NARCONON: A NEW LIFE FOR DRUG ADDICTS                              Home Page

The Narconon Arrowhead campus and facilities provide ample space for both drug rehabilitation program delivery and the separate Narconon International training program.
Narconon drug rehabilitation and drug education is a secular social betterment program with highly effective results. It is a separate and autonomous charitable program that is independent of the churches of Scientology. It is supported by Scientologists around the world who volunteer their time and talents. The Narconon program is open to people of all races and creeds.

Narconon is an international network of drug rehabilitation and drug education centers which has been in operation for over 30 years. Exclusively using L. Ron Hubbard’s drug rehabilitation technology, Narconon has been getting results for decades. It helps even the most hard-core substance abusers to build new drug-free lives for themselves.

Narconon Mediterraneo in Spain, one of the 40 Narconon centers around the world, provides drug rehabilitation services and is also the Narconon training center for Europe.
Narconon—meaning “no drugs”—headed by Narconon International in Los Angeles, operates 106 rehabilitation and drug education programs in 36 countries around the world. The Narconon program has salvaged thousands of people from the debilitating effects of drug addiction. Its drug-free rehabilitation procedure is recognized as one of the most effective drug rehabilitation programs available.

If someone you know is abusing drugs or alcohol, call for help today:

NARCONON INTERNATIONAL
323-960-3530
rehab@narconon.org

Improving Lives by Ending Drug Addiction

“The addict has been found not to want to be an addict, but is driven by pain and environmental hopelessness. As soon as an addict can feel healthier and more competent mentally and physically without drugs than he does on drugs, he ceases to require drugs.”
L. Ron Hubbard.

For decades Narconon International has provided a successful drug-free alternative in the fields of drug rehabilitation and prevention. It is a non-traditional program, an effective alternative that handles both current addictions and problems underlying that addiction. Find out what makes the Narconon program special.

The Narconon network currently includes more than 106 groups in 26 countries. Find out more about the Narconon programs, its history and expansion.

The Narconon network provides an effective program of drug education lectures to prevent young people from abusing drugs and alcohol and falling into the trap of addiction in the first place. Find out about the Narconon Drug Education Lecture program.

The The Narconon program provides training for those who work in the drug rehabilitation field and for those who already operate Narconon programs or want to open one in their area. Find out about the Narconon training program.

Why Is the Narconon Program Effective?

The Narconon program has a success rate of over 70% of the graduates from the program living fully drug-free lives.

This level of success is due to the thoroughness of the program and the effectiveness of the drug rehabilitation techniques developed by L. Ron Hubbard, which are used throughout the program.

How Does the Narconon Drug Rehabilitation Program Work?

The program begins with a drug-free withdrawal, during which the substance abuser is provided with specific supplementary vitamins and minerals to minimize the physical problems associated with the initial halting of drug use. Additionally, special and quite unique procedures developed by L. Ron Hubbard, called “assists,” are used to further ease the discomfort of withdrawal.

The addict then undergoes a detoxification regimen, also unique in the drug rehabilitation field, and one which contributes greatly to the program’s 70% success rate. The detoxification program consists of an intensive sauna and exercise program, carried out in conjunction with carefully administered vitamin and mineral supplementation. Also developed by Mr. Hubbard, this detox program enables the body to rid itself of drug metabolite residues lodged in fatty tissues. This is crucial because the release of such substances back into the bloodstream when a person becomes anxious, excited or physically active, even years later, causes the addict to again feel cravings to take drugs.

As Dr. Shelley Beckmann explained: “This accounts for the backsliding or reversion that is the order of the day with hard-core users after other rehabs.” Her 1994 study of the reduction of body burdens through the sauna program validated the experiential observation that the sauna program frees addicts from drug residues—and, hence, from drug cravings.

There are also significant emotional and behavioral correlates to substance abuse. Commonly, heavy drug abusers will lie, steal, and degrade themselves in order to procure additional drugs or simply because the impact of the drugs on them emotionally serves to make them unfeeling and uncaring of others.

The Narconon drug rehabilitation program addresses this and the fact that, to a greater or lesser degree, the addict resorted to drugs due to an inability to successfully handle situations in his life. That the drugs then became their own reason for further drug use does not belie the fact that the detoxified addict still has a need to learn life skills.

Thus the Narconon program includes a series of courses and practical exercises utilizing technologies developed by L. Ron Hubbard. These provide the former addict with tools and abilities needed to deal successfully with life situations and interact positively and responsibly with loved ones, associates and in the community as a whole.

As the Narconon drug rehabilitation program fully addresses the multiple ways in which drugs impact on the individual, program graduates are consistently released from the chains of addiction. No longer trapped with bodies that physically repeat the demand for further drugs, and no longer needing a refuge from aspects of life that seem “too difficult” or “too unfair” to deal with, the graduates become truly free and able to contribute to their communities and to build decent and socially beneficial relationships.

