Next in the series from our intrepid and dauntless Special Correspondent Natasha Boris, investigating the claims made by the IAS concerning their wondrous accomplishments of bettering the state of the planet.
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly – Part 4 Creating a Drug Free World
by Natasha Boris
It is pretty universally agreed that drugs and their abuses are a problem in today’s society. There is no doubt that a person addicted to drugs can do strange and awful things and will usually harm many people in the process. A real and lasting solution is what every person who has loved an addict dreams of. Parents are willing to go to the ends of the earth to help ease their child’s suffering, and will pay almost anything to see the brightness return.
Hubbard developed several processes to address drugs and their effects on the mind realizing that these chemical dependencies not only affected the body but impeded spiritual gains and advancement. The Purification Rundown, a sauna program to sweat out toxins, has its roots in history going back thousands of years. The Objectives processes after a good Purif can help orient a person in the present and feel causative over their environment. These things have been shown to work effectively on many people.
But what is the IAS’s involvement in freeing our society from the damage of drugs? Narconon has boldly stated that they are NOT a Scientology organization. Then why is the CoS defending them? Why is the IAS promoting their achievements?
We have to say, it was not hard to find results when we Googled “Narconon” but we wanted to dig in to some of the lesser-known facts that the IAS has stated, instead of rehashing the ones making headlines in recent months.
- “Narconon Arrowhead is the largest private residential drug rehabilitation center in the world, accommodating 230 students…Thanks to the continuing support of IAS members, Narconon Arrowhead is not only saving lives by applying LRH’s drug rehabilitation technology, it is launching a planetary assault against the scourge of drugs.”
This first statement is a flat out lie. We were able to find in less than thirty seconds this facility that offers over 700 beds, right here in North America. Another on this list has 251 beds.
The second statement contrasts sharply against the well-publicized recent deaths in Oklahoma. According to Wikipedia there have been at least 10 known deaths at Narconon facilities since 1984. While many people may have had successes and their lives saved by Narconon, we were unable to find any Google results of these that were not sponsored by Narconon or CoS sites.
- “Narconon groups or centers have opened in eleven new countries, including Austria, Belgium Latvia, Pakistan, Serbia and Vietnam. Narconon now operates in 37 countries with 183 centers and groups. Every eight weeks, a new Narconon facility opens somewhere in the world.”
This was so quickly disproven as to be almost funny. According to Narconon’s own website there are only 46 facilities. Most of these coincide with the data from this site, which while not updated since 2002 gives a pretty good picture of the state of things.
- “In one study of 2,045 students who received Narconon drug education, 86 percent of those who had considered the possibility of using drugs in the future said they had changed their minds, and 42 percent of those who had previously supported drug use reported they no longer did.”
There is no citation on this study and searching for scholarly papers on Narconon netted two interesting results. The first was a program evaluation done in 1975 in Delaware. It has some very interesting numbers. We were not able to get access to the full text of the second, but we did research the Institution that authored it, the Foundation for Advancements in Science and Education. This article explains who FASE is and how it is linked to the CoS. If anyone has a copy of the “Narconon Drug Education Preliminary Analysis” authored by FASE, we would ask that you please email it to us at justthisgal@hushmail.com. We’re very interested.
- “To give parents and educators a better understanding of the drugs their children are exposed to, the Church of Scientology published Drugs and Children: What to do. These booklets have been funded by IAS grants and have been distributed as a public service by Churches of Scientology and individual members of the IAS throughout Europe.”
Searching “Drugs and Children: What to do” resulted in one Google result, from the IAS and no news hits. Adding “Scientology” produced exactly one more link referencing this booklet.
Narconon has been taking quite a drubbing in recent months. A quick search on Twitter shows the current state of the public’s opinion.
As always if anyone has any information on the current state of affairs from their local Narconon chapter or knows of any activities taking place (good or bad) on the war against drugs by the IAS, please share in the comments below!
This entry is years old, but now that the opiate crisis has the number one cause of death for young adults being drug overdose this needs to be brought to light. As a recovering addict myself I get tons of targeted ads for these Narconon facilities, likley because my choice of recovery is methadone (MMT). After failed rehab after failed rehab and my family searching for places to save me, Narconon was suggested. Somehow and I don’t remeber how, probably searching the internet I found out that they did not medically deotx people and were somehow associated with the CoS so I said “Hell No!!!” to it as I have always been interested in cults and had read as much as I could 10 years ago on the CoS and other cults.
Narconon’s fake treatment needs to be put in the spotlight and NOW
While I have to admit that the purpose of this post was somewhat lost on me I would love to help clear up some confusion on your side, Natasha.
“[…] Drugs and Children: What to do. These booklets have been funded by IAS grants and have been distributed as a public service by Churches of Scientology and individual members of the IAS throughout Europe.”
You say your google search didn’t turn out anything of value.
I always considered it a stable datum that ‘all of Europe’ does not speak the same language (e.g. English).
Therfore even the most daring among us might not be able to find Narconon brochures when searching their English titles.
Here are two larger European countries and their warning against booklets distributed by Scientologists. (Anything associated with CoS gets called Scientology at this side of the ocean. It’s probably not very acurate but makes everyone run the other way :D)
http://www.ccmm.asso.fr/spip.php?article1310
http://www.bz-berlin.de/aktuell/berlin/scientology-koedert-mit-flyer-an-schulen-article1165375.html
I hope this helps with your further researches.
