Narconon
~Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
~Subject: Narconon Evaluation
~From: referen@ibm.net (Diane Richardson)
~Date: Sat, 05 Aug 1995 13:08:58 GMT
This is an old report, but I think the data it contains can still
shed a lot of light on how Narconon works. A brief explanation
of the report's provenance is in order.
Back in 1974, Narconon New Life of Los Angeles was receiving
California state funds through what was known as the Short Doyle
act, which allocated money to alternative drug treatment programs
-- recovery houses, therapeutic communities, and the like. This
evaluation was conducted at the request of the California State
Department of Health by a team composed of Forest S. Tennant,
Jr., M.D., Dr.P.H., Jane Thomas, R.N., Mike Reilly, and Joseph
Shannon, M.D., M.P.H. It was submitted to Don Z. Miller, Deputy
Director, Health Treatment System, State Department of Health,
Sacramento, CA, on 31 Oct 1974.
_____________________________________________________
OUTLINE FOR RECOVERY HOUSE EVALUATION
NARCONON NEW LIFE
827 Beacon Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90017
(213) 487-0986
Ben Gibson - Director, Narconon New Life;
Greg Zerovnik - National Director, Narconon U.S.
1. HISTORY OF PROGRAM
a. Length of Existence: Narconon New Life began in June, 1972
as an office that dealt with out-patients. There was no official
funding at that time. It received its first [Senate Bill] 714
funding in November, 1973.
b. Pattern of Evolution: Narconon is derived etymologically
from Greek and essentially means "not stuporous." As used by the
organization Narconon, it signifies an aversion or antagonism
towards the use of drugs that depress the central nervous system.
The organization "Narconon" was founded in 1966 by William
Benitez, an inmate in Arizona State Prison who had read and
subsequently ascribed to the writings and doctrines of L. Ron
Hubbard. In 1972, out of an apparent need to place released
prisoners, a halfway house was organized. With the work of
residents and a pooling of funds the recovery house, now called
Narconon New Life, soon became formally established and
functioning.
The Director of Narconon New Life halfway house is a Mr. Ben
Gibson. Mr. Gibson's actual experiential involvement in the
"drug culture" is minimal. By his own testimony he had tried
"pot" approximately five times and LSD once. He apparently was
familiar with the effects of opiate addiction in New York but his
stated real motivating experience for devoting his energies to
"treatment" and prevention of drug abuse was his witnessing of a
dramatic suicide attempt. His vocational background was
principally in the fringe arts (handicrafts). Although he did
not obtain an undergraduate degree he is obviously an articulate,
disciplined, and ambitious man. He states that he received an
honorary L.L.D. from the California College of Law. Hence the
title "Dr." Gibson.
An apparently important figure in the development of Narconon in
California is a Mr. Greg Zerovnik. Mr. Zerovnik is presently
National Director of Narconon-United States and is based in Los
Angeles. His academic background includes a B.A. in Fine Arts.
His experiential relationship to the "drug scene" includes, by
his own testimony, a two and one-half to three year history of
"dealing drugs" in the Bay area. Whether or not he was ever a
"user" is ambiguous. In any case he is also articulate,
disciplined and ambitious. He, as well as Mr. Gibson, are
"ministers" in the Church of Scientology.
2. CONTRACT DATA
a. Number: This information was not available to us.
b. Date: The first SB 714 contract was awarded November 7,
1973. The current SB 714 contract was awarded July 1, 1974.
c. Number of Beds (Contract and Non-Contract): There were eight
beds available for a duration of treatment of 120 days.
d. Amount of Money: The amount of money received was $44,000
plus $1320 in patient fees. The money is paid at the rate of
$15.00 per patient per day.
e. Non-Contract Money -- Sources and Amount: Narconon has a
California Youth Authority contract for $300 per month per
patient. There is no limit on the number of subjects that can be
taken. Most additional monies appear to be raised by the selling
of educational courses to residents and clients attending on an
outpatient basis.
3. FUNDING PROPOSAL FOR SHORT-DOYLE
The first proposal that was submitted for 714 funding was to L.A.
County through the Echo Parks - Sierra Lake Coalition (now
Central Drug Coalition) for slightly over $330,000. There was
not a copy of this proposal on the premises and we were told that
all the copies were submitted to the County and therefore they
had not copies.
A second proposal was submitted in 1974 for approximately
$497,000. This proposal is attached. Almost the entire proposal
is dedicated to testimonies and statements of the effectiveness
of Narconon. There is no mention in the proposal about
Scientology. There is no mention about the population to be
served, the objectives, staff pattern, community coordination,
evaluation, and very little about the treatment process. There
is a statement in the proposal about non-medical detoxification
which states that Narconon's detoxification procedure enables the
addict to get off heroin without using any substitute drug or
suffering heavy withdrawal pains. In the budget there are slots
for six detoxification specialists. These specialists are
non-medical and trained within Narconon itself.
