Commission, Chamber, School Board, City Leaders
Newkirk's School Board, City Commission, and Chamber of Commerce have
jointly sent a 67 page document to 16 State and National leaders asking
them to support a special review of the Narconon-Chilocco drug
rehabilitation program and it's connection with Scientology
®.
The cover letter of the package of exhibits says in part, "Based on this
information, it appears that Narconon's primary objective is Scientology
recruitment and not drug abuse treatment. Our community is very concerned
and we are requesting your help in obtaining a complete review of their
operation and the licensing procedure which allows Narconon to operate in
Oklahoma. It is signed by the Mayor, the President of the Newkirk Board of
Education, and the President of the Newkirk Chamber of Commerce.
The first exhibit alleges that there have been several instances of
misrepresentation made by Narconon to the community, and the balance of the
package contains individual documents, media reports, and sources of
further information that the signers hope will cause officials to take a
second look at Narconon.
Mayor Garry Bilger feels that it is pretty well documented that Narconon is
a Scientology controlled organization. He points to a ceremony held at
Chilocco on April 8, 1989. At the ceremony Bilger observed a representative
of the Association For Better Living and Education (ABLE
®) "donate"
at $200,000.00 check to Narconon for seed money to get the project started.
Bilger contends that at the ceremony an obvious effort was made to have
everyone believe that ABLE and Narconon were two entirely separate
organizations that had nothing to do with each other until then.
But Narconon's own promotional material says it is owned by ABLE. And ABLE
turns out to be one of the many organizations on the Scientology
organization chart.
At a public meeting in Newkirk on May 8, 1989, Mr. Leroy Bridges of the
State Mental health Department told a group of about 80 people that there
would be "no Oklahoma patients" treated at the facility, except for a few
indigent Indians. Mr. Bridges also said that no state money would be
involved.
But a document in the package, written sometime before July 1988, allegedly
by Mr. John Duff, president of Narconon International, lists local and
Oklahoma people as the top priorities in the Narconon marketing plan. It
also lists "State Contracts that pay for beds," as a priority.
At the same meeting, Mr. Bridges told the citizens of Newkirk that Narconon
had voluntarily placed itself under jurisdiction of the state for matters
of law enforcement and inspection of their program and facilities.
However, a letter from Sheriff Glenn Guinn included in the package says,
"As I understand it, I have no authority on Chilocco land. Everything at
Chilocco comes under the F.B.I., and we have one F.B.I. agent in this area
stationed at Enid."
The document allegedly authored by Mr. Duff also says that it is
"essential" to procure state certification and licensing "because we will
be providing services to both Indian and Non-Indian people paid through a
fee for service, insurance coverage and possible state contracts. State
licensing is mandatory for us to be able to accept Non-Indian clientele."
The package sent to the state says, "We find it curious that Narconon wants
to be licensed in order to collect on state contracts and insurance
policies from people Mr. Bridges has flatly said would not be served at the
facility."
Narconon has consistently said it is not connected with the Church of
Scientology, but the material in the package sent to the state seems to
indicate that except for a "cold turkey" detoxification period, nearly all
of the rest of the treatment consists of courses and programs also found on
the Church of Scientology's religious progress chart known as "The Bridge
To Total Freedom."
City leaders are also questioning the cure rates claimed by Narconon. They
consider it an exaggerated figure and say they have seen no data to support
it. Several individuals involved in drug and alcohol rehabilitation in this
area have said the cure rate for any program is between 15% and 30% at
best.
Narconon spokesmen have said that the conversion rate of Narconon patients
to Scientology is, variously, between 1% and 3%, and "under 10%." But an
evaluation Team Report made to the California State Department of Health
said "it was clear that nearly all the patients hoped to become
Scientologists." Other reports from former Scientology members and Narconon
patients puts the figure at between 50% and 75%.
Other exhibits contained in the package mailed to state officials consists
of charts, news reports from around the country and several foreign
countries, a radio transcript, and 13 pages of references for further
reading or information which city leaders hope will be enough to convince
the state that it needs to take a much closer look at this project before
it is licensed for operation in the State of Oklahoma.
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 Narcotics
Anonymous's web site. Narcotics Anonymous's telephone number is
1 (818) 773-9999.
Return to The NarCONon exposure's main Index page.
Forward: For a systematic, detailed, professional exposure of
Scientology's "Narconon" front group, visit the
Narconon Exposed web site.
Call For State Review Of Narconon
®
Program At
Chilocco Indian School North Of Town
17 August 1989
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