http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/676239.html
Last update 04:19 30/01/2006
Tel Aviv to try Scientology founder's drug rehab program
By Yuval Azoulay, Haaretz Correspondent
The Tel Aviv municipality will soon be running a drug rehabilitation program developed by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. Drug addicts enrolled in the program, called Narconon, spend extended periods in a sauna and receive food supplements and vitamins to increase their perspiration rate and speed up the detoxification of their bodies. The program is being financed by private donors.
Despite City Hall's enthusiasm, the Health Ministry and the Israel Antidrug Authority have not approved the program.
"In my opinion, the Tel Aviv municipality cannot start such a process without the approval of the Health Ministry and the Antidrug Authority," said authority director general Haim Messing last week.
"The patients will receive large doses of vitamins and food supplements while in the sauna to increase the excretion of toxins by the body," explained Messing. "This method has not been checked out in Israel. We are in favor of pilot programs in Israel and will follow it with an evaluation study."
A few months ago three representatives of Tel Aviv City Hall visited the United States and were impressed with the success rate of the program, which Dr. Benny Avrahami, director of the Tel Aviv Municipal Anti-Drug Authority, reported as ranging between 50 and 75 percent.
Avrahami explains that the program will be run twice a year, with 150 participating drug addicts. The patients will be treated at a special rehabilitation center on a residential basis. During their first six weeks at the center, patients will spend 40-60 minutes in a sauna three or four times a day.
Between the sauna sessions, they will participate in physical exercises in a fitness room at the center and will receive food supplements. The second stage of the program, called Criminon, involves studying a curriculum that teaches participants how to cope with various situations.
"We received a donation of $1.5 million in the U.S. to run the program," says Avrahami. "The only condition set by the American donors was that we run this specific program." Avrahami is aware that the man behind the program is the founder of Scientology, but is undeterred.
"There is nothing in the implementation of this program that indicates spiritual goals. There will be no religious messages, not even veiled ones," assures Avrahami.
Criminon, which is part of the Narconon program, has been implemented in Israel's prisons for five years. So far 60 inmates addicted to drugs have been treated through the Criminon program. An Antidrug Authority source noted that in the Prison Services case, approval was given for the program because it did not involve the physical side of the program, only the educational one.
Brigadier General Yossi Beck, the Israel Prison Authority's head of treatment and rehabilitation, highly recommends the program.
"Of the 60 men treated via the program and released from prison, only one is back behind bars for a drug-related offense," says Beck. "The program seems to have a positive effect." Beck also hastens to add that despite the connection between the program and the founder of Scientology, there are no religious or spiritual messages in the program.
"Sure, the program was developed by the founder of Scientology and Scientologists use it, but a professional theory should not be discounted because its propounder is a member of a certain religion," says Beck.
Messing, too, does not link his objection to the program with its relationship to Scientology. "In all my conversations with various people, I have not found any connection between Scientology and saunas. We are in favor of effective methods for drug rehabilitation, on the condition that programs be adopted only after being properly researched."
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By Yuval Azoulay, Haaretz Correspondent: Tel Aviv to try Scientology
founder's drug rehab program
Talkback
1. Title: Narconon is a scam. It is a front for the Church of Scientology.
Name: Barbara Schwarz
City: Salt Lake City State: Utah
Please read "Narconon Exposed" by Prof. David Touretzky of Carnegie Mellon Univ. It is at: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Narconon/
The safety - or lack of it - of Narconon`s programme has been a serious cause of concern for nearly 30 years. As discussed in "Hubbard`s Junk Science", the Narconon detoxification programme is based on unproven (and disproved) theories. Unfortunately for Narconon`s clients, some of those theories and practices have significant risks and have attracted strong criticism from the medical profession as a result. In this context, it is worth noting that Narconon requires its clients to sign a "Release of Liability, Indemnity Agreement and Contract".
Narconon is a dangerous program that is unsafe and unproven. It is used mainly as a means to promote the cult of Scientology which would very much like to expand its operations into Israel. *****************************************
2. Title: We should have nothing to do with these people
Name: DB City:State:
We should have nothing to do with these people -- it is a cult aimed at defrauding its members of money -- it is a moneymaking scheme. This program is intended to gain/increase its foothold in Israel. Israelis seem to be rightly concerned about the prevalence of organized crime in Israel, yet one of the major criminal organizations in the world is invited to establish itself in Israel.
**************************************** 3. Title: Kick Them Out!
Name: Sam The Sham
City: Los Angeles State: California
Scientology is a religious cult. Scientologists are occult idiots. Better to become a Born Again Christian than a Scientologist. Founder subscribed to the idea, "There`s a sucker born every minute." Kick them out. ************************************** 4. Title: Scientology is a CULT
Name: Ted
City: Houston State: TX
Scientology is a cult - a scam built on greed of one L. Ron Hubbard, culminating in teachings that humans are vessels for alien souls killed by an alien overlord Xenu 10 billion years ago...and the more money you pay them, the closer you come to releasing those trapped souls and being able to fly, read minds, etc. Scientologists regularly harass and even sometimes torture apostates who leave their "religion." it`s retarded bullshit, and Scientology has been underwatch or expelled in dozens of western countries. I`m ashamed to see Scientology`s tentacles in Israel!!! *************************************** 5. Title: Narconon
Name: Deb
City: London State:
I wouldn`t mind having a detox session for free. Can I do this to withdraw from chocolate? **********************************
6. Title: Scientology /recovery from drugs Name:DH
City: vancouver State: canada
I`m a recovering addict and have been clean and sober for 8 years now due to attending NA and AA meeting and I also was in a recovery 12 step treatment centre.. I do not understand how this program could work without a belief in a higher power and the twelve steps ..In my opinion its a waste of time and will never work!! Sauna`s??? *****************************************
7. Title: Narconon: Beware of Strangers Bearing Gifts & Ignorant Politicians
Name: S. J. Wilson
City: Oklahoma City State: Oklahoma
L. Ron Hubbard was a liar, a thief, a bigamist and a conman extraordinaire.
Narconon, contrary to what the people of Israel have been told, contains the same teachings that are presented in the science fiction "church" of Scientology as "religious" doctrine.
Narconon tried to hide its connection to Scientology when it came to Oklahoma to con five Indian tribes into leasing them an old Indian school. The state of Oklahoma found the Narconon program to be unsafe and ineffective. It took the Indians more than a decade and an Indian court to get Narconon, who found a loophole in the law and went out of state to buy certification, off their property. Narconon is L. Ron Hubbard`s quack science and a recruiting tool for the "church".
Before Israel accepts this "gift", it should check out the numbers Narconon gives you as a success rate.....Is it based only on those who complete the program? How many of those who complete the program become Scientologists and/or Narconon staff? And Israel doctors should check out the danger of long hours in a sauna and high doses of niacin and the misinformation about drugs being stored in fat.
Your journey into the dark side of Narconon/Scientology can start here: Stop-Narconon.org: Protecting the Vulnerable from Narconon/Scientology http://www.stopnarconon.org/
"You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time." ~~ Abraham Lincoln
*************************************** 8. Title: Scientology
Name: Cliff Seaward
City: London State: London
This programme is based on innacurate science and dubious ethics, I look forward to your first court case and the subsequent damages!