4. BOARD OF DIRECTORS
a. Profit or Non-Profit Corporation: Narconon has been a
non-profit corporation under the state of California since May 1,
1970.
b. Members: There are three members of the Board of Directors:
1) William C. Benitez, 2) Henning Heldt; 3) Arthur J. Maren. All
three members are Scientologists and Heldt and Maren are employed
full time in the Church of Scientology. This documentation of
board members of Narconon lends direct support to the supposition
that Narconon is closely aligned with the Church of Scientology.
c. How Often Do They Meet: The Articles of Incorporation state
the Board will meet once per year although they may have special
meetings.
d. Financial and Other Reports for Board: According to the
Narconon staff reports are sent monthly to Director of Narconon
U.S. (Zerovnik) who, in turn, keeps the Board informed.
5. FACILITY
a. License for Facility: The facility does not have a board and
care license. During the past month they were visited by
representatives of L.A. County concerning this license. However,
there is apparently no active movement underway to acquire the
board and care license.
b. Square Footage Per Patient: This is difficult to determine
since we were not able to ascertain exactly the number of
patients that reside in the facility.
c. General Appearance; Hygiene; and Safety: The recovery house
was clean and had fire extinguishers. There appeared to be ample
space in rooms for patients. There were ten client beds although
some patients apparently live in another facility on Westmoreland
Avenue.
d. Kitchen Facilities and Nutrition: These appeared to be in
good clean condition. The garbage collection was adequate and
appeared sanitary.
6. STAFFING
a. Number: Currently, the Recovery House has twenty-nine full
time staff members ranging in age from eighteen to thirty.
b. Full-Time; Part Time; Sex; Ethnic Breakdown: The staff is
about 60% male and 40% female. The ethnic breakdown for staff,
according to the director, is 80% Caucasian, 10% Chicano, and 10%
Black.
c. Educational Background: The Director told the evaluation
team that in actual practice, seven senior staff members make
decisions and, in effect, run the program. All staff members are
graduates of the Narconon training course and all senior staff
members are concurrently members of the Church of Scientology.
d. Criteria for Hiring: The criteria for the hiring of the
staff includes completion of the Narconon Training Course (three
weeks minimum) and high motivation.
e. Training: There is a seven week provisional period for staff
after course completion during which they work and receive
additional training before they begin getting paid. According to
the director of Narconon New Life and director of Narconon U.S.
an additional requirement for Narconon staff members responsible
for using an E-meter to audit student progress, is that they be a
recognized minister in the Church of Scientology.
f. Staff Coverage: There are obviously more than enough staff
to provide adequate house coverage. Nine of the senior staff
reside in the upstairs portion of the administrative house next
door to the Recovery House residence. Since the residential
client population averages 20 to 25, it would seem as though
staff outnumbers clients. However, many of the staff are
assigned to do introductory courses, community relations,
solicitation of new members and clients, and various other
program functions. Additionally, day and evening classes are
offered on an outpatient basis not only for drug dependent
individuals, but for probation officers, teachers and members of
the general public as well.
g. Turnover: When asked about staff turnover, the Director
estimated that the program loses one staff member approximately
every six months. If this figure is accurate, that would
represent a very low turnover rate in comparison to most other
drug treatment programs. The team had no way to corroborate this
statement.
h. Organizational Structure: The organizational structure of
the program, including program rules and procedures, criteria and
training for staff, work assignments, educational course content,
staff structure, organizational structure, and program philosophy
are derived directly from a seven volume series entitled "The
Organization Executive Course" by L. Ron Hubbard and published by
the Church of Scientology. Since this material was not
originally intended for use by a drug abuse treatment program
some additional procedures and directives have been developed by
Narconon U.S. specifically focused on dealing with a drug abusing
population. The Director of Narconon U.S. assured the evaluation
team that policies developed within Narconon in no way
contradicted the basic principles set forth by Hubbard in his
seven volume series, but instead, were intended to augment them.
The program organizational structure alone, taken directly from
Hubbard's works, is a highly complex and rigidly structured
system that provides for exact assignment of work roles, precise
supervisory monitoring of quality and amount of work completed,
defined training requirements for each work assignment within the
organization, and processes for discipline of staff who have
violated the rules or policies of the program.
The various offenses that staff may be disciplined for are
characterized as high crimes, felonies, misdemeanors or errors.