The History & Growth of the Narconon Program

Many inmates asked to join the popular first Narconon program in Arizona. It had 60 students before spreading to other prisons.  In 1966 Narconon was the dream of one man: Willie Benitez, a three-time convicted felon and a 19-year, hard-core drug addict. Admitted to the Arizona State Prison after being convicted once again for a drug-related offense, Mr. Benitez read a book by L. Ron Hubbard. The information it contained enabled him to overcome his own addiction, something he had unsuccessfully tried to do for years. Then, after corresponding with Mr. Hubbard who offered advice, he initiated a program to assist his fellow inmates and addicts to overcome their substance abuse problems.

William Benitez was in the first Narconon class in Arizona state Prison in 1966.
Starting with 20 inmates, the program grew to include many more prisoners, including even non-addicts who wanted to change their lives.

After he had run the program for seven months, prison officials asked him to start another program for young offenders. Upon his release from prison, he expanded the program further, including non-incarcerated addicts as well. Now the Narconon program is operating more than 106 groups in 36 countries around the world freeing more than 16,000 individuals from the shackles of drugs. And through its drug education lecture program it introduced more than one million children to “the truth about drugs.”

Providing Drug Rehabilitation Training
Narconon Professional Training

The goal of the Narconon program is to resolve the problems of substance abuse, with their attendant companions: crime, violence and the enormous costs in ruined lives and broken families. Narconon drug rehabilitation centers factually help substance abusers achieve new lives without drugs; and, of course, the benefits go beyond individual addicts to their families and communities. However, to really make a difference in the current social chaos caused by drugs it is imperative that the results of the Narconon program become widely available.

With this in mind, Narconon Arrowhead operates an international training center which offers full training and apprenticeships. Programs include training in the Narconon method of drug-free withdrawal, detoxification and delivery of life improvement courses as well as in the establishment and administration of Narconon centers.

While staff of Narconon centers come from around the world to train at Narconon Arrowhead, the training program is also open to professionals from other organizations which wish to utilize the Narconon method.

Gary Smith, Narconon Arrowhead Executive Director, says that working in the drug treatment field without the necessary tools and knowledge to address hard-core addiction can be a discouraging proposition, and adds, “This is where Narconon Arrowhead comes in. Training materials have been developed over the past ten years which make it possible for anyone who really wants to help drug and alcohol abusers to achieve excellent results.”

A key part of the training is working with recovering addicts in order to get them successfully through each step of the program. In that way, trainees gain hands-on experience in application. They do not just study the materials relating to addiction and its resolutions. Trainees also thoroughly learn how to apply the materials to addicts, to help them through withdrawal, through a full detoxification regime, and through the courses which teach the former addicts how to deal with life situations without again resorting to alcohol or drugs or destructive behavior. It is a comprehensive approach that gets unprecedented results.

Telling the Truth About Drugs
Drug Education to Save our Children and Communities

Narconon staff are intimately familiar with the horrors of drug addiction, for many were themselves freed from lives of addiction by participating in the program. Consequently, Narconon staff and supporters work diligently to educate both children and adults about the dangers of substance abuse.

Over the years, Narconon drug education lecturers have developed a highly effective model and format to explain the consequences of substance abuse. Knowing that “scare tactics” don’t work, Narconon lecturers present the truth about drugs—the facts—and do so in a way that their audiences can see, understand and make up their own minds not to try these substances.

Narconon initiated providing celebrities an opportunity to set a drug-free example for youth. Kirstie Alley as Narconon International spokesperson has done so through presentation of the Drug-Free Hero Awards.

To date, more than a million young people have attended Narconon drug education presentations throughout the US and in numerous countries including Sweden, Italy, Germany, Russia, Israel, Lithuania, Hungary, Zimbabwe, Taiwan and Brazil.

In an independent study to determine the impact of the Narconon drug prevention program, students from fifteen Southern California schools were surveyed before and after attending a Narconon drug education lecture. Eighty-six percent of the students who had indicated before the lecture that they might have used drugs in the future, afterwards stated they no longer wanted to use drugs. And 57% of those who earlier had been indifferent toward drug use now had a positive change of attitude.

In Sao Paulo, Brazil, a series of drug education lectures were delivered to several thousand students, parents and teachers in an urban district said to have the highest crime rate in the world. In addition, 130 police officers were trained as drug prevention specialists. A follow-up study at one of the schools involved found that although the school population had increased 70 percent, drug use had decreased 80 percent over the two years of the program.

Successes from the Narconon Program

“For years drugs owned me, alienated me from my family and eventually sent me to prison. Nothing else but scoring heroin mattered to me. I attempted to get clean numerous times, but only when arrested and facing jail or when a close friend would overdose and die.

