used to assist with the withdrawal [actually they routinely are used which is why these crooks have been indicted in the past however nothing Scientology tries works.]
Mitchell has said that the program includes voluntary participants who average a 90- to 120-day stay. None are there through court order. It is not like an affiliated medical detoxification center in New Port Richey where patients stay for about seven days through the acute withdrawal stages.
Mitchell said he has invited people to visit the facility and wants people to know that the center is currently sponsoring drug education and prevention activities in the county [more attempted fraud.] He also noted that the center has widespread support locally from residents and businesses [another lie and attempted fraud.]
Shawn Jones, a 31-year-old patient at the rehab center, said residents shouldn't be concerned about the people seeking help there. They are all there voluntarily. "There is nobody that doesn't want to be here," he said.
Jones, a Florida resident who was a cocaine user, said that the program had changed his life. "I feel better than I have ever in my whole life," he said [of course he was ordered to say stuff like that by Scientology's ringleaders least they not sign his "voluntary" court-ordered release papers.]
Fager said that after seeing the facility and talking to people there, she still plans to aggressively oppose the expansion. As an official with her neighborhood's crime watch, her security concerns have not been answered sufficiently, she said.
She has been helping her cousin, Sandy DeConinck, who has been going door to door gathering signatures to present to the commission.
DeConinck said that the exercise has allowed her to educate neighbors about what is planned. "I kind of feel like there is strength in numbers," she said. "A lot of people are uninformed."
Like others in the area, she worries about her property value and hopes that county commissioners will take a hard look at the project.
"I'm hoping that the elected officials will take a look at this and do the right thing for the people who put them in office," DeConinck
said.
Other neighbors have expressed concerns that the patients from the center have come onto their property or that they wander through the neighborhood at night. One told county officials that the patients seemed to be scoping out mailboxes and homes throughout the area.
Neighbor Thomas Cooper has written to county commissioners and to Sheriff Richard Nugent. Cooper, whose wife is disabled, said he worries about security. His swimming pool, which his wife needs for therapy, is just 18 feet from the fence around the treatment center.
"It's sort of an alarm to me," Cooper said, noting that the community is full of elderly residents and children. "It's a nice neighborhood. Why don't they take it down to Tampa? We certainly don't need it here."
Barbara Behrendt
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Scientology NarCONon Fraud in France
From Le Figaro:
http://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/2009/06/02/01016-20090602ARTFIG00595-scientologie-les-responsables-s-expliquent-.php
Those in charge explain
Judged at Paris with other adherents, Aline Fabre, director of the "purification" cure, said it is done after consulting a doctor.
In front of the microphone, topped by a severe bun and wearing a rather outdated outfit, Aline Fabre didn't make much of an impression. Her hearing, which opened the second week of the trial of Scientology in Paris, on Tuesday allowed the court to address some of the charges against some of the six people under investigation: the illegal practice of pharmacy.
Since 1994, Aline Fabre, who earned between 100 and 150 euros per week, has been the Paris director of the purification cure that members of Scientology have to do As described a few days ago by Aude-Claire Malton a former follower who has since filed a complaint, it involves many days of alternation between running, five-hour sauna sessions and doses of vitamins -- a program Aude-Claire Malton said was exhausting and disturbed her stomach.
According to Aline Fabre, the sauna "is a religious practice and the bottom line is sweating," said the woman of 42, and continued: "This is done to spiritually free people of chemical residues." Indeed, she followed the program herself and was certain a "mental fog" had lifted. But above all, she claimed that following the sauna treatment never caused a problem for 13,000 people. Aline Fabre explained that the entire responsibility rests on the shoulders of doctors. Before starting the program and "non- cure", as she called it, each person is supposed to consult their medical GP, who must assess whether he opposes it or finds it isn't indicated.*
"We must not interpret the Scriptures"
The sauna administrator thus relies on doctors and also shelters herself behind the doctrines of L. Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology. One of his books gives the precise doses of vitamins to take. Aline Fabre says she follows the recipes of the master. "The basic rule is that we must not interpret the Scriptures," she says. However, the prosecutor reminded her that others had described her as being far more active in the program. "They say you have control," said the public minister.
The President was interviewed shortly before about the opportunity to have new members tested immediately after the cure. "Considering the state of fatigue, it appears this did not work," says Sophie Helen Castle in considering a possible ulterior objective: to encourage frustrated members always to buy more courses. After some weeks and months, Aude-Claire Malton had spent 21,342 euros. "Ms. Malton was very pleased to have completed the program," said Aline Fabre.
Moments after his testimony, Alain Rosenberg, who presented in the motion to dismiss as the general manager of the center of Scientology in Paris, defined himself as 'an ecclesiastical coordinator.' "I am a man of the Church," he added, "not a CEO. The Church of Scientology is not a business."
*NOTE: I was told by a guy who did the Purification Rundown that he was sent to Dr. Claude Boublil to get approval -- but was NOT told the doctor was a Scientologist!
http://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/2009/06/02/01016-20090602ARTFIG00595-scientologie-les-responsables-s-expliquent-.php
Those in charge explain
Judged at Paris with other adherents, Aline Fabre, director of the "purification" cure, said it is done after consulting a doctor.
In front of the microphone, topped by a severe bun and wearing a rather outdated outfit, Aline Fabre didn't make much of an impression. Her hearing, which opened the second week of the trial of Scientology in Paris, on Tuesday allowed the court to address some of the charges against some of the six people under investigation: the illegal practice of pharmacy.
Since 1994, Aline Fabre, who earned between 100 and 150 euros per week, has been the Paris director of the purification cure that members of Scientology have to do As described a few days ago by Aude-Claire Malton a former follower who has since filed a complaint, it involves many days of alternation between running, five-hour sauna sessions and doses of vitamins -- a program Aude-Claire Malton said was exhausting and disturbed her stomach.
According to Aline Fabre, the sauna "is a religious practice and the bottom line is sweating," said the woman of 42, and continued: "This is done to spiritually free people of chemical residues." Indeed, she followed the program herself and was certain a "mental fog" had lifted. But above all, she claimed that following the sauna treatment never caused a problem for 13,000 people. Aline Fabre explained that the entire responsibility rests on the shoulders of doctors. Before starting the program and "non- cure", as she called it, each person is supposed to consult their medical GP, who must assess whether he opposes it or finds it isn't indicated.*
"We must not interpret the Scriptures"
The sauna administrator thus relies on doctors and also shelters herself behind the doctrines of L. Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology. One of his books gives the precise doses of vitamins to take. Aline Fabre says she follows the recipes of the master. "The basic rule is that we must not interpret the Scriptures," she says. However, the prosecutor reminded her that others had described her as being far more active in the program. "They say you have control," said the public minister.
The President was interviewed shortly before about the opportunity to have new members tested immediately after the cure. "Considering the state of fatigue, it appears this did not work," says Sophie Helen Castle in considering a possible ulterior objective: to encourage frustrated members always to buy more courses. After some weeks and months, Aude-Claire Malton had spent 21,342 euros. "Ms. Malton was very pleased to have completed the program," said Aline Fabre.
Moments after his testimony, Alain Rosenberg, who presented in the motion to dismiss as the general manager of the center of Scientology in Paris, defined himself as 'an ecclesiastical coordinator.' "I am a man of the Church," he added, "not a CEO. The Church of Scientology is not a business."
*NOTE: I was told by a guy who did the Purification Rundown that he was sent to Dr. Claude Boublil to get approval -- but was NOT told the doctor was a Scientologist!
Monday, April 27, 2009
Scientology's NarCONon talks about the Scientology secret Police
View Video Part One Here
View all 11 parts and more on Narconon here atYouTube - NarcononSeattle's Channel
NarCONon Seattle Channel
From: NarcononSeattle
November 11, 2008
Scientology's NarCONon talks about the Scientology secret Police, part 1:
Narconon of Georgia uses the dangerous and useless sauna detoxification system made up by L. Ron Hubbard.