One section of the "Organization Executive Course" specifies that
staff "convicted" of "high crimes" in addition to having all
training certificates revoked and being banned from the
organization, will further be labeled as "fair game." A later
directive from Hubbard instructs that the term "fair game" not be
used any longer as it is potentially harmful for public
relations.
The evaluation team was unable to ascertain to what extent these
staff disciplinary practices are actually utilized within the
program. One staff member interviewed indicated that one of his
responsibilities was staff auditor, which within the organization
means that he would administer E-meter or "truth detector" tests
to other staff members. The circumstances under which these
tests would take place was not explained.
i. Lines of Communication: Narconon U.S. manages all the
Narconon offices by "remote management." This means that they
keep track of all data including admissions, discharges, income,
expenses, etc. The organizational structures and lines of
communication appear to be more rigid than what one might expect
to find in a military organization.
The lines of communication between the staff are again specified
and consist apparently of regular weekly meetings at various
levels of the program organizational structure. A network of
reports are prepared on a regular basis within the organization.
It would be fair to say that virtually all of the staff have a
remarkably similar understanding of the program and its purposes,
and in that sense, internal communication is quite good.
In summary, it is important to qualify the foregoing explanation
of staffing and organizational structure as a mere surface
description of the tip of the iceberg. In order to really
understand the machinations of this program, one would probably
need to read the thousands of pages of Hubbard's writings and
even then, have to be personally involved in the organization for
a number of years. The brief time the evaluation team had to
spend on these issues served to raise a good many more questions
than they answered.
7. PATIENT DATA
a. Demographic Characteristics: The printed information made
available to us and the various interviews indicated that the
Narconon Halfway House would accept any individual from anywhere
who was assessed by the Narconon organization as being eligible
for their "treatment" procedure. The two clients interviewed
were from Los Angeles and Cleveland, respectively. There was no
evidence in the Narconon literature or in the interviews with the
Narconon staff that Narconon was attempting to or interested in
providing services to any particular area or locale within Los
Angeles County.
b. Drug Problem: Narconon literature clearly emphasizes its
interest in the prevention and treatment of drug abuse and drug
related problems. The interviews with staff, however, quite
clearly established that drug use was largely incidental to their
program and that their real efforts are directed at instilling in
the "students" a mastery system in which personal and
environmental problems are eradicated by the exercise of a
programmed or conditioned willpower.
8. PATIENT RECORDS
We were initially told that we would have access to patient
records. However, when we came to that part of our review which
required a sampling of patient records, access was insistently
denied on the basis of "students" (patients) privileged
information. "Students'" records are kept under lock and key at
Central Files (C.F.) to which only the director "Doctor" Gibson
and his wife Cora allegedly have access. Mr. Gibson's assistant,
Sandy, did show me three documents demonstrating a "student's"
substantial improvement in personality adjustment and I.Q. The
former (a personality profile) is termed American Personality
Analysis (see attached) and copyrighted by Julia Lewis Salmen. I
was told that exclusive rights were held by either L. Ron Hubbard
or the Church of Scientology, or both. The second two documents
were before and after I.Q. measurements on the same "student" and
demonstrated a 36 point improvement on the second measurement.
The I.Q. test forms are a standardized California test
(California Capacity Questionnaire) and are available for general
public use. No other patient or "student" record material was
made available but conversations indicated that patient records
were of a confessional type which could be embarrasing or perhaps
incriminating if known to anyone other than specified Narconon
"officers."
Standardized forms that go into the making of a "student's"
personal file were given to us (see attached forms termed A, A1,
A2, A3, A4 Codes). The preceding letter-numbered coded forms
tabulate general "student" information such as age, sex, etc., as
well as documenting a variety of Narconon courses completed.
Additionally the forms emphasize I.Q. testing, drug use data,
fiscal information and correctional institution history. Again
it was implied that some sort of progree notes were included but
confidentiality precluded inspection even with the names or other
identifying information blocked out.
9. FISCAL RECORDS
a. Working Budget: Narconon did not have a program budget nor
did they have a copy of the line item budget submitted to the
county for the Short Doyle Contract. The staff reported that the
county had lost the original budget and that Narconon had sent
the county its last copy to replace it.
The fiscal records kept by the program seem detailed and
complete. Income, expenditures and assets are accounted for on a
monthly basis. As of June 27, 1974, Narconon had a balance of
$13,039.33 in its reserve account.
b. Program Expenses: Monthly program expenses are allocated
according to a percentage formula derived from "The Organization
Executive Course" by L. Ron Hubbard. Under this rather complex
system, in any given month 31% of total income is allocated to
salaries; 5% to training; 54% to operational expenses; and 10% to
general reserves. The allocation to operational expenses
includes 10% of total income which is paid monthly to Narconon
U.S. from all Narconon field programs. This payment is for
research, and for the development of training and student course
materials.
