Narconon FAQ

When did Narconon start?

The Narconon drug and alcohol rehabilitation program started in 1966, inside the Arizona State prison. The prior year, an inmate named William Benitez had been searching for a way to eliminate the addiction to heroin that landed him in jail over and over. He found a book by L. Ron Hubbard called Fundamentals of Thought and studied it thoroughly. William Benitez decided to found a new drug rehabilitation program named Narconon (for "no drugs" or "no narcotics.") After months of appeals to prison administrators, he was finally given permission to start a drug rehabilitation program inside the prison, helping himself and other inmates recover from addiction using what he had learned from this and other books by Mr. Hubbard. That was in February 1966.

Where did the Narconon drug rehab program come from?

After he got his first program started inside the Arizona State prison, Mr. Benitez continued to study more books and materials from L. Ron Hubbard, focusing on those materials that would enable people to recover from drug addiction. When he was released from prison, he went to Los Angeles and opened the first public Narconon residential center. Over time, more of Mr. Hubbard's developments in drug recovery were adopted by Narconon centers to improve the results of the program until it became the standardized, well-rounded program it is today.

Where is Mr. Benitez now?

Years after founding the first Narconon center in Los Angeles and then working with the development of the Narconon network, Mr. Benitez returned to Arizona and became the Hearing Officer for inmate complaints for the Arizona Department of Corrections. By doing so, he was able to continue to help inmates in the same prison system that had jailed him. He served in this capacity until his death from natural cause in 1999.

Where are there Narconon centers?

There are more than 120 Narconon drug rehabilitation or drug prevention centers in every corner of the globe. The United States has nineteen centers and Canada has six. There are ten centers in Italy alone, and recently-founded centers in countries as diverse as Nepal, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine. There are also centers in Australia, Taiwan, South Africa, Egypt and Ghana. Russia has twelve rehabilitation or education centers. The international headquarters is located in Los Angeles, California.

How successful is the Narconon program in helping addicts recover?

In repeated reviews as well as utilizing its own "Routine Outcome Monitoring", the Narconon program has demonstrated seven out of ten graduates of the program remain clean and sober after they go home. This is one of the best success rates in the field of addiction recovery.

Why does Narconon work so well?

Mr. Hubbard spent much of his life researching ways to help people live happier lives and recover from unhappy experiences. His research included developing natural, healthful ways to help people heal mentally, physically and emotionally from the use of drugs since these substances have been shown to have such a lasting and damaging effect. Mr. Benitez's experience with addiction and his care for his fellow inmates paired with Mr. Hubbard's research were a powerful match that resulted in a workable application of Mr. Hubbard's principles in a drug rehab setting. The Narconon program that resulted addresses the whole person, the reasons he or she began using drugs and the damage done to the body and soul of the addicted person.

How does the Narconon program help a person get through drug withdrawal?

There are several tools that Narconon staff use to help people through withdrawal. The first is nutrition. Addicts normally fail to see to their basic needs including eating and sleeping properly. Each person in withdrawal gets generous doses of vitamins and minerals that are commonly depleted in recovering addicts which treatment strongly reduces the fierce symptoms that typically accompany withdrawal. Narconon staff work with each person to provide gentle re-orientation exercises that help reduce anxiety and increase objectivity. Physical assists calm the body and help reduce spasms and cramps. Many recovering addicts find these steps help them have the most tolerable withdrawal ever.

How can the Narconon program help relieve the depression suffered by so many addicts?

Many drug rehabs prescribe addictive drugs to treat this depression. At Narconon, it is found that depression begins to lift in withdrawal when the recovering addict receives generous doses of nutrition, as nutritional depletion itself can cause or worsen depression.

Additionally, as the person goes through the life skills training, repairs her relationships and once again discovers the brightness of life that may have been lost long ago, she will start looking forward to the new goals she can now set and achieve. For a person who has recovered his interest in life, has overcome cravings and knows how to stay sober, depression is a thing of the past.

Does Narconon believe that addiction is a disease?

Mr. Benitez described addiction very well when he said: "I realized that drug addiction was nothing more than a 'disability' resulting when a person ceases to use abilities essential to constructive survival. I found that if a person rehabilitated and applied certain abilities, that person could persevere toward goals set, confront life, isolate problems and resolve them, communicate with life, be responsible and set ethical standards, and function within the band of certainty." The entire premise of the Narconon program is that a person can work through his or her past problems, learn drug-free life skills and rehabilitate his or her self-respect and integrity, and thus need no further "treatment" of addiction.

How does Narconon's sauna program work?

The Narconon New Life Detoxification Program was based on Mr. Hubbard's discoveries that certain nutritional and other supplements combined with exercise and repeated periods sweating in a low heat, well ventilated Sauna enabled the body to flush out old stored drug toxins.

There is also a unique program component that cleanses toxic drug residuals from the body. For recovering addicts, this is a vital action as these stored drug toxins have been shown to be involved in triggering cravings, even years after drug use ceased. But when these residual toxins have been flushed out, recovering addicts normally feel brighter and report that they can think more clearly and have fewer cravings. Some people even say cravings are gone entirely. This program is carefully supervised, with a precise regimen of nutritional supplementation tailored to each person's progress. It usually takes between one and two months to complete.

Is there a religious component to the Narconon program?

The Narconon program is completely secular (non-religious). Students at a Narconon center are encouraged to pursue their own religious studies or pursuits as these have proven to help many people in their recoveries. At some Narconon centers, local churches send vans around on Sunday morning to pick up those who wish to attend services.

How long is the Narconon program?

The program does not have a set length. A person progresses through at his or her own rate. The minimum time taken to complete the program is about three months. Between three and five months is the usual length but some people need more time to recover fully and develop the drug-free life skills they are going to rely on once they are home again.