------------------------------------------------------------------- F.A.C.T.Net, Inc. (Fight Against Coercive Tactics Network, Incorporated) a non-profit computer bulletin board and electronic library 601 16th St. #C-217 Golden, Colorado 80401 USA BBS 303 530-1942 FAX 303 530-2950 Office 303 473-0111 This document is part of an electronic lending library and preservational electronic archive. F.A.C.T.Net does not sell documents, it only lends them according to the terms of your library cardholder agreement with F.A.C.T.Net, Inc. ===================================================================== "Narconon - Scientology's Drugs-to-Cult Conversion Clinic" compiled in 1991 by the Coalition of Concerned Citizens P.O. Box 290402 Tampa, Florida 33687 =================================================================== TRUTH REVEALED Scientology's tech has finally been examined in the light of day. That group usually confines its manipulations to a carefully controlled environment where results can be created by hype, controlled information, and group pressure. The value of auditing, for example, is asserted on a basis of anecdotal testimony about a subjective state, perceived in terms of group expectation, in a setting where lack of agreement is seen as disloyalty to one's friends. The same kind of trap could have become established at Narconon-Chilocco. The lease of Indian lands and the application to open the facility were based on information provided by Narconon. The connection with Scientology was concealed. Probably the Scientologists expected it to continue that way, with their drugs-to-cult conversion clinic pulling in money unseen, on tribal land, hidden from civil authorities. They have learned that a shout of religious discrimination is usually sufficient to dissuade authorities from looking closer at their money-making machines. But it didn't work this time. The citizens, press, and officials of Oklahoma uncovered the truth and blew the whistle. Narconon's treatment program was examined on its own merits by competent authorities and found to be without substance. Ed. ================================================================== from THE DAILY OKLAHOMAN, Friday, December 20, 1991 BOARD DENIES CERTIFICATION FOR NARCONON By Michael McNutt, Enid Bureau A state board Friday denied certification for a controversial drug and alcohol treatment center, and gave the facility seven days to move out its patients. The action ended a more than year-long effort by Narconon Chilocco New Life Center to win certification and likely will set up a court battle. Harry Woods Jr., a lawyer for the facility, indicated he would appeal the board's decision in Oklahoma County District Court. Narconon officials earlier said they had invested more than $3.5 million to renovate the campus. It's unknown how many people work at the facility. The Oklahoma Board of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services voted 6-0 to deny certification for Narconon Chilocco, which sought permission to operate a 75-bed center north of Newkirk at the former Chilocco Indian School. Board member Sue Ellen Read abstained from voting because she was not at the board's October hearing where members heard more than 12 hours of evidence. Board member Stewart R. Beasley Jr. asked that 27 patients now at Narconon Chilocco be removed within seven days because the program is basically unsafe. Their well-being is at risk. Board members said their decision was based on the safety and effectiveness of Narconon Chilocco's treatment program. Narconon's ties with the Church of Scientology were not considered, they said. The program relies on a sauna and exercise plan, and until October billed itself as "drug-free." But Dr. Ray Stowers of Medford, hired by Narconon Chilocco in September, told board members that drugs were administered during the detoxification part of the program.... Board members refused a request from Woods to allow Narconon Chilocco to remain open until the matter is appealed and a court decision is rendered. Hurst said it could take as long as two or three years for a final ruling if the matter is appealed to the Oklahoma Supreme Court. Narconon-Chilocco, operated by Narconon International, has been accepting patients since February 1990. It applied for certification in August after state officials sought a court order to close the facility. Our main concern is with our 27 clients in the program," said Gary Smith, president of Narconon Chilocco. They all selected Narconon for treatment and are doing well. A couple of them are court-ordered to be here from other areas. We will be appealing this in court. This is not a new situation with the Department of Mental Health. We were forced to go to court with them a year ago because of their insistence of putting bias and prejudice into their reports, Smith said. Lawyers for Narconon Chilocco then tied up the process in the court system for about a year, forcing the board to hire an independent inspector to evaluate the program. Mental health department staffers were allowed to get back into the certification process three months ago. Staff recommended denial for Narconon Chilocco's application. Board members made their decision after deliberating for about three hours in closed session. They heard about 4 1/2 hours of testimony, including that of two for- mer students who said temperatures were as high as 200 degrees in saunas at the facility. In October, board members listened to more than 