JOHN WOOD wants to tell your children the truth about drugs. He is the UK president of an organisation which claims it has been educating young people about the dangers of addiction for 25 years. It claims that message had been successful, and it claims it can also help those who have already fallen to drugs and drink. In fact, Narconon makes rather a lot of claims, and the group has targeted Sussex with literature and glowing tributes from grateful "clients". ...

In the third part of his special investigation into the Church of Scientology, chief reporter PAUL BRACCHI reveals the true cost of one man's involvement with the cult. [A small picture of Mr. Bracci is shown, as on previous days.] HARD SELL... two words synonymous with door-to-door salesman, second hand car dealers, and estate agents. Two words you would definitely not expect to find in the vocabulary of any religion. But this is not any religion. It is Scientology. Today, we ...

Scientology course 'potentially dangerous,' says Oklahoma report A drug treatment program backed by a controversial church is trying to sell Alberta natives addiction-cure services that medical experts have warned are unsafe and ineffective. As many as 10 Alberta reserves have been approached by Narconon, a U.S.-based program associated with the Church of Scientology. The program — which costs about $18,000 US and prescribes daily saunas and megavitamin doses — has been rejected by a U.S. state board of health because it ...

In 1975, the Church of Scientology used a front company to secretly buy the historic Fort Harrison Hotel in downtown Clearwater for $2.3-million. There has been controversy ever since. Shortly after making the hotel its worldwide spiritual headquarters, Scientologists issued an internal directive outlining a plan to "fully investigate the Clearwater city and county area so we can distinguish our friends from our enemies and handle as needed." It called for protecting "ourselves against any potential threat by taking control of ...

HOLLYWOOD (Special) — The U.S. National Dyslexia Foundation is unhappy with a recent statement by Tom Cruise that Scientology has cured the movie star of the reading impairment affliction, columnist Marilyn Beck reports. Joyce Bulifant, executive vice-president, says "Dyslexia is not a disease that can be cured. Research at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Hospital has shown that the dyslexic brain is shaped differently and perceives things differently. Building self- confidence is extraordinarily important for a dyslexic, and if Scientology ...

L. Ron Hubbard was a writer who conjured up tales of time travel and rocket ships to Mars. But science fiction was not all that sprang from Hubbard's pen. He also wrote the book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. In it, Hubbard described a new kind of counseling, which he said could help people increase their IQs, cure themselves of arthritis, allergies, asthma and migraine headaches, and reduce their chances of having a car wreck. The book was published ...

If you have a drug problem, Narconon isn't the answer, some experts say. "As far as I'm concerned, it's bad news, and I would not advise anyone to go near it," says UCLA psychiatry professor Dr. Louis West, who has studied the church since 1950, when it was L. Ron Hubbard's Dianetics, and not a recognized religion. "If someone needs help, they (Narconon) are taking the time and money away from a program that could actually help them," West said yesterday. ...

Winnipeggers should steer clear of the Church of Scientology and its many organizations, which include a drug rehabilitation program called Narconon, a U.S cult expert said yesterday. "There are far safer programs," Cynthia Kisser, executive director of the Cult Awareness Network, said in an interview from Chicago. "Narconon is more likely to do harm than good." The Sun reported Sunday about 60 Winnipeg teenagers have been hired to sell pepperoni and T-shirts door-to-door to raise money for Narconon. However, a Narconon ...

A personal aide to Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard for eight of her nearly 20 years with the group says that fluoxetine (Prozac) and therapy have finally stopped the depression and suicidal ideation she had suffered since 1976. "I have to speak out." Hana (Eltringham) Whitfield told The Psychiatric Times. "The Scientologists choose the most prominent psychiatrists and the most successful drugs to attack. That's why they attacked Ritalin, and that's why they are now attacking Prozac." Although ...

Originally printed in "The Southern California Psychiatrist," May 1991, pp. 6-13. Dr. West has granted permission to upload this article to computer networks and bulletin boards In a previous article (SCPS Newsletter, July, 1990) I provided an historical account of the Church of Scientology. It is a pseudo-scientific healing cult that was formed in the 1950s, and has grown, with the help of extravagant lies and deliberate deception, into a multimillion dollar, international enterprise. Through its many publications, but especially through ...

I was surprised by the emotional tone of Mark Wilkinson's review (April 14 P7) of the book by L. Ron Hubbard titled "Clear Body, Clear Mind." Mr. Wilkinson made his feelings about Mr. Hubbard very clear in his "review" but in the process of giving vent to these in a sarcastic diatribe of transparent intent, Wilkinson violated the cardinal principle of the journalistic profession, which is to maintain objectivity. To completely omit major sections of what is probably the most significant ...

Scientologists Claim Prozac Induces Murder or Suicide, Though Evidence Is Scant Campaign Dismays Doctors INDIANAPOLIS—L. Ron Hubbard, the late founder of the Church of Scientology, long harbored a profound and obsessive hatred for psychiatrists, who, he declared, were "chosen as a vehicle to undermine and destroy the West!" Five years after Mr. Hubbard's death, Scientologists are still waging war on psychiatry. The quasi-religious/ business/ paramilitary organization's latest target is Prozac, the nation's top-selling medicine for severe depression. The group is calling ...

