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[UK] This is Gloucestershire - 15 Oct 2001 - Editorial

Scientology link denied by group

A drug rehabilitation charity which may set up shop in a Forest of Dean village has denied being anything to do with a controversial religious group.

The charity Narconon admitted it had expressed an interest in buying the Euroclydon Nursing Home in Drybrook, but has denied links with the Church of Scientology.

When the news broke that the village could become home to a drug rehabilitation clinic there was uproar among residents, and rumours abounded that Narconon was part of the religious group.

Noel Nile, director of drug education for Narconon, has now spoken out in an effort to allay fears about the organisation, which he describes as "an international charity."

He said: "It is non-religious and its sole purpose is to work towards a drug-free society. As such, it enjoys the highest drug rehabilitation, currently 70%, and uses no substitute drugs in its programme." He said the organisation's drug education programme has been used in schools throughout the UK and was well respected.

As regards moving to Drybrook, he said: "I should point out that we have only made initial inquiries about the property and nothing else has been initiated."

But he did admit the drugs rehabilitation programme used by Narconon was developed with the research of one L. Ron Hubbard – the same Mr Hubbard who founded the Church of Scientology in 1954.

And on the Church's own website Narconon is in fact listed as a group "affiliated" to the Church of Scientology.

News that the old people's home could become a drugs rehabilitation centre has appalled not only people living close to the home but also councillors and village traders.

There is also concern for the future of the residents at the Euroclydon. Mr Niles said Narconon shared these worries, and said the problem would have to be resolved before his organisation could proceed any further. Vice-chairman of the parish council, Colin Smith, said he was totally against a drug rehabilitation clinic in the village.

He said: "This is definitely something we can do without, and people living locally will be horrified at this news."

Council chairman Mabel Beech was also concerned. She said: "Such a development will add to the problems we already have in Drybrook."

A spokesman for Gloucestershire Drug and Alcohol Service (GDAS), which has a base in Cinderford in the Forest, said she had never heard of Narconon.

She said GDAS would recommend anyone who is seeking help to contact a recognised service, such as their own.

Anyone who would like to reach GDAS should contact 01594 825 656. Something to say about this story? Post a message on the local news bulletin board http://www.epost.co.uk/cgi-bin/wbbs/00/webbbs_config.pl

Last updated 15-10-01

From: barb
Subject: Re: [UK] Narconon denies ties with $cientology - Gloucestershire - 15 Oct 2001
Date: Tue, 16 Oct 2001 07:49:38 -0700
Message-ID: <3BCC4902.E06AD85D@home.com>
Here's my letter to the Gloucestershire Drug and Alcohol Service:

Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, I read an article today about the Narconon group. One of your staff was quoted as saying she knew nothing about them.

I hope to rectify that, as it is imperative you become as familiar with them as possible, as they are considering setting up in your community.

First, let me inform you that Narconon is indeed Scientology!

Scientology itself is a curious monstrosity of a fraud wrapped in the guise of religion or business, depending upon what suits it to achieve its goals.

All teachings in Scientology are a result of founder L. Ron Hubbard's copious writings. The courses provided by Narconon are identical to the courses taught in Scientology. In addition, Narconon also uses a vitamin/sauna regimen also outlined by Hubbard. It should be noted here that Hubbard dropped out of university and subsequently purchased a doctorate degree from a mail order diploma mill.

He was extremely unqualified to lay out a rehabilitation program. This is a man who decreed that newborns should be fed barley water, as all mothers smoke and their milk is toxic.

The name 'Narconon' is a deliberate attempt to confuse the public. The AA group has a support group called NarcAnon, which is for friends and families of addicts. Narconon is one of many Scientology front groups designed to lure the unwary and uninformed into the Scientology Organisation. Other groups address literacy, mental health, and business management.

For Narconon to attempt to pass itself off as a charity is laughable.

They charge thousands of dollars for their spurious recovery program.

That Narconon would wish to be distanced from Scientology comes as no surprise, considering Scientology's global reputation. In the US last year, the state of Utah dropped Narconon from its list of state-funded rehab clinics. The reason given was a conflict between church and state.

Moreover, Narconon has not been shown to be an effective tool in releasing addicts from their addictions. Their claims of success are utterly unrealistic and unsubstantiated. The few studies conducted of the Narconon program have shown it to be of no use.

One of the main features of the Narconon program is a detoxification process called "The Purification Rundown." Hubbard taught that all drugs are stored in fatty tissue. He also said that radiation was soluble in water, and that cleansing the body of radiation and toxins was the first step in recovery. However, his process is based upon no scientific research. A heavy drug user himself, Hubbard spun fantasies which are now accepted as fact by his followers.

The Purif Rundown basically involves drinking cooking oil, sitting in a sauna for long periods of time, and taking vitamins, particularly toxic, massive doses of Niacin. Large doses of niacin result in the skin taking on a bright red flush as capillaries expand. Adherents are told that this is the radiation leaving their systems. Niacin at these levels can also inflict permanent liver damage to those persons with a history of liver disease. That this unfounded, unproven, and potentially dangerous program is allowed to continue its operation demonstrates the heavy influence the rich and powerful Scientology organisation has in some communities.