12 hours of comments about Narconon Chilocco, and met for three hours in closed session before giving Narconon Chilocco until Friday to correct 13 areas of concern. [The newspaper article goes on to describe the Board's grounds for refusing certification. Rather than repeat their summary, we present the Board's entire report verbatim, starting on the next page. Ed.] ======================================================================= Findings of Fact regarding the Narconon-ChiloccoApplication For Certification by the Board of Mental Health,State of Oklahoma 13 December 1991 Applicant has filed an application with the proper fees attached thereto for certification as a drug and treatment facility proposing to use a drug free non-medical detoxification modality. The application requests certification for services to a 75-bed residential drug and alcohol center. The application and supporting documents have been reviewed under applicable law and departmental rules and regulations. In considering the application for certification the Board has carefully considered the evidence presented at the hearings of October 18, 1991 and December 13, 1991 on the application for certification of Narconon International, including the testimony of the witnesses and the exhibits presented and received in evidence. The Board considered the credibility, demeanor, bias, motive and interest of all witnesses in reaching these findings of fact. The proposed site of the program is located on federal land belonging to five tribes and operated by the Chilocco Development Authority. A long-term lease between Applicant and the Chilocco Development Authority is in effect. The Development authority and the Applicant have entered into a long-term lease agreement wherein the Applicant agrees to comply with all the state and federal law including but not limited to certification by the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. In reviewing the application and determining the merits of the application the Board on the October 18, 1991 and December 13, 1991 hearings heard evidence and considered the issues of safety and effectiveness of the treatment modality utilized by the Applicant. Most drugs of abuse are removed from the body by detoxification and excretion through the liver, kidneys, and the lungs. Although minute quantities of some drugs may be found in sweat the amount represents a small fraction of drug elimination. The Narconon drug treatment modality treats all drug addictions the same. No scientific evidence was produced to show that all drug addictions are properly treated in the same manner. The terms patient, student and client are used interchangeably in these Findings. The Narconon Program exposes its patients to the risk of delayed withdrawal phenomena such as seizures, delirium and/or hallucinations. The Board has not considered any evidence of the beliefs or opinions of any witness on matters of religion in making its findings of fact. To the extent there may be some affiliation between Narconon and any religion such affiliation has been totally disregarded by the Board. The Board has not made its decision on certification based upon any consideration of religion or religious affiliation. The Board concludes that the Applicant, Narconon International, has the burden of proving that its program meets all requirements for certification and specifically the burden of proving its program is both safe and effective. Narconon has not sustained its burden of proving its program is either safe or effective. However, regardless of whether Narconon International has the burden of proof the Board concludes there is substantial credible evidence, as found by the Board, that the Narconon Program is unsafe and ineffective. The Narconon program requires its patients to sweat up to five hours per day, seven days a week, for approximately thirty days. The rationale, according to Narconon for the sweat-out is to rid the body of fat-stored drugs and chemicals through sweat. However, there is no scientific basis for the technique. Most drugs of abuse are removed from the body by detoxification and excretion through the liver, kidneys and (in some instances) through the lungs. Although minute quantities of some drugs may be found in sweat, the amount represents such a small fraction of drug elimination that no matter how much an individual sweated through exercise or saunas, the clearance of most drugs of abuse would not be significantly increased. The Narconon program includes the administration of high doses of vitamins and minerals to the Narconon patient as part of their treatment. The use of high amounts of vitamins and minerals in the amounts described administered by Narconon can be potentially dangerous to the patients of Narconon according to the more credible medical evidence. The relationship between drug-abuse and psychiatric disorders is well established. Most drug abusers who enter residential drug treatment facilities have high levels of anxiety, depression, hostility or apathy. Further, a chemical dependency disorder may co-exist withor be secondary toa specific psychiatric illness, such as schizophrenia or major depression, which should be treated by established psychiatric procedures. The Narconon program presents a potential risk to the patients of the Narconon program that delayed withdrawal phenomena such as seizures, delirium or hallucination that are occasionally seen several days after cessation of drugs such as