It doesn’t matter if the technical science is wrong on drug residues frankly. What does matter is does the PC get the requisite spiritual resurgence/boost from the RD.
Is the PC more able to confront the spiritual aspects of auditing targeting drugs afterwards? Do PCs that have done the RD audit more quickly to Clear compared with a group that did not have this RD?
These are the metrics that should be used to evaluate the program. Nitpicking over science misses the point that this is a spiritual RD, not a physical one.
Do you seriously think the families of people who have died or folks who have liver damage because of it are “nitpicking?” That medical results should be disregarded because it is “spiritual?” That it’s okay to lie to people because it is best for them spiritually–particularly those that are not PCs but just kids and their concerned parents looking for an effective drug treatment program, not religion? Sigh… Consider that a touch of science with your “metrics” would save lives and not destroy families. To me, that is the first step in being spiritual–do no harm.
Well, I believe LRH did term the Purif to be a “biophysical handling”…..
This was intended to be a reply to Just This Guy. I don’t believe the Purif was intended to be a “spiritual handling”, per LRH. It was intended to handle body problems that interfered with spiritual progress.
Just This Guy : “What does matter is does the PC get the requisite spiritual resurgence/boost from the RD.”
The people who go to Narconon are NOT there to get a “spiritual resurgence/boost.” They are there to get their drug and alcohol addiction treated. They are NOT “Pre-Clears” looking to “move up the Bridge.” In fact, many patients who went there, including one of the young women who most recently died at Arrowhead, say they felt uncomfortable having Scientology practices pushed on them.
http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/07/21/38330.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thg31Lp4yB4
In fact I was so happy after having done this supposed ‘Placebo Rundown” as some people have labelled it, that I re-did it a second time 15 years later with equally stunning results. I’m up for another one in about 4 years. Clear body, Clear mind says it all.
PreferToBeAnon2,
Your point is valid and well taken; this thread is about Narconon. My statement was more addressed to the Purif itself as a step towards going Clear.
Narconon is basically running a squirrel version of the lower parts of the Bridge. With no e-meters there is NO WAY they are handling steps that come after the Purif properly. Nor are they able to properly handle any case issues that come up during the Purif.
The purpose of the rundowns are to assist someone to get to Clear, not to handle the body. Yet that is how they have positioned it with “studies” and “papers” that are not only bad science but something they themselves know to be unsupported from a scientific viewpoint.
JTG, I disagree again. According toLRH, the Purif is a “biophysical handling”. It is intended to handle the body. Nor is an e-meter needed to get the EPs of TRs or CCHs.
In part correct, more on that in a confidential reference I won’t post: The OT Drug Rundown (HCOB 29 Jan 80)
When the purif was being researched, I was told, LRH used amino acids.
These were later dropped because of expense. I’ve done it twice, and now plan
to do a mild detox with Chlorella and Coriander which are especially good at
removing heavy metals.
There have been a few reports of liver damage from the purif.
I consider the purif should have more stringent medical checks especially
of the liver. There was a critic who posted some years ago on ARS who
worked in a university Pharmacology dept. He at one point said that as the purif
usually only lasts a few weeks it would be safe for most people. Also liver damage
was associated with Nicotinimide rather than Niacin. However those who have taken
drugs could have could have compromised livers.
“The purification rundown uses 5000 mg of niacin daily. AFAIK the dosage
is gradually increased, however without any monitoring of the subject
going on.
I do not defend the “purification rundown” and I think that it might be
dangerous to absolve it in a current “Church” of Scientology. However,
I think that the “Church” would not have to abolish this part of the
“tech” if the purif were done under proper medical supervision. ”
–Cornelius.
/* Cornelius Krasel, U Wuerzburg, Dept. of Pharmacology, Versbacher Str. 9 */
/* D-97078 Wuerzburg, Germany
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.religion.scientology/browse_thread/thread/c938c1fc57ebdb2f/a456d97b486bfaca?lnk=gst&q=Cornelius+Krasel+niacin#a456d97b486bfaca
This post has been up since yesterday and there have been 25 comments…. but not one person has mentioned: the recent law enforcement raid on Narconon Georgia, the class action lawsuit (with a full range of complaints), and the charges of credit card and insurance fraud… not to mention holding itself out to be an in-patient facility when it isn’t licensed as such… this is all in addition to the deaths and of course the counselor licensing shenanigans in OK. No mention of the NN shut down in Canada? They need to be wiped from the face of the earth before more people die and are taken in by the con. $cientology has no business dealing with medical issues, let alone anything involving a credit card or health insurance.
I believe that when a person weighs the Narconon approach, and all its risks and benefits, with all risks and benefits of all the other approaches to drug treatment that exist – there are better choices for people who are trying to get off of drugs than Narconon.
When I first got into Scientology, I was looking for a new life without drugs. And I used Scientology’s approach: The Purif, Objectives, and the Scientology Drug Rundown, to get off of all drugs and remain drug free.
A lot of the reason that this worked was because of my own intention to live a drug free life. It was being a Scientologist itself – the “new” person that I told myself I was – which had the biggest impact on me and my use of drugs. Many Christians begin a drug free life, too, simply because of their new self-identity – who they tell themselves they are.
I believe that this new self-identity of “Scientologist” is the real reason that Scientology’s drug handlings work. I do not believe that Scientology’s approach to handlings drugs has any inherent benefit outside of that.
