Celebrating 30 Years of Sobriety as a Narconon Graduate

I was born in Burbank, California, and raised in Granada Hills. I have been working with my dad in manufacturing for many years making metal parts for the aerospace industry, gas caps for cars, parts for slot machines, pogo stick footrests—you name it.

I’m also a proud graduate of the Narconon program.

Before Narconon, my life looked pretty normal on the outside. I worked 9 to 5, played sports growing up—mainly baseball and basketball—and went to school for engineering. Growing up in the ‘70s felt relaxed and full of opportunity. There were plenty of drugs around, but they didn’t interest me. I preferred sports. I went to a Catholic school because my parents didn’t want me to be bused to a school in L.A.

I had the talent to play professional baseball, and even had friends who made it to the pros. But I gave it up—a decision I still regret. Later, I enrolled at Cal State Northridge to play baseball and study engineering, but I quit baseball and left college without a degree and began working with my dad in the family business.

That’s when I started using drugs. It began with smoking pot, which led to other drugs. By the mid-’80s I was hooked on crack cocaine. That sent me into a fast downward spiral. I tried multiple rehab centers, including the Betty Ford Center in Palm Springs, always searching for answers. But no one could explain the cause of addiction. They said I had a disease and Doctors called it a disease, but they had no proof. I didn’t buy it.

I went through a lot—even getting fired from a job that I loved, living in halfway houses, going to thousands of Alcoholics, Cocaine and Narcotics Anonymous meetings, being kicked out of halfway houses after relapsing, and disappearing for days on drug binges. I was stuck in a cycle of rehab and relapse for many years, with no hope of escape from that vicious cycle.

Finding Narconon

One day, our company secretary told my dad about the Narconon program. She helped to put us in contact with Narconon in Los Angeles, who then sent one of their intake staff to come to our house to talk to me. I was high at the time, but what caught my attention was when the lady explained how drugs stay trapped in my body and can dislodge at any time and create physical cravings. That made a lot of sense to me, so I agreed to try the program.

Once I got to Narconon, I didn’t care about anything else but getting through the program. One of the most important realizations I had was that I wasn’t a drug addict by nature—it wasn’t a disease or something genetic. That’s true.

“ I graduated in 1994. It was a powerful, life-changing experience like nothing else. It saved my life.”

The program lasted three to four months. I graduated in 1994. It was a powerful, life-changing experience like nothing else. It saved my life.

Life After Narconon

One of the happiest moments I’ve experienced since graduating is helping with drug prevention efforts. More recently, I helped get my nephew into Narconon—and I know it saved his life.

Addiction had a huge impact on my life. It derailed my future. I should have stayed in baseball. But drugs took over, and I made poor decisions to avoid confronting painful emotions. I even stole money from family members. That kind of behavior eats away at you.

At one of my lowest points, I took a taxi late at night to get drugs. I didn’t have money for the ride or the drugs. I tricked the dealer and when he realized it, I ran. In the chaos, I gashed my face on the cab door, needing stitches. Gratefully, the taxi driver ended up giving me a ride home—for free. That was my rock bottom.

What Helped Me Most in the Program

Two parts of the Narconon program stand out: the New Life Detox and the training drills. Detox helped clean out the drugs from my body and that got rid of the physical cravings. The training drills were key to rebuilding my ability to confront life.

One moment after graduating really proved this to me. Someone at work got in my face—he was angry, invalidating me and my dad. Instead of reacting, I stayed calm and held my ground. I responded with truth and squashed every lie he told. That wouldn’t have been possible before Narconon.

These tools helped me confront myself, others, and real-life situations.

My Message to Field Reps and Supporters

If you're considering becoming a Narconon field representative or supporter, know this: you’re saving lives. Every single day matters. Someone could overdose tomorrow. You have the power to change that and save lives by getting them onto a Narconon Program.

“The Narconon program works. It’s not about
managing addiction; it’s about ending it.”

People using drugs are not being themselves, they’re not being who they really are—they don’t want to be addicts. The Narconon program works. It’s not about managing addiction; it’s about ending it. The New Life Detox and the training drills are powerful life-saving tools for long-term survival in the real world.

I’m very grateful for Narconon and the dedicated staff who were there for me. They weren’t in it for the money—they were there to save lives. And they saved mine.

—Kenny Z., Narconon Graduate