Recently, Scientology-instigated interference in the internal affairs of Sweden has been the subject of international debate. I suspect Scientology's lobbyists and political supporters in Washington will now seek to exert more international political and economic pressure on this small neutral nation.

According to a 1998 article published in International Scientology News, Scientology's Narconon program in Sweden is the most successful in the world. The complete article, with my comments in parentheses follows.

"NARCONON Sweden

"Attacking drug abuse and salvaging lives with LRH tech

"Thomas Lillhannus and his friends spend the major part of their day in the "shooting galleries" of Stockholm, the term used for places where junkies go to get their next fix.

"But they are not there to get high. Instead, they're spending their time salvaging hard-core drug addicts with the only technology that can - LRH drug rehabilitation technology - through the Narconon program.

"And in a country where LSD use is up by 189% and heroin by 300% - and every nine minutes someone dies of a drug overdose - LRH tech is desparately needed, and very welcome."

(An interesting statement, one death every nine minutes?? So, 60 minutes in one hour, x 24 hours in a day, x 365 days in one year = 525,600 minutes. Divide that by 9, and Sweden has 58,400 annual deaths from drug overdoses? Perhaps there is a psychiatrically inspired conspiracy in Sweden, to cover up these deaths and the reporting of them in the Swedish media? Will Scientology now ask their political supporters in Washington to push for an international inquiry about this or campaign for a search of Sweden to uncover some mass grave sites? )

"Many of the Narconon staff are former drug-users themselves, who were totally rehabilitated due to this program and are now helping others as they were helped. And because of their efforts, Narconon Sweden has grown to one of the most successful Narconon programs in the world. For example, their 12 centers in Sweden have been fully government funded since 1972, and recognized by law enforcement agencies as having the only true data to educate the Swedish people against drugs."

(There are only 3 Narconon locations in all of Sweden. Narconon did not appear in Sweden before 1980. Narconon is a Scientology front group and the majority of their staff are recovering drug abusers. Like all Scientology organizations, the flow of money is controlled by the Scientology senior management in California. Narconon receives about $125 a day for "treatment" for every drug abuser they enroll in their program. Additionally, the Swedish government pays unemployment benefits while the individual is enrolled in Narconon's program. TV 4 in Stockholm reported that Narconon receives about 5-15 million SEK ($640,000-$1,900,000) per year in government funding. How much of this money ends up in the United States is unknown. National Police officials contacted by the Swedish media denied any recognition of Narconon and evidently were not even aware Narconon is a Scientology front group.)

"Just how well recognized is Narconon as the leader in the drug rehabilitation field? Narconon staff have lectured to hundreds at the National Police Academy and now deliver five-month apprenticeship programs for law enforcement cadets."

(No evidence available to support this assertion)

"And to get to the root of the problem, Thomas and his staff have taken their message to the school system - lecturing to students in more than 550 schools across Sweden, and receiving back success after success from parents, teachers and the students themselves."

(Again, no evidence available to support this claim. Sweden is a small country, about the size of California with about 9 million citizens of all ages. I wonder if there are 550 schools in all of Sweden? )

"But this is only part of the story. Narconon also produced a series of educational videos broadcast across Sweden, these, along with a massive distribution of the RON Series and a huge advertising campaign, have made Narconon a household word in this country."

(Scientology created a propaganda film about Narconon in Sweden. It was part of Scientology's 1998 New Year's Day satellite broadcast to its followers around the world. Scientology reportedly acquired stolen video tapes of the Swedish Royal family and incorporated them into their propaganda film to create the false impression that the Royal Family endorsed Narconon's "great success" in Sweden. In the same broadcast, Scientology claimed that Sweden had the highest theft rate in the world! The "Ron Series" is a recent creative collection of propaganda booklets through which Scientology is attempting to rewrite the murky history of the organization and its charismatic founder, himself a long-term drug abuser, and raise him to Sainthood. The Swedish media was made aware of the contents of Scientology's broadcast and the subsequent national news coverage did, perhaps, make Narconon and Scientology a household word in Sweden.)

"Thanks to the dedication of the staff of Narconon Sweden, thousands of former addicts are living drug-free lives, and the salvation of a group, a city, and eventually an entire nation."

(Narconon Sweden claims a 60% success rate for its program. Members of the media researching Narconon's claim found independence evidence of less than 10% of Narconon's graduates remaining drug free. In 1996, the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelesen) conducted a scientific study of Narconon. The study was done by Professor Folke Sjoqvist, Scientific Advisor in Clinical Pharmacology for the Socialstyrelesen. In his written report he states:

"I have with the help of the Läkemedelsinformationscentralen (the information center on pharmaceutics) of Huddinge hospital, made an international literature search in order to find documentation on the treatment program. The search covered the last 30 years, and it includes the experts referred to by Narconon [see page 4]. No documentation apart from that sent to me by Narconon has been found.

"I have also consulted the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Maryland, USA [Dr Peter J. Delaney] by phone, and got the answer. "In response to your request for information about the Narconon program. We know of no peer reviewed scientific literature to support to this program."

Summary

As evident from this compilation, there is no documentation to show that the Hubbard method of detoxification from drug abuse confirms to scientific standards and medical experience [vetenskap och beprovad erfarenhet]. On the contrary, one may from a pharmacological point of view strongly question the idea of using enforced sweating to expel drugs from the body. This risks and side effects of the treatment method have also not been evaluated in a serious way. Methods that have not been evaluated and/or rest on incorrect theories should not be used in Swedish medical care. Medical doctors are to prescribe vitamins in the doses recommended by Livsmedelsverket (National Food Administration) and only on the indications approved by Livesmedelsverket land as stated in the FASS.

[signed] Folke Sjoqvist Professor, Scientific Advisor in Clinical Pharmacology"

(The complete report can be found at:

http://www.wineasy.se/noname/narconon1.html

"You must see the entire video to learn the whole story of the remarkable successes in Sweden. Go into your org now and see this video presentation."

(for obvious reasons, the Scientology organizations in Sweden do not show this video.)

Joe

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"Nothing can be more infamous than intellectual tyranny. To put chains upon the body is as nothing compared with putting shackles on the brain." -- R.G. Ingersoll