The Oklahoma State Board of Mental Health found that "No scientifically well-controlled independent, long-term outcome studies were found that directly and clearly establish the effectiveness of the Narconon program for the treatment of chemical dependency and the more credible evidence establishes Narconon's program is not effective."
Narconon International shares the Los Angeles address and suite number of ABLE (Association for Better Living and Education). ABLE is a well known Scientology front organization. The words "Scientology" and "Dianetics" are carefully avoided in all Narconon promotional literature, and Narconon attempts to present itself as something separate from Scientology and Dianetics, but the curriculum gives the game away. The Narconon "New Life" program is basically an 8 part introduction to Scientology.
All about Scientology and the totally independent Narconon drug rehab program run by Scientologists for Scientology. For more information about Narconon visit:
NarCONon Exposed!
View all 11 parts and more on Narconon here atYouTube - NarcononSeattle's Channel
NarCONon Seattle Channel
From: NarcononSeattle
November 11, 2008
Scientology's NarCONon talks about the Scientology secret Police, part 1:
Narconon of Georgia uses the dangerous and useless sauna detoxification system made up by L. Ron Hubbard.
The Oklahoma State Board of Mental Health found that "No scientifically well-controlled independent, long-term outcome studies were found that directly and clearly establish the effectiveness of the Narconon program for the treatment of chemical dependency and the more credible evidence establishes Narconon's program is not effective."
Narconon International shares the Los Angeles address and suite number of ABLE (Association for Better Living and Education). ABLE is a well known Scientology front organization. The words "Scientology" and "Dianetics" are carefully avoided in all Narconon promotional literature, and Narconon attempts to present itself as something separate from Scientology and Dianetics, but the curriculum gives the game away. The Narconon "New Life" program is basically an 8 part introduction to Scientology.
All about Scientology and the totally independent Narconon drug rehab program run by Scientologists for Scientology. For more information about Narconon visit:
NarCONon Exposed!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Vince Daniels Exposes Scientology's NarCONon Frauds
Back in 2007, a guy named Vince Daniels ran a radio show from Riverside County. Vinnie's an eclectic guy, and his talk show reflected that. It was a blend of music and a wide variety of topics; things Vinnie thought were interesting and of importance.
One day, Vinnie was approached by a guy named Richard Behaser (IIRC) who'd spent around $26,000 up front to send his kid to Narconon Stone Hawk in Michigan. Richard Behaser received a call from his son; he'd been kicked out of the program and transported to a seedy motel miles from anywhere. Dumped off there with only $10, at a motel with a history of drug activity, he called home. Behaser drove hours to retrieve him and, when he tried to get a refund, Per Wickstrom, head of Stone Hawk, refused. And Vinnie decided to do a show about it.
Wickstrom's refusal to return Mr. Behaser's money put both him and his son in a quandary. The young man needed help, and now, Behaser couldn't afford another rehab.
I think Per Wickstrom only did the one show, and Vinnie hammered him. Wickstrom utilized every slimy evasion in the book, and Vinnie held him to the subject at hand. Behaser's complaint rang out on the radio loud and clear. Vinnie scheduled him for another show; and hours before it was to air, Wickstrom refunded his money with a gag order. Vinnie was furious. He felt used, and also stressed at having to fill three hours of show without his guest.
Then, Per Wickstrom scheduled a block of shows on KCAA which aired at 6:00 am on Saturday mornings. He actually flew to California from Michigan to do this. As a result, Vinnie reopened the Narconon topic, and a number of other parents who'd experienced the same thing with Narconon Stone Hawk called in. A number of OG got involved, and Vinnie's show spread the word about the fraudulent, dangerous program, abuses at other Narconons around the country, and the ties between Narconon and Scientology.
The series of shows is still worth listening to. Not long after, Vinnie pulled the plug on 'The Many Moods of Vince Daniels,' and Scientology took credit for ending the show.
The podcasts of his shows were still available on Vince Daniels. I just got word that, as of May 1, 2009, Vinnie's website will be no more. After entertaining several offers, Vince is quitting the radio biz. Health issues, potential stress, and a dislike in the direction commercial radio has gone have all played a part in his decision.
Vinnie deserves credit; for broaching the Narconon issue, for standing up to Scientology's heavy handed attempts at shutting him up, and for refusing to be intimidated.
Some of his Narconon programs are still available on XenuTV's Youtube channel.
YouTube - Scientology: Vince Daniels - Stonehawk Debate - Pt 1
NarCONon scam Part 1
This is part 1 of a 4 part program. Links to the other segments are listed on the page.
So, Vinnie, good luck with your future endeavors. I wish you were still around to cover the collapse of Narconon StoneHawk, Per Wickstrom's morphing it into 'A Forever Recovery,' the issues in Riverside regarding an unconstitutional ordinance, 884, and the apparent corruption of Supervisor Jeff Stone. I know you would have covered these stories real well. Still, you did what you could do, helped those you could help, and informed a hell of a lot of people.
You had the guts to cover something most hosts would avoid like the plague. So long, and thanks for all the fish!
--
Barb
Chaplain, ARSCCwdne
One day, Vinnie was approached by a guy named Richard Behaser (IIRC) who'd spent around $26,000 up front to send his kid to Narconon Stone Hawk in Michigan. Richard Behaser received a call from his son; he'd been kicked out of the program and transported to a seedy motel miles from anywhere. Dumped off there with only $10, at a motel with a history of drug activity, he called home. Behaser drove hours to retrieve him and, when he tried to get a refund, Per Wickstrom, head of Stone Hawk, refused. And Vinnie decided to do a show about it.
Wickstrom's refusal to return Mr. Behaser's money put both him and his son in a quandary. The young man needed help, and now, Behaser couldn't afford another rehab.
I think Per Wickstrom only did the one show, and Vinnie hammered him. Wickstrom utilized every slimy evasion in the book, and Vinnie held him to the subject at hand. Behaser's complaint rang out on the radio loud and clear. Vinnie scheduled him for another show; and hours before it was to air, Wickstrom refunded his money with a gag order. Vinnie was furious. He felt used, and also stressed at having to fill three hours of show without his guest.
Then, Per Wickstrom scheduled a block of shows on KCAA which aired at 6:00 am on Saturday mornings. He actually flew to California from Michigan to do this. As a result, Vinnie reopened the Narconon topic, and a number of other parents who'd experienced the same thing with Narconon Stone Hawk called in. A number of OG got involved, and Vinnie's show spread the word about the fraudulent, dangerous program, abuses at other Narconons around the country, and the ties between Narconon and Scientology.
The series of shows is still worth listening to. Not long after, Vinnie pulled the plug on 'The Many Moods of Vince Daniels,' and Scientology took credit for ending the show.
The podcasts of his shows were still available on Vince Daniels. I just got word that, as of May 1, 2009, Vinnie's website will be no more. After entertaining several offers, Vince is quitting the radio biz. Health issues, potential stress, and a dislike in the direction commercial radio has gone have all played a part in his decision.
Vinnie deserves credit; for broaching the Narconon issue, for standing up to Scientology's heavy handed attempts at shutting him up, and for refusing to be intimidated.
Some of his Narconon programs are still available on XenuTV's Youtube channel.
YouTube - Scientology: Vince Daniels - Stonehawk Debate - Pt 1
NarCONon scam Part 1
This is part 1 of a 4 part program. Links to the other segments are listed on the page.
So, Vinnie, good luck with your future endeavors. I wish you were still around to cover the collapse of Narconon StoneHawk, Per Wickstrom's morphing it into 'A Forever Recovery,' the issues in Riverside regarding an unconstitutional ordinance, 884, and the apparent corruption of Supervisor Jeff Stone. I know you would have covered these stories real well. Still, you did what you could do, helped those you could help, and informed a hell of a lot of people.