benzodiazepines, may be misinterpreted by Narconon's non-medical staff as the effect of mobilizing the drug from fat during the sauna sweat-out procedure period. There is also a potential risk that the reported re-experience of the abused drugs' effect during the sauna sweat-out program may be the result of misinterpreted symptoms of hyperthermia or electrolyte imbalance since vital signs and serum electrolyte levels have not been consistently monitored during the sweat-out procedures or when a student is reporting the phenomena. The progress notes for the patients at Narconon do not consistently evidence that vital signs are recorded every six hours in the detoxification process; nor do the progress notes record fluid intake for detoxification clients. Discharge summaries of patients at Narconon were not routinely completed within fifteen days of the patient's discharge. The clinical records of patients at Narconon do not consistently reflect the recording of vital signs every six hours for clients as required under non-medical detoxification standards of the Department. There is credible evidence by way of witness testimony and review of Narconon charts which reflect that there were patients who had psychiatric problems who were taken off of their previously prescribed psychiatric medication who did not do well and subsequently developed psychiatric problems. This evidence indicates a lack of safety and effectiveness in connection with the program. Clients of Narconon suffering from psychiatric illness, when taken off their prescribed medications, did poorly in the Narconon program and were placed in a segregated facility called destem. This practice endangers the safety, health and/or the physical and mental well being of Narconon's clients. Narconon's program lacks any acceptable degree of quality control of the sauna temperatures and treatment. Such a lack of control endangers the safety, health and/or the physical or mental well being of its clients. Narconon hires former students to work at Narconon-Chilocco immediately upon graduation and the former students work directly with the present students. While former patients of drug and alcohol rehabilitation clinics can be employed in such clinics after graduation, the former patient's recovery from his addiction should be established with more passage of time to ensure sobriety and to avoid putting patients in contact with addicts who are not fully recovered. This practice could negatively impact the safety and effectiveness of the program. Narconon does not maintain a sufficient level of follow-up of its students after graduation, which impacts the effectiveness of the program allowing for relapses and lack of recovery. During an on-site visit in November 1991 a student was found with a potentially dangerous low level of potassium which could lead to cramps, (muscular, skeletal problems) and cardiac arrhythmia. The vast majority of time spent in the Narconon treatment plan and course work does not in any way relate to or involve education about drug and alcohol abuse treatment, issues, and/or addiction. The Narconon treatment plan thus has deficiencies which render it ineffective. The Narconon treatment plan is general in nature, applies categorically to all students and is not individualized. The treatment plan also lacks measurable individualized objectives which the students should seek to achieve in the program. For instance, the treatment plan sets a patient's objective as follows: To have a clear mind. This objective is essentially meaningless. In order for a bonafide drug treatment plan to be effective it is essential to have individualized measured objectives which Narconon's treatment plan lacks. Part of the Narconon treatment program involves touch assists between patients. Touch assists involve massages between patients in rooms by themselves. Narconon has both male and female patients who are involved in the drug and alcohol rehabilitation program. This practice of touch assists could likely lead to improper sexual contact between drug addicts or alcoholics in the process of recovery. An accepted standard in such programs is for the patients to keep their hands to themselves. The practice of touch assists between male and female patients who are recovering drug addicts or alcoholics in private rooms renders the program unsafe in this respect. The discharge planning is not adequate and commences only very shortly prior to discharge. This lack of discharge planning renders Narconon's program ineffective. Narconon clients are counseled by Narconon staff that it is acceptable for the client to drink alcohol after being discharged from the Narconon program and if the client is incapable of being able to drink alcohol, then this fact evidences the client's need for further treatment. Such counseling endangers the client's safety, health and/or the physical or mental well being, and is not in accord with acceptable drug and alcohol counseling and treatment. Narconon employs staff inadequately educated and trained in the care and treatment of drug and alcohol abuse clients. Such a practice endangers the safety, health and/or the physical or mental well being of the clients of Narconon. Narconon permits clients under treatment for drug and alcohol abuse to handle and provide medications to fellow Narconon clients, to supervise the sauna treatment of fellow Narconon clients, and to supervise Narconon clients with psychiatric disorders. Such practices endanger