I believe that if it did, then FASE would have published more of their studies. I think that the omitted data on FASE’s studies – the fact that they did NOT publish very much at all – tell the tale of what they actually found, and that was not something they wished to promote.
Alanzo
Alanzo,
There is no evidence (that I’m aware of) that shows that FASE didn’t publish all of their studies. I mentioned it above only as speculation, and as a caveat, because there is a Scientology link. For all I know, FASE maintained arms-length distance from the CoS, and did in fact publish all of their studies. We do know that there were non-Scn doctors and researchers involved in the research, and this does raise the credibility of the research, especially when some of those doctors were still going on record in recent years supporting the Purif and NN.
Narconon, and all it’s affiliates, including those doing the studies and providing testimony, ARE Scientology, as Scientology IS Narconon. All the same beast. The sooner this is accepted by everyone, the better off everyone will be.
Ditto to PreferToBeAnon2; Narconon is dangerous, and the actions of its administrators is reckless and criminal. The people going into them are NOT “Pre Clears” looking to “move up The Bridge;” they’re normal, everyday people (“Wogs”) who want to get off drugs and alcohol.
If Scientologists wanted to help drug addicts, they should chip in to offer real medical and psychiatric care on their behalf (like other religious medical/drug-rehab services and non-profits do) or step out of the way entirely. Unfortunately, it seems that there are too many that are primarily concerned with “proving the Tech works.”
Per the link I posted the other day, not all Narconons are dangerous. There is at least one very well run Narconon in Sweden.
Also, the drug rehab scene in general in the USA is not at all uniformly at a high standard. For example, drug rehab facilities in California have been forbidden by law to provide medical care for their residents. Here is a recent report:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/05/drug-rehab-deaths-ban-medical-care_n_1858563.html
What I would like to see, and what are never published, are comparative statistics of Narconon and other, more mainstream public and private or other religious drug rehab operations. I’ll bet the laws and regulations vary from state to state, just as they do for mental hospitals, daycare centers and elder care facilities.
How do they do? How many people actually complete their programs? How much do they cost, and what are the sources of their funding? I’m willing to bet most or all of them never refund any money, as in the world of psychological treatment, it is totally caveat emptor, there are no guarantees of any kind.
I’d also like to know how many people die in other drug rehab facilities, or in close proximity to when
they were there. The ones I am aware of are very strict about any drug/alcohol use while in treatment, and quickly expel anyone ‘falling off the wagon’. It is right in their contracts. And if someone dies in a drug rehab facility, do you think the insurance companies or private payers are refunded? Good luck with that!
Here is a report on Narconon in Sweden, where they apparently are doing things quite differently…..
http://anetteiren.com/narconon-is-saving-lives/
It is, by the way, by an ex-scientologist who has her own horror stories about the CoS and wouldn’t touch the Church with a 10-foot pole.
The closer, and further up the command chain, the crazier it gets. The Narconon in Sweden is an outpost compared to those centers in the US. That’s probably one reason why I have seen the many successes in Sweden. Let’s hope they continue to stay clear of the insanity, stat push and unreal orders from higher management.
If you deliver what you promise you will survive.
I met and worked briefly with Willie Benitez in 1973, when I was staff at Narconon. Willie was a prisoner himself at one point, and had taken LRH data found in basic books and in the comm course packs used at that time and started applying it, in an Arizona prison, to great results.This was the origin of the Narconon program. The results achieved, by following simple LRH tools, led the way for expansion of this program into other prisons, into halfway houses and other groups throughout the late 60s and early 1970s.
Early on, many of the “pioneers” of the Narconon program were already off drugs. They were serving in one prison system or another, had been involved in drugs and criminal activities and were essentially trying to get their lives sorted out. So initially, Narconon and Criminon were one and the same program. Only much later did they become separate entities.
When someone on drugs, came into the program, we used vitamins, body comms, locationals, two-way com and whatever other LRH tools we though applicable, to help them get off drugs. The Technology for Narconon was embryonic at best, we were coping and used other professionals to help. This was pre-Purification Rundown, pre-sweat program, or anything else related to this.
It was tough going in the early days and frankly, the staff and public were pretty tough as well. I don’t think anyone felt that they were getting into a program that was laid out clearly and carefully like an MBA program at Stanford. That we were bootstrapping it, didn’t come as a surprise to anyone and this isn’t to say we didn’t have problems or flaps — we did. But we had great successes as well and this drove the expansion. It was at a time when a large percentage of young Americans were emerging out of a fog from the 1960s and they needed direction and a stable datum. LRH data was that stable datum.
In the last decade or two, we have had much greater access to professionals, who frankly, are light years ahead of where doctors were forty years ago. They are hip and much more savvy to drug, drug takers and everything surrounding this culture. That there are deaths in this type of environment, to the extent that has taken place – is totally unnecessary and completely unconscionable, considering all the tools available and all the people out there willing and able to assist.
Talk about the blind leading the blind ….
Thanks for your story, OddThomas!
Great to hear from someone who was there!
Alanzo
Thanks Silvia. It has been a real eye opener doing this research, even knowing (or suspecting) what we will find. We are hopeful it will assist in opening a few more eyes. 🙂
Regarding being, “Funded by the IAS”, I would wager to say that the funding goes completely the opposite way. MUCH of the money is flowing UP to the IAS, via ABLE rather than the other way around.