You had the guts to cover something most hosts would avoid like the plague. So long, and thanks for all the fish!
--
Barb
Chaplain, ARSCCwdne
Monday, April 13, 2009
Scientology NarCONon Destroys Neighborhoods
And the scams and frauds of these Scientology criminals continues. At least local citizens are getting more aware of what Scientology is and what it does to the point that they're fighting back.
Take a look at this Tampabay article covering the latest citizens effort to put a stop to these Scientology criminals:
Scientology's "NarCONon destroys neighborhoods
If you check any town where Scientology has snuck in one of their fake "drug treatment" frauds, the quality of life has dropped, the emergency rooms are stuffed full of Scientology vistims (all without medical insurance) and the police call-outs to these Scientology business offices take up a large precent of the overall police effort.
And the insane crooks keep getting away with it.
Take a look at this Tampabay article covering the latest citizens effort to put a stop to these Scientology criminals:
Scientology's "NarCONon destroys neighborhoods
"To us, it's ruined our lifestyle already."
If you check any town where Scientology has snuck in one of their fake "drug treatment" frauds, the quality of life has dropped, the emergency rooms are stuffed full of Scientology vistims (all without medical insurance) and the police call-outs to these Scientology business offices take up a large precent of the overall police effort.
And the insane crooks keep getting away with it.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Scientology Spokesman Admits Xenu Fraud Is Scientology
The amazing, embarrassing video of Scientology crim boss Tommy Davis admitting that the Xenu bait-and-switch bunko frauid that Scientology sells can be found here at the KESQ web site:
Coverage of Scientology scam
Indy Media coverage of this story
Tommy Davis admits to Xenu
Scoop Coverage
Coverage of Scientology scam
Indy Media coverage of this story
Tommy Davis admits to Xenu
Scoop Coverage
Monday, February 16, 2009
Scientology NarCONon Frauds and Altered Photographs
The notorious Scientology Corporation has been caught repeatedly doctoring photographs and forging fake "studies" to try to rook and swindle people in to thinking that their criminal enterprise is legitimate and that it works, so much so that the insane criminals were caught trying to create more customers than they actually had that they became known as the "Cult With No Heads" Washington Post Coverage of Scientology Phoptographic Frauds
Well now Anonymous has uncovered some more Scientology photograph fgraud, this time the insane crooks are cutting and pasting dismembered waving arms to try to make their frauds look more popular than they actually are. Get a load of this:
Photographic evidence discussion
This is typical of Scientology and their endless fake fronts. It's always a fraud with Scientology, always an insane scam, always something scummy and criminal. Always.
Well now Anonymous has uncovered some more Scientology photograph fgraud, this time the insane crooks are cutting and pasting dismembered waving arms to try to make their frauds look more popular than they actually are. Get a load of this:
Photographic evidence discussion
This is typical of Scientology and their endless fake fronts. It's always a fraud with Scientology, always an insane scam, always something scummy and criminal. Always.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
KRQE Reports Police Catch Scientology NarCONon Criminals In The Act!
The original News 13 report!
Definately click on the link for the original news article and post a comment about this latest Scientology "NarCONon" crime. In extract:
The full article is available here:
Scientology NarCONon Crimnials Caught
THIS IS SCIENTOLOGY'S NARCONON, FOLKS! Organized crime mobsters sneaking around in the dark trying to evade police. That's Scientology. That's NarCONon.
Definately click on the link for the original news article and post a comment about this latest Scientology "NarCONon" crime. In extract:
ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Under cover of darkness Wednesday the troubled Second Chance rehab center mysteriously shuttled nearly 50 patients or inmates away from its facility just ahead of a deadline to explain who it's been housing.
Albuquerque police who put the West Mesa facility under surveillance said they witnessed the bizarre twist in the Second Chance saga early Wednesday. Later in the day the rehab program was under a 5 p.m. deadline to document all its inmates and clients to the city of Albuquerque.
The full article is available here:
Scientology NarCONon Crimnials Caught
THIS IS SCIENTOLOGY'S NARCONON, FOLKS! Organized crime mobsters sneaking around in the dark trying to evade police. That's Scientology. That's NarCONon.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Dope Dealers Must Have Loved Scientology's Narconon Scam
The notorious Scientology Corporation runs a fake “drug treatment” they call “NarCONon” which is a scam dreamed up by their drug-addled conman messiah L. Ron Hubbard.
Though the scam is worthless and does not assist people to get off of drugs or alcohol, the scam costs a great deal of money with something around $20,000 U. S. Dollars being the typical amount of money the crooks rook and swindle out of drug and alcohol addicts. Money is what drives the Scientology crooks here, not some altruistic desire to help people.
There is a level of irony here that can’t be overlooked.
These days almost everyone knows that Scientology’s “NarCONon” is a fraud and that it does not work. On rare occasion some politician who hasn’t done him homework will hand the crooks our tax dollars only to be massively embarrassed when his or her lack of responsibility and incompetence is exposed in public.
A good example of this was in New Mexico recently shortly after a University study showed that Scientology’s scam did –worse—at helping people get off drugs than doing nothing at all.
http://www.lcsun-news.com/ci_11158958
http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-opinion/ci_11199888
http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2008/12/purged_from_sf_schools_in_2005.php
A number of YouTube videos covering the latest massive exposure of Scientology’s fraud soon sprang up, further assisting in disseminating the truth about Scientology.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkD6lpP9-CM
Here’s the irony: Dope dealers must have loved Scientology’s “NarCONon” scam for many years, right up until the truth about it being a scam started getting so widely exposed on the Internet.
The last thing that a dope dealer or drug pusher wants is for an effective methodology to be developed that gets people off of drugs, and the second to the last thing they would want is customers getting cured. A cured customer is no longer a customer and thus along comes Scientology which –deliberately— diverts drug addicts away from legitimate treatments and organizations that actually work, organizations such as Narcotics Anonymous.
http://www.na.org/
Scientology’s frauds kept people from getting help, thus Scientology kept people purchasing illegal narcotics, thus dope dealers must have really loved Scientology.
Now that Scientology’s “NarCONon” frauds are so well know, Scientology’s ability to assist dope dealers’ revenues are virtually non-existent.
Though the scam is worthless and does not assist people to get off of drugs or alcohol, the scam costs a great deal of money with something around $20,000 U. S. Dollars being the typical amount of money the crooks rook and swindle out of drug and alcohol addicts. Money is what drives the Scientology crooks here, not some altruistic desire to help people.
There is a level of irony here that can’t be overlooked.
These days almost everyone knows that Scientology’s “NarCONon” is a fraud and that it does not work. On rare occasion some politician who hasn’t done him homework will hand the crooks our tax dollars only to be massively embarrassed when his or her lack of responsibility and incompetence is exposed in public.
A good example of this was in New Mexico recently shortly after a University study showed that Scientology’s scam did –worse—at helping people get off drugs than doing nothing at all.
http://www.lcsun-news.com/ci_11158958
http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-opinion/ci_11199888
http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2008/12/purged_from_sf_schools_in_2005.php
A number of YouTube videos covering the latest massive exposure of Scientology’s fraud soon sprang up, further assisting in disseminating the truth about Scientology.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkD6lpP9-CM
Here’s the irony: Dope dealers must have loved Scientology’s “NarCONon” scam for many years, right up until the truth about it being a scam started getting so widely exposed on the Internet.
The last thing that a dope dealer or drug pusher wants is for an effective methodology to be developed that gets people off of drugs, and the second to the last thing they would want is customers getting cured. A cured customer is no longer a customer and thus along comes Scientology which –deliberately— diverts drug addicts away from legitimate treatments and organizations that actually work, organizations such as Narcotics Anonymous.
http://www.na.org/
Scientology’s frauds kept people from getting help, thus Scientology kept people purchasing illegal narcotics, thus dope dealers must have really loved Scientology.