If the percentage amount of income is greater than actual
expenses for a given month, the average will go into a reserve
account for that particular category. If the percentage amount
of income is less than actual expenses for a given month, then it
is up to the program to either cut expenses or generate more
client revenue.
This method of allocating income provides particular incentives
for program staff to solicit new clients because, as total income
increases, there is a proportionate increase in individual staff
salaries.
The amount paid each staff member in a given month is calculated
from yet another Hubbard formula. Each position is assigned a
given number of units, based on level of responsibility within
the organization. (i.e., Executive Director position is assigned
200 units monthly.) Additionally, there are opportunities listed
for earning bonus units. Some bonus units are allowed for time
in service. Production bonus units are allocated for prison work
and recruitment of new members. At the end of each month, units
are computed for each staff member. The total units earned by
staff are divided into the total salary allocation for that month
in order to compute the worth of a single work unit. Each staff
member then is paid the total of a single work unit multiplied by
the total number of units he has earned during the month. In
this manner, staff salaries vary from month to month and depend
solely on the amount of client revenue that can be generated for
the program.
C. Billings: Under the Short Doyle contract, Narconon has been
reimbursed at a provisional billing rate of fifteen dollars a day
per Short-Doyle client from March 1974. From November 1973
through February 1974, the program was reimbursed for actual cost
of operating expenses. The reimbursement for actual cost in the
period from November 1973 to February 1974 resulted in payments
of $1918 more than the program would have gotten had they billed
at the $15 per diem rate for the same time period. Given the
process the program uses to calculate salaries, it is difficult
to understand how they could define the actual cost of program
operation for billing purposes. If the actual program cost
depends on how much income you receive, how can you bill for
reimbursement based on a program cost that can't be calculated
until after the reimbursement billing is received? If these
kinds of questions seem somewhat confusing to the reader, they
have created similar problems for the evaluation team.
At any rate, the billings seemed detailed and corresponded with
recorded client days in treatment. The program staff seems to
understand the process they use and the county seems satisfied to
pay. The evaluation team did not ask to see source documents
supporting bookkeeping entries, preferring rather to retreat to
firmer ground.
e. Yearly Audit Done: Under the County Short Doyle contract
from November 1973 through June 1974, Narconon was required to
have an independent audit conducted for the county within 90
days. They failed to do so and were advised by the evaluation
team that this needed to be done.
10. TREATMENT PROCESS
Introductory Note: Aside from the initial detoxification,
"bullbaiting," and the later "auditing" process described below,
and orthodox definition of the word treatment is not applicable
to Narconon as we saw it and as it was described to us. The
traditional labels of "patient" or "client" are, by Narconon,
identified as "students" or occasionally "PC's" (presumably
meaning Pre-Clears in the scientological lexicon). In reference
to the latter, we must point out that any connection between
Narconon and Scientology other than coincidental was usually
vehemently denied. The interview data and our observations
support a rehabilitation conception perhaps best termed a
"corrective educational experience." Occuring in a stepwise
fashion from rigidly simple rote exercises through the more
complex "auditing" process and (for those who can afford it) a
multiplicity of "clear" and "Post-Clear" states promising total
personal and environmental control. Theoretically it is a
patchwork of Freudian, Gestalt, Pavlovian, science fiction and
Eastern (reincarnation) ideas unequivocably sutured together with
L. Ron Hubbard's terminology. Indeed, the initial exercises
require in addition to a standard English dictionary, a special
Narconon dictionary enabling the "student" to understand the
Narconon/Scientology terminology.
a. Criteria for Admission: From our review of Narconon
publications and from our interview data gathered from staff and
students we must assume that there are no established drug use
criteria for residents at the Narconon New Life Halfway House.
The verbal statements of having used marijuana or some other
illicit drug *may* be a drug abuse requirement for admission but
it was not so stated. The one requirement specified verbally was
that a potential student must pass the motivation assessment
interview conducted in a room termed Department 6 and thereafter
be given the final acceptance notice by "Doctor" Gibson's wife
Cora at Division 1. Thus it seems that the single admission
criteria is Narconon's assessment of motivation.
b. Patient Evaluation: Narconon "student" evaluation is done by
a staff officer's subjective evaluation of student motivation
subsequent to which a routine routing format follows. The latter
includes a coded data collection system geared to tracking the
individual within the Narconon network of programs. There is a
section on Form A2 entitled "drug history" that records and codes
drugs used. The latter is a recording of the student's verbal
statements concerning drug use, past and present, and is not
verified by objective physical or laboratory data. The Narconon
written documents and interview data indicated that medical
examinations were not a routine procedure and we were unable to
determine as to whether or not any medical information per se (a
previous medical history and physical examination) were part of
the student's confidential file. As noted previously a
"personality analysis" and a before and after I.Q. recording are
standard Narconon procedures.
c. Psychotherapy: Although the term "psychotherapy" is
antithetical to Narconon officialdom the "bullbaiting" and the
subsequent "auditing" procedures are adaptations from "encounter"
therapy and Freudian psychoanalytic treatment models. Noting
Narconon's aversion to traditional psychology's terminology the
description of the Narconon rehabilitation process hereafter will
be termed "instruction exercises" or "training routines" in an
attempt to minimize confusion.
