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Narconon put on notice by schools
Scientology-linked program ordered to fix inaccuracies

Nanette Asimov, Chronicle Staff Writer | June 10, 2004

A popular anti-drug program with ties to the Church of Scientology will be ousted after 13 years in the San Francisco schools unless it agrees to stop teaching what the district calls inaccurate and misleading information, Superintendent Arlene Ackerman said Wednesday.

The district's ultimatum means that Narconon Drug Prevention & Education has until June 24 to revise parts of its curriculum, said Ackerman, whose health education staff no longer wants the program to make sweeping generalizations about all drugs or claim that drugs are stored in fat for years.

"The fact that (Narconon) is addressing drugs is a positive," Ackerman said. "But some of the facts that they were teaching the kids support a philosophical or religious belief, as opposed to science, so we had to say 'no.' "

Narconon must make the requested changes or be "removed from the list of Community Based Organizations" given to San Francisco schools, according to a letter faxed Wednesday by the district to Narconon's education director, Tony Bylsma.

Bylsma, who works out of Narconon's headquarters in Hollywood, said he had not decided whether to comply with the district's demand.

"We don't want to desert the kids," he said. "I'm going to decide how we're going to respond."

It is unclear whether being removed from the district's list of approved organizations would prevent individual schools from hosting Narconon anyway, said Board of Education President Dan Kelly.

"This may require an action of the board," Kelly said. "We're not going to have cults and religions preaching their line in our schools."

The district sent the letter the same day that The Chronicle published stories about Narconon. The stories raised questions about the science being taught and reported that religious concepts embraced by the Church of Scientology have found their way into classroom lectures to students.

Narconon was created by the late science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, who founded the Church of Scientology. Narconon officials say they have reached 30,000 San Francisco students since 1991, when they began providing free lectures in the city's schools. The program is also in Los Angeles and Orange County schools and in other states. Officials say they have reached 1.7 million students nationwide in the past decade.

Scientology correspondence reveals that Narconon instructors are taught to purge church language from their classroom instruction while including "all the Scientology and Dianetics Handbook basics." Narconon's anti-drug instruction also rests on key church concepts that the body stores all kinds of toxins indefinitely in fat, where they cause repeated flashbacks and drug cravings until "sweated out."

Five addiction experts, including Dr. Peter Banys of the San Francisco Veterans Administration Hospital and Dr. Neal Benowitz of UCSF, said they know of no scientific evidence to support these claims.

Yet the ideas have relevance in the Church of Scientology, which promotes a sauna program called Purification to "cleanse" the body of toxins believed to prevent church members from reaching a spiritually pure state, according to Hubbard's Scientology text "Clear Body, Clear Mind."

Ackerman said she took an interest in Narconon's curriculum after being contacted by The Chronicle months ago with questions about the program. She then asked her staff to see whether Narconon was "aligned with what we want our students to know and be able to do."

On Feb. 20, the district faxed a letter to Bylsma complaining that basic information about addiction was missing from its written curriculum and identifying one inaccurate statement, two misleading statements, and pointing to a Narconon newsletter containing information "not substantiated by any reputable authority." The newsletter was poised to go out to students and teachers.

The letter from Kim Coates, a district health administrator, asked Bylsma to clarify these statements in Narconon's curriculum:

-- "All drugs are basically poisons. The amount which you take is what determines the effect. A small amount acts as a stimulant (speeds you up). A larger amount acts as a sedative (puts you to sleep). An even larger amount acts as a poison and can kill you. This is true of any drug."

Coates said that statement was wrong.

-- "Most drugs or their byproducts get stored in fat within the body and can stay there for years. Even occasional use has long-term effects. This is a problem because later, when the person is working or exercising or has stress, the fat burns up and a tiny amount of the drug seeps back into the blood. This triggers cravings so the person may still want drugs even years after he's stopped taking them."

Coates called the statement misleading. Other medical experts, quoted in Wednesday's stories, said there is no evidence to support Narconon's claim that drugs stay in fat for years or that cravings are caused by drug residue in fat.

-- "Like any other drug it is poisonous to your body. ... Alcohol is made of dead rotted food."

Coates said both statements were misleading and asked that they be removed from the curriculum.

Three months later, on May 24, Bylsma sent the district a nine-page defense of Narconon's curriculum.

"There is sound science behind the basic truths we present to children," Bylsma wrote. He said that all of the statements in dispute were accurate and that to make the information more complex would bore the students.

"Let's be frank," he wrote. "Do you seriously think we will do better (with students) if we just parrot what others are saying and do not offer a fresh point of view?"

[Suetaznote: "Fresh point of view? Does that mean fresh lies with religion added?]

On Wednesday, Coates replied that unless Narconon made the requested changes to its curriculum, "the organization will be removed" from the district's list.

[Suetaznote: This news really ticks me off! All the San Fran school board has to do is say "no" to religion in their schools, but they allow the children to be lied to about drugs, specifically marijauna. They want them to change the general inaccuracies, but what about the rest of the lies they undoubtedly tell about marijuana to these kids?! Why don't they just remove Narconon and get some honest experts?]

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Blitzed King

"All drugs are basically poisons. The amount which you take is what determines the effect. A small amount acts as a stimulant (speeds you up). A larger amount acts as a sedative (puts you to sleep). An even larger amount acts as a poison and can kill you. This is true of any drug."
-Why are they teaching these kids this garbage, it isn't fair to the kids. Students should be able to learn the truth about drugs in the street, instead of having preachers tell them lies. This is another example of the Church going where they shouldn't go and lying or giving false information to the people. These kids NEED the truth in order to be able to make an educated decision about drugs. I'm no where near an expert, but I don't think it's possible to have a craving years after you've quit the drug. It's good that the district is giving the program a choice to stop addressing the kids or stop teaching them bull, because this program might be useful if it was well thought out and planned. I had a drug program in my school (I'm in grade 9) and it didn't tell us not to do drugs or tell us lies. The program was run by the grads in my school, many of which were/are drug users. 'It's hard to teach unless you have experience in the given area'.
Narconon needs to make some serious changes or else the students will realize it's all lies.