Now that Scientology’s “NarCONon” frauds are so well know, Scientology’s ability to assist dope dealers’ revenues are virtually non-existent.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Scientology Lunatic Goes Apeshit in Public Restaurant
Scientology Lunatic Goes Apeshit in Public Restaurant
Holy Xenu, Batman, grab the Prozac and break out the restraints! Another lunatic Scientology customer has been video taped yarking off insanely once again, but this time it’s not Heterosexual Tom Cruise!
If you haven’t seen the amazing video yet, definitely do so. The URL to the video is provided here and it is certainly worth taking a look at. If you watch this, come back here and I’ll explain what happened:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvLbdYJZKH4
What happened was the human rights and civil rights advocacy group “Anonymous” had teamed up with members of the ARSCC (which does not exist) to picket and protest against the notoriously criminal Scientology Corporation’s human rights, civil rights, and criminal abuses.
One of the information fliers that Anonymous had been handing out was about the Scientology Corporation’s dead conman messiah L. Ron Hubbard and his fictitious military career. Hubbard had made all kinds of insane claims about having been some kind of war hero when in fact he was a failed, incompetent idiot who had to be relieved of command TWICE and never saw a minute of combat.
JSwift had tested the screaming Scientology idiot's claim that he (the screaming Scientology idiot) had been in the military and thus asked the clown about Hubbard's "purple star" to see if he (the screaming Scientology idiot) would correct him. Thyat appears to have set the insane lunatic off enough to spew off about Hubbard's actual military career.
The criminal ringleaders and crime bosses who run the Scientology Corporation today persist in selling their dwindling supply of rubes, marks, and suckers who still purchase their bait-and-switch bunko frauds all the old insane L. Ron Hubbard claims, all of which had been exposed decades ago as being outright lies.
Well an Anonymous flier offered the evidence which made this frothingly insane Scientology customer go apeshit in public where all could see what Scientology does to otherwise normal, sane people.
Why? Why was the Scientology customer shitting himself in anger and on the edge of breaking out in to tears? (Not to mention on the edge of breaking out in to another violent criminal act against citizens for which Scientology’s ringleaders are so well known.)
At issue is the insane claim that Hubbard was nearly killed in combat during World War 2 and that only through the magic of Dianetics a.k.a. Scientology “auditing” and “training routines” et al., Hubbard managed to cure himself thus the frauds, racketeering, extortion, blackmail, kidnapping, murder, money laundering, and everything else Scientology engages in on a daily basis is all worth it.
Scientology customers who are faced with the truth – that Hubbard was never in combat leave alone injured leave alone cured through the miracle of Scientology “processing” are forced to admit to themselves that they have been defrauded and swindled, untold amounts of money handed over to the criminal enterprise, all predicated upon what was in retrospect an obvious suit of lies.
So naturally when this Scientology customer was confronted with the truth, reality met cult indoctrination which debunked years of belief, effort, and lost money. The result wasn’t to stomp over to his crime boss and demand his money back, the result was to spew insane hate at the people who had dared to open his eyes to the truth.
Scientology preys upon people who are marginally sane and preys upon people who are otherwise normal, rational, and good hearted people. Unfortunately Scientology turns people in to utter lunatics the likes of which is so amusingly exhibited by Heterosexual Tom Cruise, Kirsty Alley, and to a lesser degree John Travolta.
Enter the Scientology fraud called “NarCONon.” Hubbard was a criminal who died while on the lam fleeing Federal prosecutors. His lies, frauds, and scams were the result of his criminal insanity, all of which was the result of decades of drug and alcohol abuse.
I mention this because the chain of events that lead up to this idiot screaming insanely like some street corner lunatic had its genesis in Hubbard’s drug and alcohol addiction which his own “NarCONon” fraud was utterly incapable of solving.
Scientology is organized crime. The criminal enterprise sells frauds from end to end and gives nothing back to society but destroyed families, destroyed local economies, dead customers, and ruined lives. This insane lunatic screaming in a restaurant is the extreme end of the Scientology Bell Curve but most of its remaining customers –- all 40,000 of them world wide – are nuts.
Holy Xenu, Batman, grab the Prozac and break out the restraints! Another lunatic Scientology customer has been video taped yarking off insanely once again, but this time it’s not Heterosexual Tom Cruise!
If you haven’t seen the amazing video yet, definitely do so. The URL to the video is provided here and it is certainly worth taking a look at. If you watch this, come back here and I’ll explain what happened:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvLbdYJZKH4
What happened was the human rights and civil rights advocacy group “Anonymous” had teamed up with members of the ARSCC (which does not exist) to picket and protest against the notoriously criminal Scientology Corporation’s human rights, civil rights, and criminal abuses.
One of the information fliers that Anonymous had been handing out was about the Scientology Corporation’s dead conman messiah L. Ron Hubbard and his fictitious military career. Hubbard had made all kinds of insane claims about having been some kind of war hero when in fact he was a failed, incompetent idiot who had to be relieved of command TWICE and never saw a minute of combat.
JSwift had tested the screaming Scientology idiot's claim that he (the screaming Scientology idiot) had been in the military and thus asked the clown about Hubbard's "purple star" to see if he (the screaming Scientology idiot) would correct him. Thyat appears to have set the insane lunatic off enough to spew off about Hubbard's actual military career.
The criminal ringleaders and crime bosses who run the Scientology Corporation today persist in selling their dwindling supply of rubes, marks, and suckers who still purchase their bait-and-switch bunko frauds all the old insane L. Ron Hubbard claims, all of which had been exposed decades ago as being outright lies.
Well an Anonymous flier offered the evidence which made this frothingly insane Scientology customer go apeshit in public where all could see what Scientology does to otherwise normal, sane people.
Why? Why was the Scientology customer shitting himself in anger and on the edge of breaking out in to tears? (Not to mention on the edge of breaking out in to another violent criminal act against citizens for which Scientology’s ringleaders are so well known.)
At issue is the insane claim that Hubbard was nearly killed in combat during World War 2 and that only through the magic of Dianetics a.k.a. Scientology “auditing” and “training routines” et al., Hubbard managed to cure himself thus the frauds, racketeering, extortion, blackmail, kidnapping, murder, money laundering, and everything else Scientology engages in on a daily basis is all worth it.
Scientology customers who are faced with the truth – that Hubbard was never in combat leave alone injured leave alone cured through the miracle of Scientology “processing” are forced to admit to themselves that they have been defrauded and swindled, untold amounts of money handed over to the criminal enterprise, all predicated upon what was in retrospect an obvious suit of lies.
So naturally when this Scientology customer was confronted with the truth, reality met cult indoctrination which debunked years of belief, effort, and lost money. The result wasn’t to stomp over to his crime boss and demand his money back, the result was to spew insane hate at the people who had dared to open his eyes to the truth.
Scientology preys upon people who are marginally sane and preys upon people who are otherwise normal, rational, and good hearted people. Unfortunately Scientology turns people in to utter lunatics the likes of which is so amusingly exhibited by Heterosexual Tom Cruise, Kirsty Alley, and to a lesser degree John Travolta.
Enter the Scientology fraud called “NarCONon.” Hubbard was a criminal who died while on the lam fleeing Federal prosecutors. His lies, frauds, and scams were the result of his criminal insanity, all of which was the result of decades of drug and alcohol abuse.
I mention this because the chain of events that lead up to this idiot screaming insanely like some street corner lunatic had its genesis in Hubbard’s drug and alcohol addiction which his own “NarCONon” fraud was utterly incapable of solving.