Sort of like how the water flows the other way where Mike is from. 😉
I was Qual Sec at AH when FASE was about to do the studies on nn drug ed. It was done by a lady named Marie Ceccinni, a Scientologist. I spoke with her and Gary Smith about it and from what Ii was told the money to do the study came from NN and ABLE.
The email from the dir of legal affairs was leaked by me as well as the fraudulent manner inwhich they reciieved the counselor certs.
As for the program itself, NN is a sinking ship. Teir only hope of salvation is to be honest about their connections and get the proper college educations to call themselves addiction counselors.
Thanks 10oriocookies –
What year was this?
Did you ever hear of or work with Micheal Wisner or Jack Dirmann, or Steve Heard?
Alanzo
It was around 2004. I only knew Marie. Her name and some other guy are the ones that did the study on the drug ed. I believe Rena Weinberg was involved as well as Phil Hart.
If NN wants to advertise a % of success they better have an INDEPENDENT study done. In the rehab industry its a NO NO to do otherwise. To call themselves counselors they need to actually work at a center that has an accepted modality that has been independently studied and peer-reviewed for around 6000 hours. NO ONE in the NN network meets this criteria as NN is not generally accepted as treatment. This is one of the reasons why they are losing their counseling certs.
A programming note, if I may: Documentary about Independent Scientology: “Scientologists At War”
To be shown on Channel 4 (UK), 9pm 17 June 2013.
Likely to be available on 4oD (web streaming) shortly afterwards.
Scientologists at War examines the independent Scientology movement and the high level defectors who have publicly renounced their membership from the Church of Scientology.
Marty Rathbun is one of the most senior defectors in Scientology’s history. As the former Inspector General of Ethics in the organisation that was created by science fiction writer L Ron Hubbard, Rathbun worked closely with its leader, David Miscavige, and celebrity follower Tom Cruise.
The film provides a rare insider view of the Church of Scientology.
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/scientologists-at-war/episode-guide/series-1/episode-1
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/scientologists-at-war
Director(s):
Joseph Martin
Producer(s):
Danielle Clark
United Kingdom
2013
50 min
HDCAM 1080/25p
English
Contact
Mike Lerner
Executive Producer
Roast Beef Productions
mike@roastbeeftv.com
+44 2072402885
http://www.roastbeeftv.com
http://sheffdocfest.com/films/show/5491
http://www.roastbeeftv.com/
Hat Tip – WWP: https://whyweprotest.net/community/threads/scientologists-at-war-documentary-joseph-martin-roast-beef-productions-uk-channel-4-17-june.111534/
Photo from post on Tony’s blog: http://tonyortega.org/2013/06/10/scientology-goes-after-critics-with-legal-threat-letters-following-strange-infiltration/#comment-925602623
https://securecdn.disqus.com/uploads/mediaembed/images/516/771/original.jpg
Natasha, very nice piece. Excellent research. Good writing. Thanks much.
“Scientologists at War”
Channel 4 (UK)
Monday 17th June @ 9PM
Scientologists at War examines the independent Scientology movement and the high level defectors who have publicly renounced their membership from the Church of Scientology.
Marty Rathbun is one of the most senior defectors in Scientology’s history. As the former Inspector General of Ethics in the organisation that was created by science fiction writer L Ron Hubbard, Rathbun worked closely with its leader, David Miscavige, and celebrity follower Tom Cruise.
The film provides a rare insider view of the Church of Scientology
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/scientologists-at-war/
Actually in my opinion the current organization is trying to have its cake and eat it too.
They are trying so hard to be a secular organization that they have basically thrown the baby out with the bath water.
Sorry to mix metaphors here but I feel they both apply.
First in their effort to be secular they have eliminated the use of the E-meter in all their organizations and therefore now have no means of verifying that the client or to be bluntly honest the druggie in question has achieved the full end phenomena of any action taken on them.
Instead from what I’ve heard they have qual or whatever cutesy secular name they call it simply look at the person and determine solely by their other indicators (which as anyone who has worked with druggies before knows can be totally faked or PRed) that they are done.
Next they do not do a full and thorough Drug Rundown as per C/S Series 48 or any of its later revisions and thus the reason why the person took drugs to begin with is never handled in a prior assessment.
So naturally you’d expect the same phenomenon as covered in HCOB 13 Sep 72 ExDn Series 7 C/S Series 85 Catastrophes from and Repair of “No Interest” Items to occur.
Secondly they waste a lot of time trying to put the druggies ethics in by doing cute little actions like having them write up their OWs and such and doing some course of some kind based on the “Way to Happiness” which in my opinion is a waste of time since the reason for their out ethics has to do with the effect of drugs.
In other words there is no way you are going to handle their ethics until you handle drugs first which means getting them into session either on a carefully supervised coaudit basis or by rolling up one’s sleeves and handling each drug item in turn to full EP.
Which requires actually handling the scene with actual auditing as per the HCOB Handling with Auditing a HCOB that is now part of the KSW series that obviously the yahoos who run Narconon these days never bothered to read.
And while we’re on the topic of KSW.
It is obvious that they don’t apply it at Narconon or anywhere else for that matter in that Byzantine nightmare known as the “Church of Scientology”.
Finally they should just admit that the technology that they are using is Scientology and stop being so damned Janis faced about the whole thing.