the client's health and safety and are not in accord with acceptable drug and alcohol treatment. There is substantial medical literature which indicates that sauna therapy may pose significant health risks to intravenous heroin addicts, which is likely to be treated at Narconon, because such drug use may impair normal physiological response and problems associated with high temperature saunas which could be detected. The Narconon Program includes running to stimulate circulation followed by prescribed periods in a sauna for up to 5 hours at extremely high temperatures (i.e. 135 to 200 F) and as such endangers the safety, health and/or the physical or mental well being of its clients. Such a procedure exposes the client to the health hazards of dehydration and heat injury. This sauna regime also creates a risk of hyperthermia and electrolyte imbalance. Narconon restricts access by Narconon clients to their personal physicians, family, attorneys, clergy and others by not permitting communications except at limited and designated hours. Such a practice may endanger the physical or mental well being of Narconon's clients. The Narconon program fails to provide adequate follow-up and treatment for Narconon clients demonstrating abnormal lab tests and other medical problems. Such failures endanger the safety, health and/or the physical or mental well being of the Narconon clients and is not in accord with acceptable drug and alcohol care and treatment. There was no evidence that the Narconon staff inventoried and verified the medications brought on to the campus by Narconon clients. Such a failure endangers the safety, health and/or the physical or mental well being of Narconon's clients. The Board recognizes that Narconon has in the past few weeks adopted many new policies. The evidence did not disclose adherence to many if not all of these policies. There was no measurable and identifiable compliance by Narconon to its newly adopted policies in the areas of taking and recordation of vital signs, drug and alcohol instructions to clients, handling of medications, withdrawal and discharge procedures, lab testing, procedures for emergency medical supplies and others. Narconon clients are routinely administered clonidine. Narconon fails to provide adequate supervision for clients prescribed this medication given this drug's risks and potential for adverse consequences. Such failure to adequately supervise endangers the safety, health and/or the physical or mental well being of the Narconon clients. The vast majority of Narconon's course materials in its drug and alcohol abuse program are not designed to educate and/or treat clients in the area of drug and alcohol abuse. In addition, there was only evidence of occasional lectures to Narconon clients in areas of drug and alcohol abuse. As such, Narconon's program lacks sufficient instruction and education in the area of drug and alcohol abuse. There is no credible scientific evidence that the Narconon program is effective in the treatment of chemical dependency. There is no credible scientific evidence that exercise speeds up the detoxification process. Large doses of niacin are administered to patients during the Narconon program to rid the body of radiation. There is no credible scientific evidence that niacin in any way gets radiation out of the patient's body. Rather, the more credible medical evidence supports the existence of potential medical risks to persons receiving high doses of niacin. There is no credible evidence establishing the safety of the Narconon program to its patients. There is no credible evidence establishing the effectiveness of the Narconon program to its patients. Conclusions Of Law Any finding of fact which should be included in the conclusion of law such matters are included hereby by reference. In order for the Application to be granted by the Board it must be shown by a preponderance of the evidence that the program is safe and effective for the non-medical residential treatment of alcohol and drug abuse. The purpose of Mental health law in the State of Oklahoma is to provide humane care and treatment of persons who require treatment for drugs or alcohol abuse. Residents of the State of Oklahoma are entitled to medical care and treatment in accordance with the highest standards accepted in medical practice. 43A O.S. Supp. 1990, 1-102 The Narconon Chilocco program does not conform to the principles of traditional chemical dependency treatment. The Board's conclusion that the Narconon Chilocco program is non-traditional does not form the basis, in any respect, for the Board's decision on the Narconon application for certification. No scientifically well-controlled studies were found that documented the safety of the Narconon program. There are potential dangers from the use of non-medical staff who may be unable to interpret the possibility of seizures, delirious, cardiac arrythmia, or hallucinations that are phenomena associated with the cessation of drugs. There is also a potential risk of the reported reexperience of the abused drug effect during the sauna sweat out program may be the result of misinterpreted symptoms of hyperthermia or electrolyte imbalance. Moreover, the multiple findings of fact heretofore entered by the Board establish that Narconon's program is not safe. Drug treatment program offered by Narconon-Chilocco is an experimental treatment and not proven safe or effective and is not in accord with the highest standards accepted in medical practice as required by statute. 