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[ethercat]

In 2004/2005, Narconon wanted to run a drug education program in the schools in California.  Fortunately, maybe with a little prodding from critics, the California Board of Education did an assessment of the narconon program for educating schoolchildren about the dangers of drugs.  Here is a copy of their assessment: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/he/at/narcononevaluation.asp

Needless to say (if you've read the link), they did not do the school program.

[Lorelei]

Medical and Scientific Accuracy

NDAP instructional materials do not clearly identify authors, their institutional affiliations or qualifications, or whether the materials underwent content or pedagogical review; although one material references L. Ron Hubbard as the source of its information. d Some of the general content presented in the NDAP is accurate, such as the information on media and alcohol, tobacco and nicotine, achieving goals, and possible effects of drug abuse on mental processing (e.g., memory). Some drug-related information presented in the NDAP and supplementary resources—although aligned with the Narconon drug rehabilitation methodology—does not reflect accurate, widely accepted medical and scientific evidence. Some information is misleading because it is overstated or a distinction between drug use and abuse is lacking.

Examples of inaccurate information presented to students in NDAP presentations and supplementary resources include:

* drugs burn up vitamins and nutrients
* drug-activated vitamin deficiency results in pain which prompts relapse
* marijuana-induced, rapid vitamin and nutrient loss causes the "munchies"
* small amounts of drugs stored in fat are released at a later time causing the person to re-experience the drug effect and desire to use again

This information reflects hypothesized processes of drug metabolism, bioavailability, and psychoactive impact, and is the premise for the Narconon detoxification regimen. a This theoretical information does not reflect current evidence that is widely accepted and recognized as medically and scientifically accurate.

Examples of misleading statements and inferences presented to students in NDAP presentations and supplementary resources include:

* drugs are poisons
* the amount of a drug determines if it acts as a stimulant or as a sedative
* anyone who takes drugs does so to avoid problems
* drugs ruin creativity and dull senses

This information is overgeneralized or exaggerated.

Inaccurate and misleading drug-related information is problematic because it can confuse students and be perceived as designed to arouse fear. It may also lead students to discredit the schools' drug prevention program and distrust educators.

Inaccuracies and misleading inferences were not limited to a single material, but were evident in NDAP elementary, middle and high school presentation outlines and delivery scripts and in the supplementary drug prevention materials available to schools that were provided for this review. (See Appendix C for annotated examples of inaccurate and misleading information.)

I had to laugh at loud at some of this nonsense.

Good grief.

The following is just my (non-medical) opinion, and will only address the italicized part above.

As for drugs "stifling" creativity, etc., that's part of the problem: often they do no such thing (Leary, Castaneda, and Huxley would definitely have something to say about that). They MAY stimulate "creativity" and (appear to) enhance the senses, which is part of the addictiveness: someone desiring to re-experience those effects may become psychologically addicted to a substance they perceive as harmless and "useful", and resist any suggestion that the bad outweighs the benefit(s).

Some drugs, IMHO, do what some cult-type groups do (e.g., TM, est, etc.): drive the partaker mentally "inward" and artificially introvert them by tamping down the rational-reasonable-intellectual part of the mind a bit. If you have a "busy brain," the "mental holiday" can also be pleasant, and thus become an experience that the user wants to repeat. If your analytical brain is on vacation (due to fatigue, or drugs, or enforced boredom, or hunger / other basic physical needs not being met, or whatever), you are somewhat more amenable to suggestion.

I think some drugs are more physically addictive faster, and more physically damaging faster, than others (IOW, I have heard--true or false--that it is entirely possible to become physically addicted to the physical effect achieved by the crack form of cocaine from the first experience with it). Some more "mild" drugs like marijuana or hallucinogens (as opposed to narcotics or soporifics, etc.), it is harder to pinpoint serious physical damage that might occur from occasional use, esp. when something like marijuana has value medically for certain conditions to deal with pain or as an appetite stimulant, etc., but I suspect the pleasant experience associated with those "milder" drugs is, in its own way, "addictive" in that it is more pleasant to sit around re-experiencing the drug it is to do certain things we all have to do in order to be responsible adults, like go to work and pay bills and eat right. The lifestyle itself can be more attractive than the non-using lifestyle; the non-using lifestyle is a drag by comparison, because you have to be responsible (etc.) and part of that requires that you not sit around and use drugs instead of being productive. Heavy marijuana use will also affect memory, learning, ability to focus / concentrate / retain information, etc., but the effects tend to be cumulative, thus hard for the user him or herself to judge with clarity and accuracy (again, IMHO).