Most people are not going to care what it is as long as it works.
In my opinion PR is something you need after you’ve failed to produce the expected result.
Excellent comment. How about just being standard and calling it Scn? So simple and you don’t have to remember your lies.
Natasha, this is very well done job-facts, figures, clear presentation and a real exposure of the falsehoods these entities are involved in. TKU
I gotta say something about the slams on Hubbard as a result of the unfortunate deaths at Narconon. It just keeps bugging me so I’m going to just say it. I know, from many many years of working with public and delivering Scn services, that you ARE supposed to see a qualified doctor before starting a Purif, the doctor is supposed to have information about it and needs to understand it, and you ARE supposed to go back to the doctor if there are problems. That’s in the policy. I’ve supervised the Purif and have made sure that the doctor was properly involved and consulted. The difference between me and the Narconon clowns is that I genuinely wanted my people to be free of the residual effects of drugs, healthier, brighter and happier again–I wasn’t concerned with how much more money they had or how to cheat them through their services quickly for the sake of statistics. And I did get those results. I’ve also had to adhere to a doctor’s decision not to allow someone to do a Purif.
Just because it’s policy doesn’t mean it will get followed though, that’s true. That buck would have to stop at RTC, headed by Miscavige for many years now–RTC is the holder of the trademarks of all of Hubbard’s works. RTC USED to be very interested in such violations and they used to come down hard on them. Even Lisa MacPherson’s death could have been EASILY avoided if the staff taking “care” of her heeded that policy. It completely disgusts me.
So for those who say “It’s Hubbard” regarding this whole negation of the doctor’s approval and assistance, they don’t know what the heck they are talking about.
Thank you Gato Rojo, for doing a caring job on the people you handled. As an HGC Auditor I was interfered with many times for other purposes, (stats, money) and REFUSED to violate basic auditing principles. If the list of SPs just compiled, took over the place, was left alone to do the job right and PAID…..extraordinary results could be achieved.
Seconded.
Medieval doctors had the best in mind for their patients when they told people to sniff sweet-smelling herbs in order to prevent getting plague. I presume that your goodness of the heart emerged out of the same sense of ignorance of physiology and psychology that LRH exhibited when he created the Purif. Ignorance is bliss, after all.
The Purif doesn’t work the way LRH says it does. LSD does not lodge in fat tissues; it’s water-soluble and comes out in urine and feces (and not in sweat). The reason you feel “great” is because the overdose of niacin triggers a temporary burst of energy; take a Five-Hour Energy and you feel the same way (it’s got about 2500mg of niacin per serving). “Good oils” to replace “bad oils”…this sounds like something out of the 17th Century. Any positive effects are placebo, not physiological.
Any non-Scientology doctor will tell you that the Purif is nonsense. So, yes, please go to a doctor ahead of time, but make sure that he or she has nothing to do with Scientology.
5-Hour Energy actually has ZERO Niacin, and has just 30mg. of Niacinamide, which is different and does not have the same effects as Niacin.
If the rest of the ‘information’ in your post is equally ‘accurate’ God help those who take advice from you!
How is Niacinamide different from Niacin?
Espiando wrote: “Any non-Scientology doctor will tell you that the Purif is nonsense.”
That’s not true, Espiando. There are a number of non-Scientology doctors who have supported the science behind the Purif for quite some time (e.g. Root, Tennant, and several others).
No doctor using the Purif claims that LSD (or any water soluble substance) lodges in fat tissues. Hubbard was certainly wrong on that point. But doctors (and Hubbard) do seem to have been right on their observation that toxins, drugs and their residues do remain in the body long after they are no longer detectable in urine samples. And that illness and/or drug cravings can often be the result.
You wrote: “‘Good oils’ to replace ‘bad oils’…this sounds like something out of the 17th Century.”
It also sounds like something out of modern science. Here’s how one doctor put it:
“Polyunsaturated Oils
“One means of excretion of chemicals is through the bile. However, such bile excretion results in elevated levels of chemicals in the intestine, providing an opportunity for reabsorption of these compounds (42,43).
“It has been known for many years that addition of unsaturated oils to the diet can increase the excretion rate of certain compounds. This is due either to blocking the reabsorption of the chemical or to altering the rate at which the compound is excreted (45).
“Supplementation with unsaturated fats also affects the content of the stored adipose tissue (45). Apparently, as the stored fats are mobilized and re-stored, the dietary supplements replace some of the mobilized fats so that an exchange is effected.”
This comes from Dr. David E. Root, a non-Scientologist supporter of the Purif, who was giving testimony before a 1998 Presidential Special Oversight Board in the wake of the first Gulf War, while explaining the value of sauna detox to the members. Root is also a retired Colonel for the USAF.
The full testimony can be found at: http://www.detoxacademy.org/pdfs/testimony.pdf
With regard to niacin, here’s how that same doctor described it in relation to the Purif:
“Niacin.
“Effects of specific vitamins are utilized as well. Niacin has a long-term effect of reducing the mobilization of fatty acids (39). However, the initial reduction in mobilized fatty acids following a single dose is followed by a transitory increase in free fatty acid mobilization (40,41).
“Mobilization of free fatty acids by other mechanisms has been shown to result in concurrent mobilization of the fat-stored chemicals (26,27). This also appears to occur during this detoxification program. The increased turnover of fat results in mobilization of fat-stored chemicals and the opportunity to eliminate them from the body.”