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 determines that the Narconon Program is not effective in the treatment of chemical dependency. The Board concludes that the program offered by Narconon-Chilocco is not medically safe. The Board has reviewed the proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law submitted by the Department and Narconon. Any proposed finding of fact and/or conclusion of law inconsistent with those entered by the Board is denied. Certification is denied. ====================================================================== from the Newkirk (Oklahoma) Herald Journal, November 7, 1991, translated from the German. `Der Spiegel' Magazine Profile What Germans think about their Narconon (Editor's Note: The following is reprinted with permission. Copyright 1991, Der Spiegel. Distributed by The New York Times Special Features. Der Spiegel is a German magazine similar to our Life magazine. This article appeared in the October 21, 1991 issue.) The enterprising Scientology sect increases its profits thanks to the misery of addicts. The cover organization, Narconon, offers drug rehabilitation therapy that, in the opinion of experts and doctors in the field, is not only useless but also dangerous. Former drug addicts tell of spending five hours a day in the sauna and of brain-washing, including hours of monotonous repetition of meaningless phrases. Many families spend all their savings to cure their drug-addicted offspring but most of Narconon's graduates are no less addicted than when they went in. Former patients claim Narconon is only in it for the money. Christoph Hubler, 22, from Switzerland slides around on his chair, scratches his thigh then his face. As the minutes pass he becomes increasingly restless. The apprentice metalworker desperately needs a fix. He last injected himself last night now it is already midday and the effect of the heroin has worn off. Christoph jumps up and rushes with long strides toward the bathroom. He is a depressing sight, particularly for his father. Only a few months ago the Swiss electrician Hansjorg Hubler scraped together the francs needed to pay for therapy for his son. Now he says, It was all a senseless waste. Christoph spent ten weeks at the picturesque Bavarian Schliersee. At Fiechhauson, 50 kilometers south of Munich, an ominous sounding organization called Narconon runs a home for all addicts midst the rolling pastures. They treat all types of addicts: alcoholics, people dependent on pills, and heroin addicts like Christoph. According to the organization's statute the patients are supposed to learn to lead a life of self-responsibility without their addictive drug. A noble goal, but the reality looks different. Since Christoph was at the home he is more addicted than ever before. He not only shoots as much as beforethe countless red marks on his arms attest to thatbut he now also regularly throws back large quantities of alcohol. One arrives as a junkie, he says, and leaves an alcoholic. What happens in this idyllic location is far from a conventional drug therapy. The Scientologistswho have 200,000 followers and turnover of 150 million Deutschemark (about 255 million dollars) a year in Germany aloneuse unsuitable methods to get people off drugs. The result is usually a new addiction. Instead of cocaine or heroin they provide the drug of the soul - Scientology. The house set in the foothills of the Alps is one of many such centers run from the headquarters in Los Angeles. In Western Europe they already boast 500 homes in England, Spain, Sweden, Denmark and Italy and other countries. And in the Bavarian center the first Russian is being trained. She will take the hardened ideology of Scientology back to her homeland, where alcoholism is widespread and the drug Mafia pursues its trade. The desperate parents of the drug addicts, who entrust their children to Narconon throughout the world usually have no idea that they have become involved with a front organization of the profit-addicted Scientologists. For the Hublers Narconon was the last, deceitful hope. Christoph says, the Narconon people are addicted themselves, addicted to money. While Christoph was rolling joints and drinking vodka with his pals at the Schliersee, Narconon employees were putting pressure on his parents. His father had to pay ever-increasing sums of money. In total Mr. Hubler paid over 15,000 DM. Narconon closely follows the motto of the Scientology sect's founder, Lafayette Ron Hubbard, who died in 1986 at the age of 74. The discoverer of this pseudo-scientific hocus pocus, gave this advice: Make money, make more money, make other people make money. The disciples at Narconon follow this order. It is officially an independent subsidiary of Scientology. The Scientologists have developed countless supposedly humanitarian initiatives around their church. One example is the commission for the violations of psychiatry against human rights. Another is the organization for the furthering of religious tolerance and interhuman relations. In fact all these activities, like the drug rehabilitation program, are only to further the fame and increase the paying followers of the sect. Therapy for addicts is a market with fantastic possibilities. ln former East Germany alone 2 million people are said to be alcoholic. Specialists estimate that about a million people are dependent on pills and over 100,000 take hard drugs. The health insurance spends