Upon acceptance into the Narconon New Life Halfway House the
student either promptly begins the basic Narconon Communication
Course or if drug dependent promptly taken to the detoxification
room for drug withdrawal. The latter is describe elsewhere.
Subsequent to processing through Department 6, a final acceptance
by the Director's wife, Cora Gibson, at Division 1 and receiving
the course instruction materials (including standard English and
Narconon dictionaries), and "Coach" assignment at Division 2, a
student begins the two or four week basic Narconon Communication
Course. The Communication Course involves a rigid series of
training routines termed TR's subnumbered 0-9. Each TR is an
individually prescribed entity which must be mastered before
proceeding on an upward "gradient" to the next TR. TR0 involves
three exercises specified as "eyes closed," "eyes opened," and
"bullbaiting." The premise seems to involve the exercise of
trust in "eyes closed," the exercise of direct eye contact
tolerance (staring into the coach's eyes) in "eyes open," and the
seeking of an emotional weak spot or "button" and a corresponding
emotional response to it in the bullbaiting routine. The
bullbaiting exercise seems to involve principally physical
characteristics that may be used to embarrass or humiliate an
individual and condition him to accept and control is responses
to these verbal threats to his body image. For example, one
might poke fun at a poor complexion, a crooked nose, and etc.
Bullbaiting appears to be a crude forerunner of the more polished
auditing procedure and is accomplished without the use of the
so-called E-meter. Additionally it appears to be the primary
part of TR0 or the initial exercise routine.
TR1 through 9 involves mastering written course materials
obviously adapted from L. Ron Hubbard's works and incorporated
into the Narconon Communication Course. They primarily involve
the "proper" understanding of key words and phrases that must be
looked up in the Narconon dictionary and then demonstrated in
each exercise routine. TR1 teaches students to "clearly
communicate"; TR2 -- how to "acknowledge" properly; TR3 -- how to
get an answer to a question without "variation"' and TR4 -- how
to handle "origenation" -- to accept a pain or discomfort and
find out where it originated.
The first five TR's (0-4) must be mastered in their entirety
three times before proceeding to TR6. (We were informed that no
TR5 existed.) TR6 involves "good and effective control over an
individual or group"' TR7 -- the same as TR6 but on a higher
"gradient" which presumably means physical control over a
threatening or disturbed individual. TR8 involves "intention
without reservation" -- to totally clarify ones intentions (which
may be nonverbal). TR9 is a culmination of previous TR's and
stresses particularly the thorough mastery of four conceptions,
i.e. "exact intention," "exact strength needed," "exact force
necessary," and "exact intention without reservation or limit."
The student now goes backwards through this routine and if
successful is given a certificate of completion for the basic
Narconon Communication Course. Upon completion of the basic
Communication Course the student is apparently free to choose any
number of more "advanced" course study programs, most of which
appear to be stepping stones towards the attainment of HQS
(Hubbard Qualified Scientologist) status. We were told that
approximately 90 percent of the students go on into the various
courses available. A Mr. John Powers, who stated he is the new
staff auditor for Narconon New Life, states that he hoped all
graduates of the basic Narconon Communications Course would take
courses leading to HQS.
It was very ambiguous to us, due to conflicting statements,
exactly how the E-meter auditing and the Post-Basic Narconon
courses related. It seemed clear enough, however, that the
E-meter was routinely used in many if not all of the courses and
it was implied that this device was used at least occasionally in
the Basic Narconon Communication Course.
d. Techniques:
1) I.Q. Raising - It was implied and in material from a case
file "demonstrated" that the Narconon Communication Course
promised a substantial elevation of the student's I.Q.
2) E-Meter -- The E-meter is a fairly crude lie detector-like
device that allegedly indicates areas of mental conflict,
fixations, conscious and unconscious lying, and various other
psychic phenomenon based on Hubbard's "engram" theory. The
latter is roughly equivalent to popularized Freudian conceptions
of mental fixations or Jungian psychic "complexes" but dramatized
by an electronic galvonometric device and its association with
the scientological "technology."
e. Discipline: Our interviewed data indicated that the Narconon
disciplinary approach was based on the "Student's Guide to
Ethical Behavior." We were not able to get a copy of the latter
document. We were told that infractions were "routed" to the
"Ethics Officer" who taught the infractors where they went wrong.