Anyway, it is irresponsible for any treatment center to try to counter a user's personal experience with a substance by saying that "such and such does not have the effect you claim," because, experientially, the user knows that's bull. It isn't the effect of the drug, good or bad, that is the most important factor to address, I suspect. Addressing the behavior associated with drug seeking and use, addressing the factors in the person's life that made drug use sound like a good idea, checking to see if an underlying problem is being "self-medicated" with illegal drugs instead of pharmaceutical drugs, etc.--I'd worry about those things far more than I would worry about arguing with a drug user about his or her personal experiences while using and claiming that those experiences were all bad...if, in the beginning, the experiences were indeed all bad, few if any people would ever try drugs more than once. The problem is that they tend to feel good, and provide short-term pleasure artificially that the user rationalizes is worth the long-term negative consequences and risks.

It is also irresponsible to treat all drug dependencies the same way, or to treat people addicted to one substance the same as someone addicted to many different ones, or to treat people who only used "legal" drugs abusively the same as those who had no problem seeking and using illegal drugs. They are all different types of problems. From what I have read, Narconon seems to treat ALL drug use as a physical addiction and to treat it the same way with the same methods. (Yes? No?) I can't imagine that someone who is addicted to crack or meth and using daily would be successfully treated the same way as someone who has been using marijuana recreationally every now and then. The latter would probably be in there more for behavior issues tied to the drug use than any perceived health emergency. Someone who was prescribed drugs for a legitimate issue (at least originally legitimate) and became addicted is possibly a different personality type from someone who used, say, meth, and knowingly engaged in illegal activities from the get-go to acquire it.

Anyway.

The other big warning flag there is the false data about drugs supposed stored in fat / being fat soluble supposedly being eradicated via overdoses of vitamins like niacin and sweating in a hot sauna. Bad science from a science fiction writer with no medical background. Some things like vitamins are "stored in fat" or water-soluble ( http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=10736 ), fine, but overdoses of niacin and hot saunas are inappropriate treatment.

It's not just whether something is fat- or water-soluble that counts, either:
http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec02/ch011/ch011d.html

Any "one size fits all" program should be viewed with some skepticism. Any "one size fits all" program based on pseudo-science which fudges its statistics, promotes medically unsound "detox" procedures, and demands a lot of your money should be avoided at all costs.

[ethercat]

It is also irresponsible to treat all drug dependencies the same way, or to treat people addicted to one substance the same as someone addicted to many different ones, or to treat people who only used "legal" drugs abusively the same as those who had no problem seeking and using illegal drugs. They are all different types of problems. From what I have read, Narconon seems to treat ALL drug use as a physical addiction and to treat it the same way with the same methods. (Yes? No?)

Yes.  Not all are viewed as an addiction, but ALL drugs are considered toxins (except, of course, for the vitamin and mineral supplements often sold by scientologists).  Same treatment for alcohol, marijuana, heroin, meth, cocaine, etc.  In the scientology version, the "purification rundown" which all scientologists undergo at one time or another, and some more than once, the "treatment" is extended to aspirin, antibiotics, environmental toxins such as pesticides and carpet manufacturing aromas, virtually anything.  They are all supposed to be removed in the same way.

The other big warning flag there is the false data about drugs supposed stored in fat / being fat soluble supposedly being eradicated via overdoses of vitamins like niacin and sweating in a hot sauna. Bad science from a science fiction writer with no medical background. Some things like vitamins are "stored in fat" or water-soluble ( http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=10736 ), fine, but overdoses of niacin and hot saunas are inappropriate treatment.

It's not just whether something is fat- or water-soluble that counts, either:
http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec02/ch011/ch011d.html

You might also like the following post: http://forum.reachingforthetippingpoint.net/index.php/topic,3987.0.html

Any "one size fits all" program should be viewed with some skepticism. Any "one size fits all" program based on pseudo-science which fudges its statistics, promotes medically unsound "detox" procedures, and demands a lot of your money should be avoided at all costs.

Certainly.  In fact, the Georgia Dept. of Human Resources Office of Regulatory Services (or whatever the new name for the agency is; it has changed recently), which licenses drug rehab facilities in Georgia, including Narconon of Georgia,  REQUIRES that individualized treatment programs be established for EACH person, whether the addictions or abuse involve the same drugs or not, whether the circumstances are the same or not.  How Narconon of Georgia gets away with their one-size-fits-all program is a complete mystery, a mystery which I view with a bit of suspicion.