Scientology is organized crime. The criminal enterprise sells frauds from end to end and gives nothing back to society but destroyed families, destroyed local economies, dead customers, and ruined lives. This insane lunatic screaming in a restaurant is the extreme end of the Scientology Bell Curve but most of its remaining customers –- all 40,000 of them world wide – are nuts.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Scientology reaches into schools through Narconon
From "Scientology reaches into schools through Narconon" by Joseph Mallia, The Boston Herald
An organization with ties to the Church of Scientology is recruiting New England schoolchildren for what critics say is an unproven — and possibly dangerous — anti-drug program.
And the group — Narconon Inc. of Everett — is being paid with taxpayer dollars without disclosing its Scientology connections.
Narconon was paid at least $942,853 over an eight-year period for delivering anti-drug lectures at public and parochial schools throughout the region, according to federal income tax documents.....
At a lecture at Chelmsford High School attended by the Herald, Wiggins praised the benefits of a detoxification program that involves sauna and vitamin treatments.
But what the Scientologist did not disclose to the Chelmsford teachers, administrators or students is that the $1,200 detoxification regimen is actually a religious program the Church of Scientology calls the Purification Rundown.
In fact, he never mentioned the word "Scientology," or L. Ron Hubbard's name during the lectures. "I took an IQ test before and after, and the score shot up 22 points," Wiggins said during the Chelmsford drug awareness lecture, referring to the benefits of the Purification Rundown. "My energy level quadrupled. I could think about 10 times faster," Wiggins boasted. But according to health experts, the Scientology detox program is untested and possibly health-threatening.
The [Purification Rundown] requires vigorous exercise, five hours of saunas, megadoses of up to 5,000 mg of niacin, and doses of cooking oil. This regimen is repeated daily for two or three weeks. Every Scientologist, including young children, must go through this detox procedure as an "introductory service" — a first step in the church's high-priced teachings, according to church documents and ex-members.
"The idea of sweating out poisons is kind of an old wives' tale," said William Jarvis, a professor of public health at Loma Linda University in Southern California. "It's all pretty hokey."
Salt and water are the only substances that the Purification Rundown removes from the body, according to a 1990 U.S. Food and Drug Administration report, Jarvis said.
"Narconon's program is not safe," the Oklahoma Board of Mental Health said in a 1992 rejection of Chilocco New Life Center, a Scientology residential hospital on an Indian reservation in Newkirk, Okla.
"No scientifically well-controlled studies were found that documented the safety of the Narconon program," the board said.
http://www.xenu-directory.net/news/mallia19980303.html
An organization with ties to the Church of Scientology is recruiting New England schoolchildren for what critics say is an unproven — and possibly dangerous — anti-drug program.
And the group — Narconon Inc. of Everett — is being paid with taxpayer dollars without disclosing its Scientology connections.
Narconon was paid at least $942,853 over an eight-year period for delivering anti-drug lectures at public and parochial schools throughout the region, according to federal income tax documents.....
At a lecture at Chelmsford High School attended by the Herald, Wiggins praised the benefits of a detoxification program that involves sauna and vitamin treatments.
But what the Scientologist did not disclose to the Chelmsford teachers, administrators or students is that the $1,200 detoxification regimen is actually a religious program the Church of Scientology calls the Purification Rundown.
In fact, he never mentioned the word "Scientology," or L. Ron Hubbard's name during the lectures. "I took an IQ test before and after, and the score shot up 22 points," Wiggins said during the Chelmsford drug awareness lecture, referring to the benefits of the Purification Rundown. "My energy level quadrupled. I could think about 10 times faster," Wiggins boasted. But according to health experts, the Scientology detox program is untested and possibly health-threatening.
The [Purification Rundown] requires vigorous exercise, five hours of saunas, megadoses of up to 5,000 mg of niacin, and doses of cooking oil. This regimen is repeated daily for two or three weeks. Every Scientologist, including young children, must go through this detox procedure as an "introductory service" — a first step in the church's high-priced teachings, according to church documents and ex-members.
"The idea of sweating out poisons is kind of an old wives' tale," said William Jarvis, a professor of public health at Loma Linda University in Southern California. "It's all pretty hokey."
Salt and water are the only substances that the Purification Rundown removes from the body, according to a 1990 U.S. Food and Drug Administration report, Jarvis said.
"Narconon's program is not safe," the Oklahoma Board of Mental Health said in a 1992 rejection of Chilocco New Life Center, a Scientology residential hospital on an Indian reservation in Newkirk, Okla.
"No scientifically well-controlled studies were found that documented the safety of the Narconon program," the board said.
http://www.xenu-directory.net/news/mallia19980303.html
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Narconon = Scientology
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Narconon is a fundraising and recruiting tool for the CULT of Scientology. Their program costs $10,000 - $30,000 and is NOT effective -- it isn't even medically safe. Patients have DIED in Narconon's care. If you or someone you know needs help with a drug problem, Narcotics Anonymous (NA) is a free, safe and effective 12-Step Program.
In December 1988, the president of the Church of Scientology, Heber Jentzsch, was arrested in Spain after an investigation into Narconon revealed that he and the Church of Scientology were fraudulently stealing money from Spanish citizens and running its centers with unqualified staff.[3] Spanish citizens began inundating the courthouse with phone calls complaining of being hoodwinked by Narconon.
The judge in the case said at a news conference after the arrests that the only god of the church of Scientology is money, and he compared the church to a pyramid scheme in which members pay increasing sums of money. He said that Narconon swindled its clients and lured them into Scientology.[4] By the end of 1991 that same court said there was no evidence to support prosecutors’ allegations that drug rehabilitation and other programs sponsored by the Church of Scientology in Spain amounted to illicit gathering aimed at activities such as bilking people of money.[5]
In 1989, 75 Scientologists in Italy were arrested and an investigation showed that "parents of drug addicts were paying heavy monthly fees to Narconon, which advertised itself as a drug rehabilitation and cure center, but getting nothing in return."[6]
Its affiliation with the controversial Church of Scientology has made Narconon itself a focus of controversy.[7] The organization 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 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.[8]) 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 numerous allegations that the Narconon treatment program serves as a fundraising and recruitment program for the Church of Scientology.[9][10]
A March 1-5, 1998 Boston Herald series exposed how two Scientology-linked groups, Narconon and the World Literacy Crusade, have used anti-drug and learn-to-read programs to gain access to public schools without disclosing their Scientology ties.[11][12] After the Herald report was published, Heber Jentzsch, president of the Church of Scientology International, confirmed that the church's Los Angeles law firm hired a private-investigative firm to look into the personal life of reporter Joseph Mallia, who wrote the series. The Herald noted numerous other instances over the years where reporters were harassed with "noisy investigations" after writing stories exposing the Church's misdeeds.[12]
Narconon has developed its own secularized course materials in response to the concerns they operate as a marketing tool for the Church. These have evolved through several iterations to produce Narconon's current "New Life Program." While this program is very similar to pre-existing Scientology courses, Narconon insists that it is entirely "non-religious" in nature and rarely if ever mentions Scientology in its publications. At least one Narconon organization describes themselves as FSMs, a Scientology abbreviation for Field Service Ministers.[13]
These changes have not silenced the controversy. In the early 1990s, Narconon opened a large treatment center near Newkirk, Oklahoma, resulting in a series of critical articles in a local newspaper.[14] The Oklahoma Department of Health demanded that Narconon be licensed with the state,[15] but the Board of Mental Health refused approval, stating "No scientifically well-controlled independent, long-term outcome studies were found that directly and clearly establish the effectiveness of the Narconon program for the treatment of chemical dependency and the more credible evidence establishes Narconon's program is not effective ... The Board concludes that the program offered by Narconon - Chilocco is not medically safe."[16] Even the New York Times wrote a story detailing how the town's initial euphoria at the prospect of a drug treatment center has been replaced by distrust, frustration, and fear. Townspeople said that Narconon was not honest about its affiliation with the Church of Scientology, its financing, its medical credentials, and its plans for the project. A Narconon spokesman quoted for the story said that all the appearances of deception reported by the townspeople, such as the group that praised Narconon at a public ceremony and presented it with a check for $200,000 and turned out to itself be part of Narconon, were due to "false information being fed in there by somebody who's in favor of drug abuse ... They're either connected to selling drugs or they're using drugs."[17] 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 on Accreditation and Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) in 1992; Oklahoma officials then agreed to exempt Narconon from the state licensing requirement and the facility was allowed to operate.