“After many failures in other programs I gave up and found myself in state prison, hopeless and beaten. My life was over until my father heard about and sent me to Narconon. The first thing I noticed was that the staff really cared about me. They had all been through similar drug problems and they understood.

“Narconon had a system, L. Ron Hubbard’s technology, that not only shows you how to stop using drugs but teaches you how to live life, solve problems, set and achieve positive goals. I graduated the program over 5 years ago. I got married. Narconon saved not only my life but my wife Stephanie’s too. She is the mother of my healthy, bright daughter. Thank you all for my wonderful life.”    Richie Almstead

The Evil of Drugs:

“I was sure that the evil of drugs would never enter my home. But it did. The changes came slowly and I mistook them as typical teenage rebellion. My sorrow and despair upon discovering Josh’s severe drug addiction cannot be expressed.

“Narconon has saved Joshua’s life. The ‘real’ Josh is back, full of fun, plans and dreams.

“I have my son back and for this I am grateful to God and Narconon.” — Parent of Narconon Program Graduate

A Parent’s Perspective:

“My son was a bright talented child. He learned to play the guitar and had a natural ability to draw and paint. In his teens something happened to this bright talented child. I found out later that he had gotten into drugs and barely finished high school. He could not hold a job and his only financial support was a family who ‘gave him money to keep him away’. This went on for twelve years in which time he was a waste to himself and others.

“After trying numerous ‘Drug Rehab Programs’ I found Narconon Arrowhead. I took him there as an emaciated ‘end of the trail person’. In a short time he regained his health and became himself again. Most importantly he became free of drugs.

“My son now has a family of his own. He is very productive in working with others to help them gain their own self esteem back and to become free of the ravages of drug use. My son and I have never been closer or had such a good relationship as father and son. Narconon Arrowhead not only gave my son back to me, but also gave me a very good friend.

“There are no words to define what Narconon Arrowhead means to my family.” — Parent of Narconon Program Graduate

Four Years on Crack:
“I went to a fine private school in Los Angeles. By the time I was sixteen I’d been to Europe and Hawaii, Africa, Japan, China, Greece and South America. I carried a 3.8 Grade Point Average in school. I was a National Merit Scholar and High School All American.

“I also used drugs on a daily basis from the time I was fifteen years old.

“I came back to L.A. because my mother was dying of cancer. A year later she died. My father did too, 40 days after that. Thus began four years of hell in which I blew close to one million dollars of money and merchandise on crack.

“I got pregnant three times, losing two babies. At seven months pregnant I got arrested twice and was facing three years state time. I entered the Narconon program and two months later I had what I never dreamed possible — a life without drugs. To top that off I had a daughter, Michelle, who was born drug-free.” — K.P., Narconon Graduate

An Addict’s Course:

“I was drinking heavily and doing a lot of cocaine, but because I was able to ‘function’ I didn’t think I had a problem. During this time I was mentally and emotionally dead. I couldn’t feel things anymore and even when I wanted to feel something I didn’t have the proper reactions to situations. I was dying. My body was deteriorating rapidly and I was very sick frequently. The drugs and alcohol were killing me. You see, I did want to die, the greatest way to not deal with anything is to die, and that is the drug addict’s ultimate dream, but something kept pulling me back; after I ended up in the hospital after a blackout I did stop once for 8 months, I went through pure unadulterated hell from the withdrawal which lasted about a month. Afterwards, I would still crave the drugs and alcohol. It was madness. I couldn’t stop thinking or dreaming about them. I went to meetings during this time and then I started to drink after the meetings, then I progressed to using the drugs again, mostly cocaine. My sponsor once told me ‘It’s ok you're not ready to quit yet so if you have to drink, then drink, and when you are ready to quit you will know it. You may just have to go down further before you make the decision to stop.’ I thought it was a bunch of garbage because everyday I did want to quit but I couldn’t.

“I went to a chiropractic seminar and they talked about the Narconon program. I took a pamphlet with Kirstie Alley’s picture on it and called. I asked for information and then I didn’t think about it, until that July 4th weekend. I went on a binge from July 2 to the early hours of July 5th and I realized that I did have a major problem. I called Narconon Arrowhead and was there 72 hours later.

“I was looking forward to the sauna because I wanted all the alcohol, drugs and residues out of my body. I wanted to feel clean again instead of feeling sick all of the time. I went into the sauna with cloudy eyes, feeling sick all the time and no energy. I came out a newborn. I thought it couldn’t get any better. I was wrong.... the life skill courses here at Narconon Arrowhead really enable you to take control of your life, actions and environment. You make the decisions for yourself without ever having to justify another thing.

“Thanks for the life.” — Cathy D. Narconon Arrowhead Graduate

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