BTW, I have published a series of three posts about L Ron Hubbard's mad baby formula (based on Barley water). This includes (complete and downloadable) medical case studies of infants who have suffered scurvy and malnutrition as a direct result of being fed with it (it is deficient in vitamins C, A and in Iron). Incredibly this concoction is still recommended today by official Church of Scientology websites.Here's a link to part one - links to the other two are at the bottom of the posthttp://scicrit.wordpress.com/2014/12/01/the-l-ron-hubbard-baby-formula-pt-1-dangerous-medical-advice-from-scientology/While this seems off topic, I think it demonstrates that Narconon is by no means the only dangerous pseudo-medical practice that Hubbard established. Hubbard's 'drug rehabilitation' ideas are better known - but only because the 'church' today can put their traditional hard sell tactics behind Narconon, and make money from it. There is more medical madness from Hubbard, which must, surely undermine his credibility.
The truly perplexing example is that of a six-week-old baby boy who developed malnutrition (not to mention projectile bilious vomiting and 12-hour-long bout of diarrhoea. It took nine days to stabilise him. Two days later he was back - his parents had resumed Hubbard's formula as soon as was home. This time it took 13 days of treatment before he recovered.What could possibly have motivated them to do this? http://scicrit.wordpress.com/2014/12/03/the-l-ron-hubbard-baby-formula-pt-3-and-five-cases-of-infantile-malnutrition/
My impression is that the people involved were not the sharpest knives in the drawer. They had acquired Narconon literature, and thought they had an original way of promoting it - they did not know that what they doing was liable to be subject to official sanction. They do not even seem to be have been bright enough to understand that publishing the details of the programme (i.e. the vitamin dosages and frequency of ingestion) could have be used in court to amply demonstrate that they were promoting dangerous quack medicine, should any 'patient' have complained.Why they were doing this is difficult to assess. Were they committed Scientologists, where they attracted by the prospect of selling cheap vitamin packs for £150 for weeks supply - or both? I'm just glad they're off-line now - I dread to think what could have happened to someone with a real problem who undertook their potentially lethal 'treatment'.
The charitable status of Narconon franchises needs to be re-assessed, too. Scientology does not have charitable status in the UK, and the activities of Narconon are plainly a work-around. A substantial amount of the (tax-free) money Narconon Scotland made would have been paid to Narconon International which is, of course, wholly owned by the Church of Scientology.Finally, now that Scientology itself has become a toxic brand (a situation that is only likely to become worse, with the 2015 release of 'that' HBO documentary) they are probably going to use their front groups to conceal their identity far more in future.
This is puzzling. Is this behavior a matter of intelligence or of leading an insular life?
I hope Narconon Scotland's 'home detox' project is dead. I think that the potential clients may not have been the only people who cold have been exploited here. The people who organised it, were also in a dangerous position. They would have been congratulated only as long as the money was coming in - but as soon as there was an injury of death associated with their 'treatment', they would have been disowned. Their failure may have been bad for their income, but was surely good for their conscience.