This is an article I wrote for the online Manhattan Beach press. http://www.manhattanbeachnews.com/

In June of 2004, the San Francisco Chronicle began to run a series of articles which shocked parents of students enrolled in the San Francisco Unified School District.

A Church of Scientology front group called 'Narconon' was being allowed to present their unique drug and alcohol educational program in public schools.

This program raised concerns that Narconon's program is nothing more than Scientology in a different package. Subsequent articles in the series outlined concerns that the program was not scientifically based, and riddled with inaccuracies.

Narconon was issued an ultimatum. Narconon representatives were notified that they were to revise their program if they wished to continue giving presentations in the SFUSD.

When state schools Superintendent Jack O'Connell heard about the Narconon program, he ordered a probe to evaluate the content and accuracy of their presentations. The evaluation was completed in October of this year.

On October 2, 2004, the Chronicle article headline said, "Church's drug program flunks S.F. test Panel of experts finds Scientology's Narconon lectures outdated, inaccurate"

The following report was a scathing criticism of Narconon's program. Five independent experts in the drug abuse field all found it to be unscientific, factually inaccurate, and closely linked to Scientology beliefs. Steve Heilig, Director of health and education for the San Francisco Medical Society, recounted some of the team's comments.

"One of our reviewers opined that 'this (curriculum) reads like a high school science paper pieced together from the Internet, and not very well at that,' " Heilig wrote Bascom. "Another wrote that 'my comments will be brief, as this proposal hardly merits detailed analysis.' Another stated, 'As a parent, I would not want my child to participate in this kind of 'education.'"

As a result of this exposure, the Narconon Drug and Education program was banned from San Francisco public schools. Los Angeles quickly followed suit.

However, Narconon is always quick to jump on an opportunity, however tragic, like the death of Mira Costa student Mike Hammond. This 16 year old died of a drug overdose a couple of weeks ago.

In no time, Narconon "drug counselors" had moved in to take advantage of the shock and grief present, offering a free workshop to help students deal with the situation. An online publication, reports that Mira Costa high school is allowing Narconon to use its facilities for this event.

"A free workshop for parents will take place 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 16 at Mira Costa High School in Room 200. Certified chemical dependency counselor Daphna Hernandez of the Narconon program will counsel parents on how to identify and deal with possible drug habits of their children. Teenagers are also welcomed."

This will be the same material dismissed by the California School Superintendent as scientifically inaccurate and connected with the Scientology religion.

Mira Costa high school authorities have not yet responded to emails concerning this matter. It is possible that they are unaware of the Narconon front group and the recent expulsion of the program from California public schools.

Suggested web reading: http://stop-narconon.org http://narconon-exposed.org -- --barb Chaplain,ARSCC

"Imagine a church so dangerous, you must sign a release form before you can receive its "spiritual assistance." This assistance might involve holding you against your will for an indefinite period, isolating you from friends and family, and denying you access to appropriate medical care. You will of course be billed for this treatment - assuming you survive it. If not, the release form absolves your caretakers of all responsibility for your suffering and death.

Welcome to the Church of Scientology."

--Dr. Dave Touretzky Peter Alexander