We were unable to obtain any precise information as to what
infractions were other than the drinking of alcohol 24 hours
prior to a course. All medication use or abuse is considered
deviant or aberrant behavior but the rules or regulations
determining policy actions were simply unstated. One of the
"supervisors" interviewed stated that a student using Dilantin,
phenobarbital, and Tedral was expelled from Narconon New Life
Halfway House. Presumably the latter individual was epileptic
and asthmatic and his medication use precluded participation in
the Narconon rehabilitation program.
f. Phases of Treatment: There are apparently no stated phases
of treatment but rather a continual upward flow of course
completions leading to the attainment, if successful, of control
over oneself and one's environment. This flow is termed a
"gradient" by the Narconon staff. The terminology is strikingly
similar and presumably parallels, if not merging, the Scientology
hierarchy. The latter presumption was underscored by a lengthy
conversation with "members" - "employees" at the Scientology/
Westwood office where it was stated that Narconon was simply the
application of Scientology "technology" to the problem of drug
addiction. Additionally two patients interviewed on a local
methadone program reported that their unsuccessful treatment for
heroin use at Narconon was by the application of Scientology
techniques and was essentially directed at eventually attaining a
"clear" state. Again, any connection with Scientology other than
coincidental was vigorously denied by Dr. Gibson and his
principal assistants.
Re-entry in to Narconon Rehabilitation Process is encouraged for
drop-outs and apparently implies faster progression through the
course materials and has a lower financial burden for the
individual during his second matriculation.
g. Urine Testing: No urine testing is done by Narconon New Life
Halfway House. However, students on parole may get urine testing
at their parole officers. It was not stated whether or not
records were kept of urinalysis results but it appeared clear
that communication between Narconon and the parole officials was
maintained.
h. Vocational/Educational: Narconon is a continually expanding
self-contained or closed ended organization. Students must pay
either in money or in work for the Narconon courses and are
encouraged to proceed through the course work system to a
promotion to staff status where they can share in monies derived
from various sources for their Narconon work and additionally pay
for ones own "auditing." (This system is analogous to a
Psychoanalytic Institute where analysts in training treat clinic
patients for a moderate fee to help pay for their own continuing
analysis by Training Analysts and as well support the costs of
maintaining the institute.) "Moonlighting" is encouraged if it
doesn't interfere with course work as it provide additional
monies for a faster personal "auditing" process. An interviewed
supervisor stated that it will take him approximately five years
to attain the "clear" state whereas if he had sufficient funds of
his own he could reach this much coveted status within one year.
In short, Narconon appeared to be an inwardly oriented
organization where vocational interests are subordinated to
promoting an individual's progression through the
Narconon/Scientology hierarchy.
i. Recreation: Narconon has no formalized recreational
activities. We were assured, however, that touch football and
various other recreational activities occurred on a fairly
regular basis.
j. Drop Development Placement: See "h." above.
k. Detoxification: Narconon New Life Halfway House has one room
specified as the detoxification room. The detoxification
procedure is monitored 24 hours daily by a Narconon trained
detoxification specialist. The procedure consists of "touching,"
"extroverting" the subject's attention from his body, and
approximately a half handful of enteric coated vitamins every six
hours. The detoxification procedure usually does not exceed 72
hours and is described as comfortable. The subject is said to
sleep well. A single page communique from Mark Jones (former
Executive Director-Narconon U.S.) explicitly states that only
heroin addicts should be detoxified by the Narconon process.
This information is either unknown or unheeded by the staff
members interviewed at Narconon New Life Halfway House. Mr. John
Powers states that he had seen a "convulsion" stopped immediately
by the Narconon procedure but was unable to describe in even
layman's terms what this convulsive episode consisted of. What
he did describe was similar to a hysterical outburst which could
quite easily be relieved by a calm, soothing and attentive
companion.
l. Informed Consent: Narconon uses several consent or agreement
forms with various titles. The most interesting form is entitled
"Legal Contract for Narconon Rehabilitation Program." (See
attachment.) Among other things this document specifies that the
Narconon service "is spiritual guidance not intended to diagnose
or treat human ailments of body or mind by other than spiritual
means." It additionally specifies that the "service which is
subject to this agreement is open to anyone who: a. does not
have a purely medical illness which would be curable within the
skills of a physical practitioner; b. does not have a history or
record of institutionalization in an insane asylum or similar
place; c. is not connected with any person or group of known
antagonism towards Narconon; d. enrolls on his own determinism
and not on orders of any other group or person; e. will use the
knowledge gained to help others in the understanding that one has
to help others to help himself; f. is willing to abide by the
rules governing the program as such may be made known to him in
HCO (HCO presumably means Hubbard Communication Office) Policy
letters and other authorized publications; g. is not using this
service to try to cure an illness."