In 1999, Scientologists from Clearwater, Florida tried to get a Narconon drug-education program installed into the Pinellas County, Florida school district. After a hearing on the matter, a school-district committee refused to allow students to participate in an anti-drug program based on the teachings of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, citing that teaching students about the "tone scale" and other trappings of Scientology was inappropriate for a drug-education program for their schools.[18]
21st century
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 that all schools in the state reject the Narconon program after the evaluation found it taught inaccurate and unscientific information.[19]
While the effectiveness of their treatment program is a subject of dispute, a number of celebrities have publicly attested that it was helpful in their own lives. Musician Nicky Hopkins and actress Kirstie Alley[20] 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, in Battle Creek, Michigan.[21]
On July 17, 2006, one Narconon center, Narconon Trois-Rivieres (Three-Rivers) based in Canada, opened up a website at http://narcodex.ca.[4] Narcodex is a wiki purporting to contain drug information. The domain name of Narcodex.ca is owned by ABLE Canada, another Scientology business entity. The funding for the website comes entirely from Narconon Trois-Rivieres, which also controls the content on the site. [5]
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,[22] 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.[23] 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.[24][25] Former Scientologists say that the purpose of the drill is for the individual to "beam" their "intention" into the ashtray to make it move.[26]
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.[27]
Controversies
French woman Jocelyne Dorfmann DIED at age 34 in Grancey sur Ource (near Dijon) in 1984 from an uncured epilepsy crisis, when she was treated in a French Narconon center. The assistant-director of that center was sentenced[28] for lack of assistance to a person in danger and the Narconon-center was closed. In Italy, a 33-year-old Italian female patient of Narconon center in Torre dell'Orso DIED under similar conditions in 2002.[29]
Methods
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.[9][30] 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 — at least one website critical of Narconon claims that the rates were as low as 6.6% in the case of a Swedish research study.[31]
ABLE
Narconon is part of the Association for Better Living and Education (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 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.[32]
Plagiarism
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.[33] The editor of Urban75 posted up comparisons of the copying, showing that Narconon had not even removed Urban75s hidden javascript code, unique to Urban75.[34] The Register noted the irony of this scandal, quoting a critic who wrote, "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'."[35] After pressure from Urban75 readers, Narconon eventually removed the copied layout, but never responded to queries about the site nor admitted any copying.
Heroin possession
In March 2002, it was reported that a man was convicted of possession of heroin with intent to sell, arising from an incident where he was found with 31 packets of heroin during a police investigation of a disturbance at a store on September 9, 2000. The man worked at a Narconon facility in Georgia at the time. While the man was waiting to be sentenced, the judge allowed him to remain free on $15,000 bail and return to his duties as a drug rehab counselor at Narconon, despite the objections from the prosecutor of the case.[36]
State code violations
Narconon facilities in California were cited repeatedly for violations by state inspectors. Violations included administering medication without authorization, having alcohol on the facility, and not having proper bedding for clients. Narconon has also attempted to silence opposition, including sending letters to neighbors of a proposed facility in Leona Valley, California threatening legal action for criticism. Residents of the Leona Valley were concerned that Narconon would increase crime.[37] The local town council recommended an eight foot security fence and independent security, which was objected to by Narconon officials.[38]
Slatkin fraud
On November 8, 2006, the Associated Press reported that Narconon was one of the Scientology entities who would pay back 3.5 million dollars of illegal funds from EarthLink co founder Reed Slatkin:
"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 NarcononNarconon 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." [6]
Narconon used in UK schools
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 Church of Scientology.[39]
Investigated in Russia
In April 2007, it was revealed that Moscow’s South District office of public procurator had begun an investigation into Narconon's activities in Russia.[40] The Moskovsky Komsomolets daily paper reported that legal proceedings were begun against the head of the clinic "Narconon-Standard", for violating practices forbidden in Russian medical practices.[40] Russian law enforcement became interested after receiving many complaints from citizens about the high fees charged by Narconon.[40] The Narconon office in Bolshaya Tulskaya St., Moscow was searched, and documents and unidentified medications were seized.[40]
In April 2008, as part of an investigation in Ulyanovsk into the Church of Scientology, police searched a Narconon office in the town of Dimitrovgrad.[41]
Notes and references
1. Narconon The Origins of the Narconon Program (accessed June 4, 2006)
2. Narconon "L. Ron Hubbard and the Narconon program" (accessed June 4, 2006)
3. Stephen Koff "Top Scientologist Arrested in Spain" St. Petersburg Times November 22, 1988 pg. 1A
4. Steven Koff "Scientology leader still jailed in Spain; church charges 'persecution'" St. Petersburg Times December 10, 1988
5. World Religion News Service, April 11, 2002
6. Ruth Gruber "75 Scientologists go on trial today // 'It should be a lively court session'" St. Petersburg Times Mar 29, 1989 pg. 11.A
7. Marie Price "House nixes honor for substance-abuse facility: The treatment center sparks controversy because of its ties to Scientology" Tulsa World May 3, 2003 pg A19
8. United States vs. Mary Sue Hubbard et al., 493 F. Supp. 209, (D.D.C. 1979) (hosted by the Lisa McPherson Trust)
9. Charles Rusnell Experts challenge claims of Scientology's sweat-it-out treatment for addicts The Edmonton Journal, May 23, 2006 pg. A2
10. Alan McEwen "Scientology-link group is banned", Edinburgh Evening News, 18 March 2004 (accessed June 4, 2006)
11. Joseph Mallia "INSIDE THE CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY; Scientology reaches into schools through Narconon" Boston Herald March 3, 1998 Pg. 018
12. Jim MacLaughlin and Andrew Gully "Church of Scientology probes Herald reporter - Investigation follows pattern of harassment" Boston Herald March 19, 1998 Pg. 004
13. "Narconon Information Center of Montreal". Retrieved on 2006-10-07. “© Copyright 2006 Lafleche Dumais & Richard Kelly Narconon FSM.”
14. Bob Lobsinger "Chilocco Drug Treatment Center May Be Part of Notorious Religious Cult" Newkirk Herald Journal April 27, 1989 (hosted by David Touretzky)
15. McNutt, Michael "Narconon Claims It's Not Subject to State Regulation". Daily Oklahoman July 11, 1990 (hosted by David Touretzky)
16. Findings of Fact regarding the Narconon-Chilocco Application For Certification by the Board of Mental Health, State of Oklahoma, 13 December 1991 (hosted by David Touretzky)
17. "Town Welcomes, Then Questions a Drug Project", New York Times, The New York Times Company (1989-07-17), p. A13.
18. Shelby Oppel "School panel rejects anti-drug program" Saint Petersburg Times April 13, 1999
19. "Schools urged to drop antidrug program", The San Francisco Chronicle, 23 February 2005. (accessed June 4, 2006)
20. Sappell, Joel; Welkos, Robert W. (1990-06-25). "The Courting of Celebrities", Los Angeles Times, p. A18:5. Retrieved on 2006-06-06. Additional convenience link at [1].