CLEAR BODY, CLEAR MIND: The Effective Purification Program, by L. Ron Hubbard; Bridge Publications; 306 pages. After years of polluting your body, there's hope: L. Ron Hubbard's Clear Body Clear Mind. It gives insights into the horrible toxins in all of us and provides home remedies for flushing our bodies. And if you're an utter rube, you may find comfort in the evangelical, condescending tone of this astounding example of self-promotion. Claiming to have discovered the presence of impurities in our ...

PARIS — The president of the French branch of the Church of Scientology and five colleagues have been arrested in a probe of alleged fraud and illegal practice of medicine, court and church officials said Saturday. The president, Daniele Gounord, was arrested Friday in Paris along with the church's treasurer and the head of a church foundation. They were placed under court supervision, but not jailed Three officials of the Scientologists' branch in Lyon were arrested there in the last 10 ...

Emerging from years of internal strife and public scandal, the Scientology movement has embarked on a sweeping and sophisticated campaign to gain new influence in America. The goal is to refurbish the tarnished image of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard and elevate him to the ranks of history's great humanitarians and thinkers. By so doing, the church hopes to broaden the acceptability of Hubbard's Scientology teachings and attract millions of new members. The campaign relies on official church programs and a ...

The church has adopted the terminology and trappings of traditional theologies. But the IRS is not convinced. Since its founding some 35 years ago by the late science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology has worked hard to shore up its religious profile for the public, the courts and the Internal Revenue Service. In the old days, for example, those who purchased Hubbard's Scientology courses were called "students." Today, they are "parishioners." The group's "franchises" have become "missions." And Hubbard's teachings, ...

It was a triumph of galactic proportions: Science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard had discarded the body that bound him to the physical universe and was off to the next phase of his spiritual exploration — "on a planet a galaxy away." "Hip, hip, hurray!" thousands of Scientologists thundered inside the Hollywood Palladium, where they had just been told of this remarkable feat. "Hip, hip, hurray! Hip, hip, hurray!" they continued to chant, gazing at a large photograph of Hubbard, creator ...

It is not so unusual to buy silence. It's what you have to pay that is sometimes unusual. Sometimes, it is simply a threat of harm. Sometimes, it is money. And, sometimes, it is both. In 1981, when Marjery Wakefield was working as a waitress in Madison, three people showed up at her apartment to dissuade her from filing a lawsuit against the Church of Scientology. They stayed for three days and gave her $16,000, which she used to pay back ...

A Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Oklahoma calls it "pure unadulterated 'cow pies"'. A Doctor of Internal Medicine in Ponca City says it is "filled with ...many false generalizations, internal inconsistencies, outright lies, and potentially dangerous treatments." They are talking about the Purification part of the Narconon drug rehabilitation program that will be offered at Chilocco. According to a document called the Narconon Technical Line-Up copyrighted 1984 by Narconon, their rehabilitation program consists of several steps: First, ...

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A former member of the Church of Scientology is defying church lawyers and a federal judge by publicly alleging that the church held her captive and committed fraud by promising to cure her mental illness. Margery Wakefield, 41, is prohibited under a 1986 federal court settlement from speaking out against the cult, which has its spiritual headquarters in Clearwater. But she says she is ignoring the gag order so she can expose church practices and warn potential ...

TAMPA — You shouldn't be reading this story. The tale of Margery Wakefield vs. the Church of Scientology is supposed to be a secret. Church officials say so. So does a federal judge. In fact, Wakefield could go to jail for talking about the 12 years she spent as a member of the cult, which has its spiritual headquarters in Clearwater. Wakefield, 41, is talking anyway, braving the threats of Scientology lawyers and testing the patience of a U.S. district judge. ...

Newkirk Mayor Garry Bilger says in the past two weeks he has been receiving mail from all over the country since an Associated Press article concerning Narconon Chilocco was released. The article, which appeared in newspapers from Corpus Christi, Tx. to the New York Times, seems to have prompted the letters to Bilger. "I haven't received a letter favorable to the Narconon program yet... they are all negative." For example, a writer from Illinois says, "I can empathize with your town' ...

Margery Wakefield got $200,000 for settling a lawsuit against the Church of Scientology in 1986. In return, Scientology thought it had bought Ms. Wakefield's perpetual silence. She wasn't supposed to disclose the $200,000 figure. She wasn't supposed to talk about Scientology's lop-secret training techniques. And she wasn't supposed to make claims about alleged hypnosis and Satanism in the church. But Ms. Wakefield's been talking, going on Tampa Bay radio twice recently to discuss just these things. In so doing, she's testing ...

NEWKIRK, OK – A proposed drug treatment and rehabilitation center which could be in operation on Indian land at the former Chilocco Indian School north of Newkirk by June 15th may be part of a notorious religious cult. Narconon was approved for a 75-bed facility by the State Health Planning Commission in January of this year as part of The Chilocco Development Authority. The projected cost is $400,000 for renovation and the five Indian tribes involved are projected to receive $16,000,000 ...