Item 7 and 9 of the preceding agreement essentially relieves
Narconon of any actual or potential legal claim of any sort under
any circumstances and in perpetuity. Item 11 "expressly waives
the prohibitions of Section 1542 of the Civil Code of
California," i.e., certain claims not affected by general
release.
There is a specific detoxification agreement (see attachment)
that simply provides a signed agreement that the detoxification
subject will remain in the detoxification unit 72 hours or until
complete detoxification and is willing to accept a no refund
provision.
We were not provided with and must presume that there is *no*
informed consent document specifying the *risks* involved in
withdrawal from hypnotics/tranquilizer medications such as
convulsive episodes during barbiturate withdrawal. There are two
inherently logical conclusions for omitting this type of informed
consent document: 1. the legal contract described above
apparently relieves Narconon of any legal responsibilities for
any such risk; 2. Mark Jones's memorandum excluding
detoxification from any drug excepting heroin in which serious
withdrawal complications are minimal. Nevertheless, our
information indicates that the letter directive is either unknown
or unusued at Narconon New Life Halfway House.
11. INTERVIEW OF PATIENTS
a. General Appearance: The residents appeared to be well
dressed and well nourished.
b. Attitude: The patients had a positive attitude. Most of
them wanted to become qualified scientologists.
c. Interviews with Patients: We were allowed to interview two
"students" selected personally by Mr. Ben Gibson.
The first interviewee was X, who has resided at the Narconon New
Life Halfway House for approximately three months. She was
"referred" by her brother, the director Mr. Ben Gibson. She
stated that she had never really been into drugs but had used
"pot" and feels that she would have become "strung out" on heroin
had she not come to Los Angeles from Cleveland and participated
in the Narconon rehabilitation program. She was uncertain as to
whether or not she would pursue the more advanced Narconon
courses and become a Scientologist.
The second interviewee, W, is presently a "supervisor" and is a
former "student" of Narconon's rehabilitation program. W is a
20-year-old male who describes himself as having been a bastard
(illegitimate). His drug problem consisted to using methadrine
intravenously three to four times and some use of Seconal but
"never addicted or really into them." His stated main concern
was that of "pot," not particularly because of the health
implications but because it was against the law. His first
association with Narconon was in 1973 and lasted two to three
months. He left to get married and returned approximately five
months ago and has remained with Narconon since as has his wife
who is also employed by Narconon. His present function is that
of a "supervisor" for the initial introductory exercise or what
is termed the Narconon Communication Course. He obtains a
subsistence remuneration for his work and is definitely goal
oriented in terms of reaching a "clear" state through the
"auditing" process over a period of approximately five years. If
he could afford the fees he feels he could obtain this much
coveted state within one year. Since he hasn't the funds he'll
"moonlight" to pay for the "auditing" process during the coming
years. W initially stated he was a Scientologist then retracted
and stated he was a dues paying member of the Church of
Scientology. W again retracted his dues paying status and stated
that he donated money to the Church of Scientology and was
uncertain as to whether or not he could be rightfully termed a
member of the Church. W. was an enthusiastic young man who
whateger his affiliation with Scientology was certainly a "true
believer."
A third student interviewed at Narconon claims that she arrived
"strung out" from heroin, methadone and 45 reds a day. She said
she was not taken to detoxification but stayed up for 2-3 days
with someone before being assigned to classes. Her claim was
that she was "shaky," couldn't sleep and felt sick. There was no
physician to see her at this time. This patient was referred to
Narconon by her husband and a priest at CRC.
12. OUTCOME OF TREATMENT
There was no hard data available. The claims of 86% recovery is
misleading as explained below.
13. ADVERTISEMENTS AND CLAIMS
a. Public Descriptions by Pamphlets, Notices, etc.: The 86%
"cure rate" is totally unfounded. Narconon publishes a
voluminous amount of paper for the purpose of public relations.
The main Narconon rehabilitation program bulletin states that a
high percentage of clients, approximately 75%, are rehabilitated
within 3 months. The pamphlet further states that one supervisor
can supervise 42 people a day in three 3-hour periods.
Furthermore, one supervisor can train 14 new supervisors in three
months.
b. Misleading Claims: Narconon claims to have an 86% cure rate
for narcotics addicts which is simply not true. Mr. Greg
Zerovnik, National Director - Narconon U.S., explained that the
86% figure came from a study of parolees from the Arizona State
Prison who may or may not have been narcotics addicts. This sort
of claim is, of course, misleading to both the prospective client
and to public officials who are sincerely attempting to find ways
to cope with the problem of drug abuse.
