Schools ban Scientology's [fake] anti-drug course

Forward: For a systematic, detailed, professional exposure of Scientology's "Narconon" front group, visit the Narconon Exposed web site.

http://www.sunherald.com/mld/thesunherald/news/world/9007234.htm

Nation & World

Posted on Fri, Jun. 25, 2004

Schools ban Scientology's [fake] anti-drug course

LOS ANGELES TIMES

LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles school officials are warning campuses not to use a drug prevention program linked to the Church of Scientology while California's schools chief has ordered an investigation to determine whether the anti-drug presentations are scientifically sound and free from the religion's influence.

The target of the district and state actions is Narconon, a drug prevention and rehabilitation program that bases its ideas partly on the controversial teachings of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.

Narconon has conducted educational assemblies and classes, usually one session of about an hour each, in some schools in Los Angeles, San Francisco and other cities.

Narconon "presenters" tell students about the negative mental, emotional and physical effects of drugs (including theories on how they are stored and metabolized in body tissue and how drugs deplete vitamins and nutrients).

Narconon leaders said they offered the program free. Officials are investigating whether school funds were spent on lectures or related materials.

District officials said the lectures had been given at about 15 Los Angeles district schools, but they were uncertain which ones.

Similarly, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell said his office had no way to know how many California schools played host to Narconon because individual teachers may have invited speakers without formal approval or records.

Narconon leaders said presentations had been given at more than 350 California schools since 2000.

[NOTE: That's our children these criminals have been lying to. Allowing these sick Scientology criminals access to our children is itself a criminal act that should result in whoever let these crooks have access to our kids get dragged off to prison.]

O'Connell expressed concern about the lectures after learning about Narconon's activities in some schools from a series of articles earlier this month in The San Francisco Chronicle. He asked his staff to evaluate the program, a probe that is expected to take several months.

"We want information disseminated in our schools to be factual, accurate and helpful," O'Connell said Wednesday. "We certainly don't want untested and unscientific theories presented as truthful."

Clark Carr, president of Hollywood-based Narconon International, said that school presentations were based on sound principles and that the program had no motive beyond wanting to keep youngsters off of drugs. He insisted the classes did not include any proselytizing for Scientology.

[NOTE: Carr is a well known Scientology liar. The fact that not a single scientific study supports his insane, criminal fraud against children is entirely telling. The fact that he doesn't inform the kids that they're infested with invisible murdered space aliens he calls "Body thetans" is another telling fact about this crook's level of dishonesty. The fact that only Scientology customers support this fraud and only duped government morons are tricked into issueing a statement of support for this fraud is also very telling.]

"If people had never heard of Mr. Hubbard, the lectures would still stand up, because they are based on real science," Carr said. "We don't use scare tactics. We come in with the straight facts. We're helping kids get off drugs. We've been doing it for a long time. We're going to continue doing it."

Carr said the organization approaches individual school health teachers or principals, informs them of the program and asks if they are interested in a presentation.

The Narconon program dates to the mid-1960s, when an Arizona prison inmate used Hubbard's teachings to battle his heroin addiction.

Inspired by Hubbard's belief that personal abilities can help people overcome their problems, William Benitez founded Narconon in 1966 and eventually helped spread the program with others influenced by Hubbard. Hubbard died in 1986.

Narconon later built on Hubbard's research into drug withdrawal and detoxification to establish rehabilitation procedures, including the use of vitamins and mineral supplements to ease symptoms and intensive sweating in saunas to reduce the residual effects of drug use, according to a Narconon Web site and interviews. The site provides links to several studies that the group says support Narconon's procedures.

Carr said that Narconon presenters deliver a narrow piece of the overall approach in their school lectures, focusing on prevention and leaving out information about rehabilitation techniques, such as sweating in saunas.

Narconon's educational programs are now one part of a vast enterprise that includes drug rehabilitation and treatment centers and a series of books and videos aimed at helping people live drug-free.

The debate over Narconon began after officials in the San Francisco Unified School District raised questions about the program's scientific validity and its presentations at more than two dozen schools there.

San Francisco officials sent Narconon Drug Prevention and Education Inc., a Narconon affiliate, a letter in February asking the Los Angeles-based group to clarify several aspects of its classroom presentations, including a statement that "all drugs are basically poisons."

In a written response, the group's director, Tony Bylsma, insisted that the statement was accurate based on "recognized and professional sources."

[NOTE: And of course no such "recognized and professional sources" could be found. The Scientology criminals were thrown out of our children's schools after being exposed as quack medial frauds.]

Times staff writer Joel Rubin contributed to this report.