21. "IAS 21st Anniversary Event, Impact 112, 2006
22. Hubbard Communication Office Bulletin of 6 February 1978RD
23. Church of Scientology The Fundamental Skills of Auditing: Hubbard Professional TR Course (accessed June 4, 2006)
24. Hubbard, Narconon Communication & Perception Course Book 4a, 2004 edition. (pg. 447-482)
25. Joseph Mallia "Inside the Church of Scientology; Sacred teachings not secret anymore" Boston Herald March 4, 1998 pg. 025
26. Janet Reitman Inside Scientology Rolling Stone, Issue 995. March 9, 2006.
27. Leigh Woolsley "Case for the Cure", Tulsa World, 6 November 2005 pg. D-1
28. County Court of Dijon: judgment of January 9, 1987 (No 118-87)
29. Italian newspaper La Reppublica, date: october 11, 2002
30. Marc Sommer "Addiction Specialists Criticize Detoxification Program" Buffalo News February 1, 2005, pg A6
31. Peter Gerdman (1981-05-01). "Utvärderingen av Narconon del 1: En studie om och med en länkrörelse bland drogmissbrukare i Stockholm" (Swedish page scans). Retrieved on 2006-09-09. (Scans hosted by David Touretzky)
32. Association for Better Living and Education Narconon license agreement (archived March 18, 2005)
33. Thomas C. Greene "Scientologist Web site rips off urban75.com: Moneyed cult gets hip in the worst way" The Register, 22 Jan 2001 (accessed June 4, 2006)
34. Urban75 "Narconon and urban75 - the ultimate homage" (accessed June 4, 2006)
35. Lester Haines "Scientology exposé finds favour" The Register January 26, 2001 (accessed June 4, 2006)
36. Flannery, Thomas L. (March 9, 2002). "Former city man found guilty of heroin possession; Is now working as drug rehab counselor in Georgia", Lancaster Sunday News, pp. B-1.
37. Dobuzinskis, Alex. "Proposed Narcanon rehab clinic raises concern among residents." Los Angeles Daily News, July 22, 2006. [2]
38. Slutske, Reina. "Narconon Project Hearing Delayed Until January." Santa Clarita Signal, October 5, 2006. [3]
39. "Revealed: how Scientologists infiltrated Britain's schools". The Sunday Times (UK) (7 January 2007). Retrieved on 2007-01-07.
40. Staff (2007-04-06). "Proceedings against Scientologists-run clinic instituted in Moscow", Interfax-Religion.
41. "Ulyanovsk police search local branch office of Church of Scientology", Interfax-Religion (2008-04-18).
From Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narconon
In December 1988, the president of the Church of Scientology, Heber Jentzsch, was arrested in Spain after an investigation into Narconon revealed that he and the Church of Scientology were fraudulently stealing money from Spanish citizens and running its centers with unqualified staff.[3] Spanish citizens began inundating the courthouse with phone calls complaining of being hoodwinked by Narconon.
The judge in the case said at a news conference after the arrests that the only god of the church of Scientology is money, and he compared the church to a pyramid scheme in which members pay increasing sums of money. He said that Narconon swindled its clients and lured them into Scientology.[4] By the end of 1991 that same court said there was no evidence to support prosecutors’ allegations that drug rehabilitation and other programs sponsored by the Church of Scientology in Spain amounted to illicit gathering aimed at activities such as bilking people of money.[5]
In 1989, 75 Scientologists in Italy were arrested and an investigation showed that "parents of drug addicts were paying heavy monthly fees to Narconon, which advertised itself as a drug rehabilitation and cure center, but getting nothing in return."[6]
Its affiliation with the controversial Church of Scientology has made Narconon itself a focus of controversy.[7] The organization 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 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.[8]) 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 numerous allegations that the Narconon treatment program serves as a fundraising and recruitment program for the Church of Scientology.[9][10]
A March 1-5, 1998 Boston Herald series exposed how two Scientology-linked groups, Narconon and the World Literacy Crusade, have used anti-drug and learn-to-read programs to gain access to public schools without disclosing their Scientology ties.[11][12] After the Herald report was published, Heber Jentzsch, president of the Church of Scientology International, confirmed that the church's Los Angeles law firm hired a private-investigative firm to look into the personal life of reporter Joseph Mallia, who wrote the series. The Herald noted numerous other instances over the years where reporters were harassed with "noisy investigations" after writing stories exposing the Church's misdeeds.[12]
Narconon has developed its own secularized course materials in response to the concerns they operate as a marketing tool for the Church. These have evolved through several iterations to produce Narconon's current "New Life Program." While this program is very similar to pre-existing Scientology courses, Narconon insists that it is entirely "non-religious" in nature and rarely if ever mentions Scientology in its publications. At least one Narconon organization describes themselves as FSMs, a Scientology abbreviation for Field Service Ministers.[13]
These changes have not silenced the controversy. In the early 1990s, Narconon opened a large treatment center near Newkirk, Oklahoma, resulting in a series of critical articles in a local newspaper.[14] The Oklahoma Department of Health demanded that Narconon be licensed with the state,[15] but the Board of Mental Health refused approval, stating "No scientifically well-controlled independent, long-term outcome studies were found that directly and clearly establish the effectiveness of the Narconon program for the treatment of chemical dependency and the more credible evidence establishes Narconon's program is not effective ... The Board concludes that the program offered by Narconon - Chilocco is not medically safe."[16] Even the New York Times wrote a story detailing how the town's initial euphoria at the prospect of a drug treatment center has been replaced by distrust, frustration, and fear. Townspeople said that Narconon was not honest about its affiliation with the Church of Scientology, its financing, its medical credentials, and its plans for the project. A Narconon spokesman quoted for the story said that all the appearances of deception reported by the townspeople, such as the group that praised Narconon at a public ceremony and presented it with a check for $200,000 and turned out to itself be part of Narconon, were due to "false information being fed in there by somebody who's in favor of drug abuse ... They're either connected to selling drugs or they're using drugs."[17] 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 on Accreditation and Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) in 1992; Oklahoma officials then agreed to exempt Narconon from the state licensing requirement and the facility was allowed to operate.
In 1999, Scientologists from Clearwater, Florida tried to get a Narconon drug-education program installed into the Pinellas County, Florida school district. After a hearing on the matter, a school-district committee refused to allow students to participate in an anti-drug program based on the teachings of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, citing that teaching students about the "tone scale" and other trappings of Scientology was inappropriate for a drug-education program for their schools.[18]
21st century
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 that all schools in the state reject the Narconon program after the evaluation found it taught inaccurate and unscientific information.[19]
While the effectiveness of their treatment program is a subject of dispute, a number of celebrities have publicly attested that it was helpful in their own lives. Musician Nicky Hopkins and actress Kirstie Alley[20] 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, in Battle Creek, Michigan.[21]
On July 17, 2006, one Narconon center, Narconon Trois-Rivieres (Three-Rivers) based in Canada, opened up a website at http://narcodex.ca.[4] Narcodex is a wiki purporting to contain drug information. The domain name of Narcodex.ca is owned by ABLE Canada, another Scientology business entity. The funding for the website comes entirely from Narconon Trois-Rivieres, which also controls the content on the site. [5]
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,[22] 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.[23] 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.[24][25] Former Scientologists say that the purpose of the drill is for the individual to "beam" their "intention" into the ashtray to make it move.[26]
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.[27]
Controversies
French woman Jocelyne Dorfmann DIED at age 34 in Grancey sur Ource (near Dijon) in 1984 from an uncured epilepsy crisis, when she was treated in a French Narconon center. The assistant-director of that center was sentenced[28] for lack of assistance to a person in danger and the Narconon-center was closed. In Italy, a 33-year-old Italian female patient of Narconon center in Torre dell'Orso DIED under similar conditions in 2002.[29]
Methods
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.[9][30] 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 — at least one website critical of Narconon claims that the rates were as low as 6.6% in the case of a Swedish research study.[31]
ABLE
Narconon is part of the Association for Better Living and Education (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 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.[32]
Plagiarism
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.[33] The editor of Urban75 posted up comparisons of the copying, showing that Narconon had not even removed Urban75s hidden javascript code, unique to Urban75.[34] The Register noted the irony of this scandal, quoting a critic who wrote, "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'."[35] After pressure from Urban75 readers, Narconon eventually removed the copied layout, but never responded to queries about the site nor admitted any copying.