Narconon also advertises detoxification with mega-vitamins and
other non-medical procedures that may be hazardous and in some
cases lethal. Attachment 19 is a Narconon letter to the East
Valley Free Clinic advertising an extraordinarily expensive
detoxification procedure. It furthermore claims a 68% two year
"success rate" for drug abstinence and for arrests "for anything
related to drugs." It implies that these success ratios are
applicable to heroin addicts and alcoholics. This claim is
either misleading or miraculous. Without supporting data the
evaluation team cannot but presume this document, however
enticing, is a misleading claim.
Narconon implies that it can raise I.Q.'s and generally increase
communication skills for their clients. There is no scientific
evidence that these alleged changes cause a cure in approximately
50% of cases seen as stated by Mark Jones in a Los Angeles Times
article.
One gathers, after visiting their facility and reading the
rehabilitation program pamphlet, that there is as much effort
being directed towards obtaining new supervisors and training
other supervisors for the purpose of selling education courses as
is being directed toward the treatment/rehabilitation of drug
abusers.
14. COMPLIANCE WITH N.I.D.A. STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES FOR
RECOVERY HOUSES
In assessing the existing program operation to compare current
program practices with the Federal Funding Criteria for Treatment
Services, there arose a serious question as to whether Narconon
was in compliance with even its existing county Short-Doyle
contract requirements.
The County defines a recovery house as "a place where persons
seeking to recover from *narcotic addiction* reside and endeavor
to aid one another and receive aid from others in recovering from
such addiction. . . ."
While the County contract specifies narcotic addiction as a
requirement for treatment in recovery houses, the evaluation team
found no evidence to indicate that this was a requirement for
acceptance within the Narconon program. On the contrary, in
interviewing three residents, one had apparently used heroin,
methadone and reds, another claimed to have used intravenous
methadrine several times but had not used heroin. The third had
used "pot" several times and have never used "harder" drugs. By
any stretching of definitions it would be difficult to classfy
two of the three clients interviewed as "narcotic addicts."
Since these funds were appropriated for the treatment of a
specified client population, it would seem that using them for
the treatment of a different client population constitutes a
violation of contract terms and a misuse of treatment monies.
Narconon is not currently operating in a manner that would comply
with many NIDA guidelines, but program staff expressed a
willingness to make necessary program changes if money was made
available and if they were required to do so as a condition of
funding.
15. UTILIZATION OF STATE MONEY
a. Does Recovery House Use State Money To Entice Patient To Pay
Money For Other Purposes?
Is is the opinion of the evaluating team that some Narconon
clients are initially funded under 714 only to be sold basic
communication courses that may or may not be directly related to
Scientology.
b. Does Recovery House Use State Money For Purposes Other Than
Drug Treatment?
In the opinion of the evaluation team there was little evidence
that a significant number of the clients treated at Narconon were
drug dependent individuals. Additionally there is little doubt
that the religion of Scientology is advocated, openly discussed,
and encouraged within Narconon. Since the Church of Scientology
is a religion it appears that State money is being directly used
to support a church. There appears to be little difference
between Narconon and the Church of Scientology. For example,
there was one book entitled "The Problem of Work" by L. Ron
Hubbard and on the inside cover of the book was a statement "For
religious use only." The evaluation team was also given a
demonstration of the use of the E-meter.
All of the literature and books are directly derived from
Scientology and most staff are already or are becoming
Scientologists. It would appear that Narconon is receiving state
funds for treating "addicts" and is using primarily methods or
"technology" of the Church of Scientology.
16. RECOMMENDATIONS AND/OR CONDITIONS FOR CONTINUED STATE
FUNDING
a. Detoxification procedures should be stopped on the premises
since their procedures are without proper medical supervision and
may be dangerous.
b. Three evaluation team members recommend cessations of State
funding.
c. One evaluation team member recommends continued funding if
the following conditions are met:
1) Program must operate a facility that specifically and
exclusively deals with the rehabilitation of *narcotic addicted*
persons as required by their contract. Such condition should be
documented in each client to the satisfaction of county
authorities.
2) Program must cease all practices that have been found to be
specifically practices of the Church of Scientology and which may
only be practiced by a recognized minister of the Church of
Scientology. (example - use of E-meter in student auditing, use
of training materials copyrighted by the Church of Scientology).
3) Program must eliminate all restrictive admission policies
listed in the legal contract for Narconon Rehabilitation Program
that are not in accordance with standard admission policies for
Short-Doyle clients receiving mental health services.