Forward: For a systematic, detailed, professional exposure of
Scientology's "Narconon" front group, visit the
Narconon Exposed web site.
[NOTE: After it was discovered that Scientology's NarCONon is a quack
medical fraud with no scientific basis, the crooks were thrown out
of our children's schools. There's no telling how much damage the
norotious cult did to the kids who were subjected to their frauds.]
LAUSD Reviews Narconon School Program
Los Angeles school district officials are reviewing a controversial
anti-drug program created by the founder of the Church of Scientology
and its teaching of what critics are calling "pseudo science."
The Narconon Drug Prevention and Education is being scrutinized as part
of a growing statewide concern with a program that reaches thousands of
students in at least 20 California districts and has provided lectures
in schools across the country for two decades.
Narconon officials last week defended the program's effectiveness and
its independence from Scientology, even as State Superintendent of
Public Instruction Jack O'Connell asked a research group known for its
rigorous reviews of health curriculum to spend three months evaluating
Narconon.
Earlier, O'Connell ordered the state Department of Education to
investigate Narconon.
In Los Angeles, among the leading critics of the program is Maria Reza,
the district's assistant superintendent of student health and human
services, who recently issued a memo to all schools stating, "The
information that is delivered in [Narconon's] presentations is not based
on science, and there have been serious questions raised about the
accuracy of this information."
According to the memo, one-time lectures like the kind Narconon
provides, "are not effective."
Reza advocates that schools instead should use one of four other
anti-drug programs.
School board member David Tokofsky is also among the critics who say
they would like to see more physiology and science in the schools and
less teaching or pseudo science.
"The district should use this crack in our curricular standards to do
not only a cleansing of the Narconon program, but a cleansing of what
the hell is going on in health classes that still leaves us with
pregnant kids, drugs galore and obese children -- no matter how much we
preach about the hazards of each," Tokofsky told the San Francisco
Chronicle.
Critics argue that Narconon's anti-drug teaching are closely based on
similar beliefs of the Church of Scientology, which like Narconon was
created by author L. Ron Hubbard.
Numerous doctors have been quoted in news reports saying they know of no
evidence to support Narconon's anti-drug claims.
"Children and teenagers respond more to the facts of science than the
preaching," said Tokofsky in an interview.
"You show them a brain that has been hurt; they will understand. You
show them a lung from a cigarette smoker that has been destroyed; they
will understand it. But if you just tell them 'No! No! No! No! No!, the
natural behavior of an American adolescent is to do the opposite. So I
think we have to teach them the science part of it."
Clark Carr, president of Narconon International, noted that Narconon
network has been furnishing drug education for more than 30 years and
that it has educated more than 1 million students in facts about drugs.
"We're all on the same side," he said. "It's really
about continuing to help children. We're saving lives through
effective drug prevention."
The name "Narconon"® is trademarked to the Scientology
organization through one of their many front groups. The name
"Scientology"® is also trademarked to the "Church"
of Scientology. Neither this web page, nor this web site, nor any of the
individuals mentioned herein assisting to educate the public about the
dangers of the Narconon scam are members of or representitives of the
Scientology organization.
If you or a loved one needs help -- real help -- there are
a number of rehabilitation programs you can contact. The real
Narcotics Anonymous organization
can get you in touch with real people who can help you.
Click [HERE] to visit Narcotivs
Anonymous's web site. Narcotics Anonymous's telephone number is
1 (818) 773-9999.
Return to The NarCONon exposure's main Index page.
By MARIO VILLEGAS, The Independent Staff 07.JUL.04
The views and opinions stated within this web page are those of the author
or authors which wrote them and may not reflect the views and opinions of
the ISP or account user which hosts the web page. The opinions may or may
not be those of the Chairman of The Skeptic Tank.