For evidence that cocaine metabolites (for example) remain in the body and can be eliminated using the sauna sweat-out, the 1995 paper co-authored by drug rehab expert (non-Scientologist) Dr. Forrest Tennant titled “Precipitation of Cocaine Metabolites in Sweat and Urine of Addicts Undergoing Sauna Bath Treatment” seems to be a good start. The abstract can be found on page 4 among the literature listed in the Testimony link above.
Margaret, thank you for providing us the non-Scn doctors and their testimony excerpts etc so that we can get the true data about the sauna, oils, and niacin. This is great documentation.
Espiando – your herbal remarks are somewhat funny. In spite of that, just as we laugh about silly medieval doctor, future generations will laugh about us. As you implied, we all believe we are right, right now. Apart from that, just because something sounds like 17th century doesn’t mean it is not true. For example, fatty acid composition of cell membrane – and furthermore functioning – is determined and changeable by dietary fats. Too lazy to look up the reference, but if you’re interested, I’ll do it. There are situations where bad fat is replaced by good fat.
The link provided by Margaret (http://www.detoxacademy.org/pdfs/testimony.pdf) leads to a long list of official-looking claims, more or less substantiated. The site providing it is not impartial, no matter how non-Scientologist this Dr. Root might present himself. If you really have a problem, do not rely on this info. By the way, I checked one of the references and behold! it doesn’t hold water. Dr. Root uses the credibility of a peer-reviewed journal in the references and then just makes stuff up about what the study supposedly proves. He says: “It has been known for many years that addition of unsaturated oils to the diet can increase the excretion rate of certain compounds. This is due either to blocking the reabsorption of the chemical or to altering the rate at which the compound is excreted (45).”
Reference 45 is an article from the Cambridge Journal and is available here:
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/quickSearch?quickSearchType=search_combined&inputField1=Sequential+changes+in+plasma+lipoproteins+and+body+fat+composition+during+polyunsaturated+fat+feeding+in+man&fieldStartMonth=01&fieldStartYear=1800&fieldEndMonth=12&fieldEndYear=2013&searchType=ADVANCESEARCH&searchTypeFrom=quickSearch&fieldScjrnl=All&fieldSccats=All&selectField1=%23&jnlId=&journalSearchType=all
(The first one, ‘Sequential changes in plasma lipoproteins and body fat composition during polyunsaturated fat feeding in man’.)
Yet this study says nothing about eliminating toxins from the body as Dr. Root leads us to believe when he talks about his ‘compounds’. In his statement he previously referred to the various stuff you want to get rid of as ‘toxic compounds’. The only ‘compounds’ that are ‘excreted’ in this study are lipoproteins ‘excreted’ into the blood stream. (Lipoproteins are the guys most people know as their various types of wanted or unwanted cholesterol.)
This isn’t bad science anymore, it’s just bad.
Where is Hubbard’s description of what Niacin supposedly did/does? Let’s see if HIS research matches up with what these paid doctors are dribbling…
FASE was run by Jack Dirmann and Micheal Wisner and was located in west LA in the 1990’s. The Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Education was a PR project funded by Sea Org reserves to “validate” the purification rundown through “scientific studies” while also appearing to have nothing to do with the Church of Scientology.
My wife worked in the same building with FASE at HealthMed with Michael and Jack in the 1990’s and I visited their facilities and was given the Scientologist confidential tour many times.
They never published any scientific studies that I know of, even though they had a lot of people on the Purification Rundown there at the time.
I would think that Mike Rinder would know something about HealthMed and FASE, as he was the head of OSA at the time.
Mike – were you aware of this “confidential” program that the Church was running to provide scientific validation to the “Hubbard Method” of detoxification??
Whatever happened to HealthMed and FASE?
Do you know?
Alanzo
Alanzo — AFAIK FASE was not funded by the church, certainly not by OSA. I know little about them. You and a lot of other people seem to think the “head of OSA” knows all. Significant legal cases, media, the IRS and national government relations was what I was involved in. The day to day activities of dealing with people on the internet or FASE or local investigations didnt come across my lines. I know Jack Dirmann from when he was in the Sea Org. I thought the other person involved was Steve Heard? But I don’t really know.
OK Mike. As far as I have seen, and I have sure not seen everything, that has really never been clarified before:
Mike Rinder as head of OSA, was involved in:
Significant legal cases
Media
The IRS
National government relations
You were not involved in:
The day to day activities of dealing with people on the internet
FASE (or HealthMed)
and “local investigations didn’t come across [his] lines”
OK then. That’s all good information coming out of The Fortress. (:>
Thanks.
So whose lines would FASE and HealthMed have come across?
Someone at ABLE?
Who, specifically? And during what times?
If you don’t have any personal knowledge of something, you might be able to be of assistance by referring the person to someone who might have been on those lines.
Who would that be?
This helps to fill in the missing information that the Church of Scientology tends to keep secret. And so being of assistance in releasing that information helps Scientology watchers put the pieces together.
Alanzo
I can only guess that it was ABLE. I think Cora may know, but she is quite occupied these days and I doubt is reading the blog. Laurie Zurn and Rena would know. Not really sure whose lines this was on.