Heroin possession
In March 2002, it was reported that a man was convicted of possession of heroin with intent to sell, arising from an incident where he was found with 31 packets of heroin during a police investigation of a disturbance at a store on September 9, 2000. The man worked at a Narconon facility in Georgia at the time. While the man was waiting to be sentenced, the judge allowed him to remain free on $15,000 bail and return to his duties as a drug rehab counselor at Narconon, despite the objections from the prosecutor of the case.[36]
State code violations
Narconon facilities in California were cited repeatedly for violations by state inspectors. Violations included administering medication without authorization, having alcohol on the facility, and not having proper bedding for clients. Narconon has also attempted to silence opposition, including sending letters to neighbors of a proposed facility in Leona Valley, California threatening legal action for criticism. Residents of the Leona Valley were concerned that Narconon would increase crime.[37] The local town council recommended an eight foot security fence and independent security, which was objected to by Narconon officials.[38]
Slatkin fraud
On November 8, 2006, the Associated Press reported that Narconon was one of the Scientology entities who would pay back 3.5 million dollars of illegal funds from EarthLink co founder Reed Slatkin:
"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 NarcononNarconon 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." [6]
Narconon used in UK schools
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 Church of Scientology.[39]
Investigated in Russia
In April 2007, it was revealed that Moscow’s South District office of public procurator had begun an investigation into Narconon's activities in Russia.[40] The Moskovsky Komsomolets daily paper reported that legal proceedings were begun against the head of the clinic "Narconon-Standard", for violating practices forbidden in Russian medical practices.[40] Russian law enforcement became interested after receiving many complaints from citizens about the high fees charged by Narconon.[40] The Narconon office in Bolshaya Tulskaya St., Moscow was searched, and documents and unidentified medications were seized.[40]
In April 2008, as part of an investigation in Ulyanovsk into the Church of Scientology, police searched a Narconon office in the town of Dimitrovgrad.[41]
Notes and references
1. Narconon The Origins of the Narconon Program (accessed June 4, 2006)
2. Narconon "L. Ron Hubbard and the Narconon program" (accessed June 4, 2006)
3. Stephen Koff "Top Scientologist Arrested in Spain" St. Petersburg Times November 22, 1988 pg. 1A
4. Steven Koff "Scientology leader still jailed in Spain; church charges 'persecution'" St. Petersburg Times December 10, 1988
5. World Religion News Service, April 11, 2002
6. Ruth Gruber "75 Scientologists go on trial today // 'It should be a lively court session'" St. Petersburg Times Mar 29, 1989 pg. 11.A
7. Marie Price "House nixes honor for substance-abuse facility: The treatment center sparks controversy because of its ties to Scientology" Tulsa World May 3, 2003 pg A19
8. United States vs. Mary Sue Hubbard et al., 493 F. Supp. 209, (D.D.C. 1979) (hosted by the Lisa McPherson Trust)
9. Charles Rusnell Experts challenge claims of Scientology's sweat-it-out treatment for addicts The Edmonton Journal, May 23, 2006 pg. A2
10. Alan McEwen "Scientology-link group is banned", Edinburgh Evening News, 18 March 2004 (accessed June 4, 2006)
11. Joseph Mallia "INSIDE THE CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY; Scientology reaches into schools through Narconon" Boston Herald March 3, 1998 Pg. 018
12. Jim MacLaughlin and Andrew Gully "Church of Scientology probes Herald reporter - Investigation follows pattern of harassment" Boston Herald March 19, 1998 Pg. 004
13. "Narconon Information Center of Montreal". Retrieved on 2006-10-07. “© Copyright 2006 Lafleche Dumais & Richard Kelly Narconon FSM.”
14. Bob Lobsinger "Chilocco Drug Treatment Center May Be Part of Notorious Religious Cult" Newkirk Herald Journal April 27, 1989 (hosted by David Touretzky)
15. McNutt, Michael "Narconon Claims It's Not Subject to State Regulation". Daily Oklahoman July 11, 1990 (hosted by David Touretzky)
16. Findings of Fact regarding the Narconon-Chilocco Application For Certification by the Board of Mental Health, State of Oklahoma, 13 December 1991 (hosted by David Touretzky)
17. "Town Welcomes, Then Questions a Drug Project", New York Times, The New York Times Company (1989-07-17), p. A13.
18. Shelby Oppel "School panel rejects anti-drug program" Saint Petersburg Times April 13, 1999
19. "Schools urged to drop antidrug program", The San Francisco Chronicle, 23 February 2005. (accessed June 4, 2006)
20. Sappell, Joel; Welkos, Robert W. (1990-06-25). "The Courting of Celebrities", Los Angeles Times, p. A18:5. Retrieved on 2006-06-06. Additional convenience link at [1].
21. "IAS 21st Anniversary Event, Impact 112, 2006
22. Hubbard Communication Office Bulletin of 6 February 1978RD
23. Church of Scientology The Fundamental Skills of Auditing: Hubbard Professional TR Course (accessed June 4, 2006)
24. Hubbard, Narconon Communication & Perception Course Book 4a, 2004 edition. (pg. 447-482)
25. Joseph Mallia "Inside the Church of Scientology; Sacred teachings not secret anymore" Boston Herald March 4, 1998 pg. 025
26. Janet Reitman Inside Scientology Rolling Stone, Issue 995. March 9, 2006.
27. Leigh Woolsley "Case for the Cure", Tulsa World, 6 November 2005 pg. D-1
28. County Court of Dijon: judgment of January 9, 1987 (No 118-87)
29. Italian newspaper La Reppublica, date: october 11, 2002
30. Marc Sommer "Addiction Specialists Criticize Detoxification Program" Buffalo News February 1, 2005, pg A6
31. Peter Gerdman (1981-05-01). "Utvärderingen av Narconon del 1: En studie om och med en länkrörelse bland drogmissbrukare i Stockholm" (Swedish page scans). Retrieved on 2006-09-09. (Scans hosted by David Touretzky)
32. Association for Better Living and Education Narconon license agreement (archived March 18, 2005)
33. Thomas C. Greene "Scientologist Web site rips off urban75.com: Moneyed cult gets hip in the worst way" The Register, 22 Jan 2001 (accessed June 4, 2006)
34. Urban75 "Narconon and urban75 - the ultimate homage" (accessed June 4, 2006)
35. Lester Haines "Scientology exposé finds favour" The Register January 26, 2001 (accessed June 4, 2006)
36. Flannery, Thomas L. (March 9, 2002). "Former city man found guilty of heroin possession; Is now working as drug rehab counselor in Georgia", Lancaster Sunday News, pp. B-1.
37. Dobuzinskis, Alex. "Proposed Narcanon rehab clinic raises concern among residents." Los Angeles Daily News, July 22, 2006. [2]
38. Slutske, Reina. "Narconon Project Hearing Delayed Until January." Santa Clarita Signal, October 5, 2006. [3]
39. "Revealed: how Scientologists infiltrated Britain's schools". The Sunday Times (UK) (7 January 2007). Retrieved on 2007-01-07.
40. Staff (2007-04-06). "Proceedings against Scientologists-run clinic instituted in Moscow", Interfax-Religion.
41. "Ulyanovsk police search local branch office of Church of Scientology", Interfax-Religion (2008-04-18).
From Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narconon
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