about 800 million DM every year on the treatment of addicts. With his sound nose for good business, Hubbard already prescribed his lessons for drug therapy in the mid- sixties. The purification of a novice Scientologist uses rituals like the ones used to treat addicts. The American founder had a naive belief that the components of the drug are deposited in the lymph of the addict. With a purification rundown these substances are supposed to be washed from the body. For that the patients, known as students at Narconon, take sweat cures lasting several weeks. They spend nearly five hours a day in the sauna. Vigilli Venzin, a Swiss drug expert says the method is absolute rubbish and medically questionable. He says a short sauna wouldn't harm the addicts since they are easily cold. But more than two hours a day is far too much, unhealthy. Doctors specializing in the field agree, medically all trash says Klaus Behrendt of Hamburg's General Hospital Ochsenzoll. He runs the detoxification unit of the hospital and says intensive saunas for addicts is medieval. Two days after the latest shot, heroin is broken down so much that it is no longer detectable. In very unusual exceptions this decomposition process can last a week, says Behrendt. These days most addicts take several drugs at the same time. They take heroin or cocaine as well as codeine or the sleeping tablet Rohypnol. In those cases the withdrawal is totally unpredictable. Two weeks after the last drug consumption some patients still get cramps and hallucinations. Experienced drug experts from the Munchen advice center, Con-Drobs attempt such complex detoxification only under constant medical supervision, says Gerhard Eckstein, the administrator of Con-Drobs, otherwise it would be much too risky. At Narconon they aren't as concerned. The junkie is examined by Narconon's doctor, who lives 15 kilometers away, before starting the treatment, and after that the only doctor who comes is the emergency doctor. And that happens all the more often for the lack of supervision. Time and again one of the students collapses. The sauna is like torture, says Kurt Siegenthaler, 39, "but what comes after is even more dangerous." Siegenthaler is also Swiss. He is alcoholic and sniffs cocaine. He spent a year at Narconon and survived the psychological suction the Scientologists practice on the drug addict. After the cleansing ritual for the body follows the purification of the spirit. The first session for beginners consists of standing and staring each other in the eye for hours. After that they partake in a nonsensical dialogue. For example: Question: Do birds fly? Answer: Yes, thanks. Do birds fly? No thanks. Do birds fly? Maybe. The dialogue is repeated for hours. In an advanced exercise, the patient stands before a blank wall. Organizer: Look at this wall. Answer: Thank you. Go over to the wall. Thank you. Touch the wall. Thank you. Turn around. Thank you. Then on to the next wall. The ritual continues up to eight hours a day. The monotonous courses go on until the student has an experience of awakening. At some point you just take off, Siegenthaler describes. Christoph Hubler says,They all totally float. Venzin observed the results of this brain-washing in his patient, 21 year old Susanne. After three months she was absolutely depersonalized. When she came back from the Narconon center she spoke like a computer. She only came out of the trance after two months and promptly relapsed into drug abuse... Horst Niesel, the 43 year old head of Narconon for Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland claims to have a 50 percent success rate. But the pupils have other memories. Siegenthaler can't remember one client who stayed clean. After a few weeks they were nearly all there again, he says. An alcoholic from Berlin has been back over a dozen times. Most of them just can't do without Narconon. The logical consequence of the detoxification cure is Scientology. The pupil learns during his endless sessions to give himself unconditionally to his trainer. The rehearsed drills are of no practical worth outside of Scientology. The addict can only make progress within the sect. Narconon does not strengthen the patient's autonomy, as the propaganda claims, but rather weakens the people who have suffered years of disappointments and the worst despondence as drug addicts. That is why this kind of therapy results in a new dependency. Narconon only achieves a transferal of addiction, says Axel Siefert of Munich's state drug advisory center, We don't send anyone there. Narconon is cut off from serious doctors and advisers. In the mid-seventies the Berlin branch managed for a while to obtain state drug program funds. But the error was quickly rectified. The organization moved to Bavaria in 1984, first to Gmund and then to its present location, a former children's home on the Schliefsee. There is room for 40 addicts, but the building is usually only half full. The patient or their families have to come up with the fee of 120 DM a day. The rehabilitation course at Narconon is not covered by any medical insurance. Narconon still finds people willing to admit themselves because the waiting lists are so long at other centers. Addicts have to wait three to six months to be taken in by Con-Drobs in Munich, and the waiting list in Switzerland for heroin addicts is up to two months. Narconon takes everyone immediately. The aspiring patient only has to bring along enough money. Narconon agents