“FASE was established in 1981 with the explicit purpose to “research the efficacy of and promote the works of L. Ron Hubbard in the solving of social problems; and to scientifically research and provide public information and education concerning the efficacy of other programs”, according to incorporation papers filed with the Attorney General of California, in Sacramento. The papers were later amended to remove Hubbard’s name. Many of FASE’s staff appear to be Scientologists; according to its video producer, Carl Smith, all of its senior employees are Scientologists; its founder and his wife, Steven R. Heard and Kathleen Heard, were both members of the Guardian’s Office, which effectively ran Narconon throughout the 1970s; its medical researcher, Dr. Megan G. Shields, is a Narconon employee and Scientologist who wrote the introduction to Hubbard’s book Clear Body Clear Mind and is one of the most active boosters of Hubbard’s detoxification methods. In keeping with its original purpose, FASE promotes Hubbard’s detoxification regimen, sponsoring “International Conferences on Chemical Contamination and Human Detoxification” and claiming that Hubbard’s methods “have been established to be both safe and effective”. It is not entirely clear how FASE manages to reconcile a mission statement of promoting Hubbard’s works with objective scientific assesments of said works.”
The above is quoted from:
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Narconon/sci-med.htm#organisations
I personally have seen some promo/report published in the mid 80’s from FASE. At that time Mike Smith was also on the advisory board. I believe he has a PhD in Chemistry (it might be a Masters.)
And, yes, this is the same Mike Smith who is now a professional FSM in the San Jose area and we recently read some of his emails about superpower.
From the beginning there was an attempt to set up an “independent” research group to be the basis for “proof” and “research” behind the LRH tech for use in drug rehab, education, etc. FASE was really just a front group. Megan Shields MD has also been part of this. I am sure most of this was before Mike was part of OSA. My guess is this is one of those projects that dropped through the cracks when the GO was disbanded and before OSA had picked up all the hats. I believe this was, by the early 80’s, part of ABLE and not something under OSA. ABLE and FASE were both part of some.
From the same above referenced web address is:
“the 1995 “First International Conference on Chemical Contamination and Human Detoxification” held under the auspices of the Foundation for Advancements in Science and Education. [Archives, International Academy of Detoxification Specialists – ] Despite the seemingly generic title of the event, there can be little doubt that it was sponsored, organised and run by and for supporters of Hubbard’s methods. The report of the proceedings indicates that it consisted primarily of lectures on the effectiveness of the Hubbard method – literally every speech published in the proceedings is in that vein [ FASE, “Proceedings of the First International Conference on Chemical Contamination and Human Detoxification” – ]. If it was intended to be a exercise in mutual backslapping, it undoubtedly succeeded splendidly.
The conference was sponsored by four organisations:
Association for Better Living and Education (ABLE)
Foundation for Advancements in Science and Education (FASE)
Government Technology
Association of Human Detoxification Specialists
end quotes.
The last group appears to be an offshoot of FACE.
There is a website:
http://detoxacademy.org/detox.htm
which has scientific studies of the Purif. I don’t know who is behind the website, but from it’s very pro-Purif stance, it is likely the FASE folks.
With that said, while some of the “conference proceedings” and the “lectures” that Touretzky mentions above at his cmu.edu website are probably criticized fairly as “mutual backslapping”, there is also some valid scientific research and studies published at the detoxacademy.org website. A number of the studies were conducted by non-Scientology scientists and MDs (e.g. Root and others), who were simply trying to get to the truth of the workability of the “sauna/niacin method of detox” developed by Hubbard. And the studies do seem to provide positive results.
The problem of course is that we don’t know if there are any OTHER studies that were conducted, that were not published simply because they didn’t give positive results. And so it’s difficult to draw too many conclusions from the existing research, without large scale, independent research having been done.
Margaret – yes, there is research on this issue. IMO the problem is the same as other claims by the church, by OSA, etc. The fact that the group behind the research is, or has, a hidden connection to the church “taint’s the outcome. The studies, both good and bad, should have been announced, completed and written up – no matter the outcome. It is much like having Monsanto do the studies on the harm/non harm, of GMO foods. The mere funding of the research affects the outcome.
I see value in the Purif. I, personally, see value in having additional factors addressed in the purif. These additions would not be allowed by the RCS. The purif was originally to remove and residual drugs that affected auditing. This has not been raised to the level of the “most effective drug handling” program in the world. Just measure lead and mercury collected in the mastoid processes of the skull before and after. Niacin and sweating will never remove the metal. If it did that it would be breaking down amalgam dental fillings and hip/knee replacements. It was never designed to remove everything toxic. It was designed to remove residual drugs that were a problem in auditing.
If the purif pgm was exact then why and how does it change what oil to use depending on what you can get access to? How can you get scientific support to changes only measurable on an e-meter; by the case gain possible? Research would be flawed to start with. What is it being measured against?
Does the purif help – absolutely! Does it rise to the level of medical research with a level of proof needed for medical research? – no. The question would then be – if these doses of supplements were provable to make a medical proven difference then, how would you escape the fact they would be forced to become a medical service.
It is an odd question – how to prove something for spiritual gain and make the proof appear to be scientific. The only needed was to prove it was not harmful and just let the scientologists get on with using it for spiritual gain. To prove it to the standard of a handling for drugs that you could then bill a CPT code to insurance and get paid for – another can of worms as that is all a “medical” use and has a much higher standard of proof. The codes that NN was using to bill medical insurance are owned by the medical community. The billing submitted had the wording on it that the service provided was medically necessary and effective for the diagnosis. With no scientific proof of effectiveness you basically have prima fascia evidence of fraud until proven otherwise.