Niteshift

Why does the school board allow them in anyway? They prohibit Christian based programs, so why is Scientology allowed in?

The Narcanon/Scientology link has been known for a long time, so they can't say they didn't know about it.

Incidentally, Narcanon has contracts for providing rehab programs for prisons in several Central American countries. They have a huge contract with Mexico.

__________________
A burning desire for social justice is never a substitute for knowing what you're talking about. -Thomas Sowell

Sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel is muzzle flash.

Suetaz

Originally posted by Niteshift:
I was wondering the same thing. I wonder if parents just clued in to what their children are being taught and started to complain, but the article doesn't say why they are now against the teachings of Narconon.


Aren't Central America and Mexico mainly Catholic? I wonder how they feel about being force-fed the teachings of Scientology.

Niteshift

Aren't Central America and Mexico mainly Catholic? I wonder how they feel about being force-fed the teachings of Scientology.

They're prisoners, nobody asks them.

But the officials who grant the contracts are a Catholic minority. The odor of a kick-back might be present.

 

Herb Ninja

Because they are the IRS' chosen people.

Might want to check out xenu.net

I know one thing, if I was going to be in a Christian based one or Narconon id take the Christian one any day.

Justice Anderson, Supreme Court of Victoria, Australia: "Scientology is evil; its techniques are evil; its practice is a serious threat to the community, medically, morally, and socially; and its adherents are sadly deluded and often mentally ill... (Scientology is) the world's largest organization of unqualified persons engaged in the practice of dangerous techniques which masquerade as mental therapy."

Peace, HN-

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Greenbud

I must either be out of the loop or too far ensconced in the Bible Belt, but I'd never heard of Narconon before. Oh, sure, I've heard of L. Ron Hubbard and his Scientology crap. I even read his book once. It made nice compost for my garden.

How is it that the school systems are allowing this religious cult garbage in yet do everything possible to keep other religions out? I thought that any religious-based education in public schools was strictly forbidden. I may be an atheist and all, but it looks like to me that they're flying a double standard. Creationism (to me, a myth based on tradition and beliefs) is forbidden in public schools along with evolution (facts based on scientific evidence). The only reason evolution is not allowed to be taught in pub. schools is because the Religious Right and the churches got into some sort of religious frenzy about it because it went against the Bible. Creationism isn't allowed because of separation of church and state. Now we've got these Scientology yahoos infiltrating our schools and spreading their lies and myths and philosophy to kids and it's allowed? Censoring their "information" to remove all religious references to their cult isn't doing squat. They're still broadcasting their own mis-information and propaganda to these naive kids who believe them. How in the he!! did this become part of the curriculum?!?! I don't care what lessons they're pushing; these people have no business "educating" our kids in public schools.

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"I believe in the near future, the government will use anti-drug hysteria to set up a police state."
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Greenbud

I'm sorry, but this has gotten me really mad!!!! I'm ranting now...

Catch that? Science fiction writer. Who better to found a church whose beliefs and teachings are based on science fiction? Hello!!

Yeah, I did some research on this, and it turns out that these idiots are saying that "drug toxins" not only remain in your body forever until you are "Purified", but that when they put you into the sauna, you "sweat them out" as a thick black oil!!!! One cult member said the floor of the sauna was "black with this oil" when her "purification" process was over. They claim that they have scientific evidence of this. Where? I can't find any proof outside of their cult or any real scientists that have witnessed this. I've been in plenty of saunas myself and I've never sweated this fictional "black oil". This is insane! How can people believe this garbage?

Cultist-speak for "We actually don't have any real scientific evidence, but we'll cover up that fact by saying that if we did show it to you, you wouldn't understand it."

No, but they'd do a heck of a lot better if they instilled a truthful, fact-based education program based on real medical and scientific evidence instead of adding to the mountain of lies the government is already teaching kids. This whole Narconon thing is gonna backfire like a plugged up shotgun. What better "fresh point of view" than real facts?

Why wait? Get rid of 'em now!!! Jeez!!!!

AlucardOrange3

Blitzed King -

*a friend* has done a plethora of different drugs, and according to the *friend*, almost every single one was innately pleasurable or desirable. Since human beings crave pleasurable things (eating, sports, television, sex, being admired, drugs etc. are all pleasurable things to some people), then it follows that a human being will crave drugs IF that human being knows that the drugs are pleasurable. So basically, once you smoke weed (for example) for the first time and actually enjoy it, you'll desire the experience for the rest of your life (or at least as long as the experience continues to be pleasurable for you). There isn't anything scary about this, basically all the scientology nutjobs are saying is that drugs are generally fun and once people try them they generally want to try them again.

The problem is that they use scary language like "crave", which brings to mind junkies twitching on the sidewalk in anticipation of the next high. I had fun playing football this afternoon and I desire to do it again. I had fun smoking weed last night and I desire to do that again too. Why is the second comment such a big deal when the first is taken for granted?

Logos

Heh, and I actually made it through battlefield earth twice and the whole mission earth decology (10 books at 600 pages each.)

He had some decent ideas on how people should treat eachother ant it showed in his books, I'm not certain what has happened to what he pioneered. I did read a small booklet once and I agreed with some of the stuff in it, but some made no sense whatsoever.

Kinda like the bible...

I'll stick with being a heathen Druid with Mystic leanings...

If I recall correctly it was the part about drugs that I dissagreed with the most. I'll have to dig that thing out and share what it had to say sometime...

Logos

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