regularly do the tour of the fix-scene in search of new clients. The Scientology subsidiary even pays commission for new names and addresses. Since the rent of the Narconon building is 12,400 DM a month, Mr. Niesel doesn't like to see his victims leave. New arrivals not only give up their identity papers, but also hand over all their cash. That way the patient finds it difficult to leave without permission. Briska Vogt, 25, and her boyfriend Andreas, 27, who is a heroin addict, only lasted a week at the Schliersee. One Sunday afternoon the couple climbed out of a window and fled, hitching a ride to Munich. They had the police help them get their belongings back. But there was one good thing about the shock experience with Niesel's band. That week was such a nightmare for Andreas that he hasn't touched heroin since. The Narconon experience doesn't strengthen other inmates. Drug therapist Venzin knows of two addicts who have given themselves that final golden shot shortly after leaving Narconon. Pius Keel, a confirmed Scientologist of 22, ended his stay at the Schliersee tragically. He got himself into deep debt for his community. After some time at Narconon he complained to his mother about the barefaced swindle. Narconon is only about money, he said. On September 14, 1990, after less than two months at Narconon, Pius packed his bags and threw himself under a train. ====================================================================== from the Newkirk (Oklahoma) Herald Journal, December 19, 1991, Editorial Comment HAROLD'S JOURNAL by RWL The simple fact is that Narconon is unsafe and ineffective as health care. Period. Never was. Never will be. It's exactly what we said it was two and a half years ago: a snake oil cure, which at any price is a rip-off. Thanks to the Mental Health Board, taxpayers' money and insurance benefits will not be wasted on Hubbard's Hucksters. Desperate people will no longer be fed false hopes and dangerous hocum, at least at Chilocco. However. the Narconuts continue to blow smoke up the media's tailpipe, blaming their failure to pass muster on everyone and everything else except the real problem: It doesn't work, and it isn't safe. Over 20 years they've been taking people's money and yet there is not one piece of scientifically credible evidence that their program works. Four of their own doctors admitted that at the hearings. Is it safe? Sure, most people survive it. That's not the point. The point is that someone might not survive a 200 degree sauna. Keep in mind that water boils at 212 degrees. One can bake brownies in less than 5 hours at 200 degrees, but that's how long debilitated addicts are expected to spend in the Narconon sauna each day. Considering that all of Narconon's staff (except their new medical director, incidentally) have been through the program at least once, it is not difficult to understand why they have such a hard time comprehending the board's decision. Their brains have obviously been baked. Which is futher indication that Narconon doesn't work and is unsafe. We were especially unimpressed with Ms. Bimbo Barmaid for informing us of how arrogant and irresponsible the Mental Health Board is. Fortunately, she doesn't run anything but her mouth. And even then, she usually uses somebody else's words. Someone might pay attention to her if she had the credentials of even one member of the Mental Health Board. No matter how often she reads the script they give her, she can't make Narconon safe, and she can't make it work. Narconon's latest tactic is to start a petition drive across the state. They've been spotted lurking in the dorm halls at OSU, and were invited off the property at Wall-Mart and Food Warehouse in Ponca over the weekend. With assistance from the police. The idea apparently is that if enough people sign a petition to do something that is dangerous, the people who know better will let them do it anyway. This is Narconon's concept of helping their fellow man? All the names in the world on a petition don't make the Narconon system work, and they don't make it safe. In addition, they have again resorted to their old tactic of harassing people. At least one Mental Health Board member is getting strange phone calls and being followed wherever he goes. A lot of us in Newkirk have been through that foolishness before, too. Harassing board members doesn't make the Narconon program work, and it doesn't make it safe. Harassment like this just makes them more obnoxious. Then there is the Citizen's Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), Narconon's sister org, which appears right on cue to charge the Mental Health Department with undocumented heinous crimes every time it looks like Narconon is going to get tossed out on it's ear. Trying to intimidate the Mental Health Department doesn't make the Narconon system safe, or effective. All of these things they do, without addressing the real problem: Narconon is dangerous and it doesn't work. Until they recognize that fact, they might as well be trying to teach a pig to sing. Which wastes a lot of time and it irritates the pig. ================================================================= If this is a copyrighted work, you are acknowledging by receipt of this document from FACTNet that on the basis of reasonable investigation, you have not been to obtain a copy elsewhere at a fair price, and that you are and will abide by the following copyright warning. 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