I do believe that the original FASE was created to do the research necessary to get around any of these questions. Especially for EU countries and others where higher doses of supplements were only available by medical prescription.
Didn’t mean to say so much but felt this would help with understanding the issue. The bottom line is that IAS and NN do not have legitimate research evidence to back up their claims. At best they have anecdotal claims of outcomes by some who did the program. In scientific research that type of anecdotal evidence is only valid for the justification of an actual research project and is considered the lowest level of research proof.
Sapere Aude,
You make very good points, and I do agree with most. But I wouldn’t be so ready to throw all the research under the bus just yet.
First, keep in mind that there is a catch-22 in the research of “alternative approaches” in general (especially pre-1990s), as most mainstream physicians and researchers didn’t want to risk their professional reputation being associated with them. When you add in the L. Ron Hubbard / Scientology stigma, you’ve just multiplied that factor by ten. Move it to the post-Tom-Cruise-on- Matt-Lauer period, and you’ve gone into nuclear fallout territory with regard to stigma.
Second, despite the FASE/Scientology connection, there were also independent (non-Scientology) parties involved in the research, all of which took place in the 1980s/1990s. So describing it as purely “anecdotal claims” is simply not true. As to the effectiveness of NN (as opposed to just the Purif) however, it probably is true that anecdotal claims are all they got, bolstered by a bit of existing research into the purif. So your arguments in that way are likely true.
My comment that there may have been unpublished negative results was pure speculation — it’s certainly a valid concern I believe (as it always is in science, made more so when you throw religion into the picture), but I don’t know of any specific occurrences.
Finally, when an alternative approach in ANY field of science or medicine is developed, the early researchers/scientists are generally the developers or supporters of the approach, and so their names are understandably the ones on the earliest studies. One hopes for things such as scientific integrity and use of tools such as control groups (which a number of the Purif studies used), in order to both falsify and/or prove the underlying hypotheses. But even if used, these are generally considered “preliminary studies” until truly independent, well-funded research is conducted with much larger sample sizes. And getting truly independent researchers involved is often a challenge — made more so depending on the controversy surrounding the topic.
Narconon might have fared better the last few years if ABLE had actually been interested in creating the best drug rehabilitation program in the world, rather than ripping off the reserves of the Narconon centers, sometimes in the tens of thousands per center, for the purpose of buying Basic packages, so that the ABLE staff could avoid being on beans and rice, or worse, if their Basics sales productions was low. And of course, that unbelievably destructive off-purpose “management” of Narconons came about because of the obscene and punitive enforcement by RTC Rep ILO and CO CMO IXU of Miscavige’s insane demands for Basics sales above all else. The cause and effect resulting in a deteriorating scene and increasing financial criminality/money -grubbing fixation in the Narconons, rather than correctness and quality of their programs. This can be directly traced to Narconons having their bank accounts emptied by arm-twisting from ABLE so ABLE staff could maybe get 5 hours of sleep a night instead of none, or eat a regular meal instead of beans and rice. The insanity injected by force into the Narconon lines by their seniors is about as nuts as it gets.
One of the biggest lies of all is the oft-repeated success rate of 70-75%.
In a leaked 2009 email Narconon’s Legal Affairs Director Claudia Arcabascio admitted there was no scientific evidence to support those figures and advised against making such claims. See http://bit.ly/YNu5Tv
In a desperate bid to handle the awful PR that has arisen following a number of deaths and lawsuits, Narconon recently released findings from a supposedly “lost” 1978 study. This “study”, however, has turned out to be nothing more than a bunch of numbers pulled out of thin air by a former Narconon ED. See http://bit.ly/Z9IMki
Narconon = fraud. Fact.
Great article! And LDW, great comment, so true. My personal experience with Narconon is limited to two people: one is an addict I FSMed into the CA Narconon and the other is Johnny Lewis, an addict in the CA Narconon facility. Both of these people didn’t get the results and reverted with horrible results. The one I FSMed ended up in prison doing time for drug related things after she ‘graduated’ from Narconon. Their explanation to her mother who scraped up every dime to pay for it, was that “she had bad stuff going on before she came to us and so she didn’t progress because of her MWH.” But they never offered to give her her money back at all. And with Johnny Lewis, he ‘graduated’ from their program and then reverted back to drugs and killed his landlord and then himself. (It’s unclear if his death was accidental or suicide.) But these are horrible stories and I’m sure many others on this post have their own Narconon overt products stories. I agree with LDW that if Narconon had been left to its own with no ties to the C of $ that they would have done just fine.
All along the line there seems to have been strokes of brilliance mixed in with the reprehensible.
Narconon had a good potential to be a force for good in the world. Personally, I believe that had they been a fully independent organization with no ties to the Co$, they could have been established along lines of truth with their legal ruds in and good acceptance from thier communities. But the minute you let the greedy morons from the Co$ take over the reins, disaster always follows. You can’t do an honest Black PR handling when you are lying through your teeth. How do you “dead agent” the line that “narconon is run by the Co$?” You can’t because it’s true.
How do you dead agent, “It’s all Hubbard?” You can’t because it’s true.
How do you dead agent, “It’s another front group?” Same story.
It’s the propensity of too many in the CoS of lying and doing dishonorable things that is killing the PR.