I refer you to this excellent website for further in-depth information to the Narconon scam:

http://wpxx02.toxi.uni-wuerzburg.de/~cowen/essays/narconon/ For general information about the cult:

http://www.xenu.net

Attached, you will find a testimony by a former Scientologist and head of Narconon in the US. It is most revealing as to their true identity and motives.

I sincerely hope you will look into this further and educate your community. You may wish to contact the East Grinstead community for further information concerning the dynamics of Scientology influence in society. Before he was permanently banned from Britain, Hubbard made his home there, and it's still a center of Scientology activity to this day.

What I attached to this email follows:

Affidavit of J. Whitfield
Testifying re: Narconon
Registered Charity # 107760142RR0001
February 27, 1998.

My name is Jerry Whitfield. I live at 119 SE 43rd Lane in Cape Coral, Florida. I am over eighteen years of age and if called to testify in a court of law, I could do so in a competent manner.

From 1974 until 1977, I worked at Narconon, a front group for Scientology. At that time, we took our orders from the Guardian's Office United States (GO US) which in turn took its orders from the Guardian's Office Worldwide (GO WW) which answered solely to Mary Sue Hubbard, wife of the founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard. Mary Sue answered only to L. Ron Hubbard according to the information we received at Narconon.

(Mary Sue Hubbard and ten other high ranking Scientology officials were put in prison for conspiracy against the US Government. They were involved the biggest conspiracy against the US Government in the history of the US.) We were required to write weekly reports each Thursday by 2:00 PM and sent in our weekly statistics by that same time each and every week of the year. I was in charge of collecting statistics from each staff member at Narconon, El Paso, Texas. One of the statistics I had to collect each week was number of new Scientologists made this week.

Additionally, a percentage of our gross income was sent to the Church of Scientology each week. I did not work in the accounting department, but I was told on numerous occasions that 10% went to the GO US and 10% went to GO WW. I did, however, participate in the weekly financial planning of the money taken in for the week, and how it was to be spent. So I feel that the 20% figure sent to Scientology each week was accurate. I heard from the Treasury Secretary that checks were made out each week and sent uplines to Scientology. I doubt that I would have been lied to about that for over three years. Especially since there was often a change in Treasury Secretaries and the story stayed the same. Moreover, I worked at Narconon El Paso and Narconon United States, and the percentages were the same in both organizations as told to me by various Treasury Secretaries in both organizations. I served on the Finance Committees for both organizations so I was privy to this information.

We used L Ron Hubbard's techniques for getting people off drug dependency and turning them into Scientologists if we could. We were told by Dick Talbert, a Guardian Office staff member, to tell people that Narconon and Scientology were different corporations and not affiliated.

-6 Dick held the post of Narconon Director, GO US. I held a lower position simultaneously which was Executive Director Narconon US. In that position, he was my direct senior, or my boss. I, as a Narconon staff member at Narconon US, was taking direct orders from a Church of Scientology staff member daily. This was no secret to me or anyone else who worked there. (In fact, to work there required the attitude of a dedicated Scientologist. Non Scientologists would not remain under the intolerable work conditions.) Every day I worked less than twenty feet from Dick Talbert's desk. I had no time to do the things I wanted to do to create my job; I had to follow the orders of Dick who had to follow the orders of Laurie Zurn, another Church of Scientology staff member who worked for the GO US. She was head of Bureau 4, the Social Coordination Bureau of the GO US. Her orders came from the head of Bureau 4 in GO WW at East Grinstead, England, where Scientology was managed.

The Guardian's Office (Dept.20) is now known as Office of Special Affairs (Dept.20). Bureau 4 was later known as SoCo for Social Coordination. It has now been renamed A. B. L. E., Association for Better Living and Education.

The purpose of Narconon was to make the works of L Ron Hubbard and his name acceptable to the public. That was part of Narconon's written Admin Scale, an overview of what the goals, purposes, policies, and plans of the organization were.

ABLE is now overseen by a Scientology entity known as International Management. ABLE oversees Narconon, Crimanon, Applied Scholastics, and The Way to Happiness Campaign. WISE, World Institute of Scientology Enterprises is on the same level as ABLE. Both are licensed by Religious Technology Center, RTC, holder of the copyrights and trademarks of Scientology. Both are managed by International Management.

One can easily verify the order of command channels by inspecting the Command Channels of Scientology as issued and copyrighted by the Church of Scientology in the late 80's or early 90's.

I swear to the best of my knowledge that the above is true.

Jerry Whitfield
Cape Coral, Florida
USA

"Comparing Scientology to a motorcycle gang is a gross, unpardonable insult to bikers everywhere. Even at our worst, we are never as bad as Scientology." -ex-member, Thunderclouds motorcycle "club"

"$cientology sees the world this way: One man with a picket sign: terrorism. Five thousand people dead in a deliberate inferno: business opportunity. $cientology oozes _under_ terrorists to hide." -Chris Leithiser