Whether or not Scientology is a cult is open to some small debate, but it is odd that although Narconon is completely based on the teachings of Scientology, follows the writings of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard as its philosophical guide, and uses educational materials straight out of Scientology texts, they do not ever publicly admit any link to Scientology.
Narconon boasts an incredible web presence, and any search on addiction or drug treatment topics will bring up hundreds of Narconon produced pages, and often on the first and second page of Google. These pages will sometimes identify as Narconon and sometimes not, but never will they reveal any affiliation to Scientology.
Narconon hides its affiliation to Scientology for three reasons.
1. Many people don’t know much about Scientology, but they have heard negatives about it and heard jokes about it, and admitting to a link to Scientology would in some ways discredit Narconon before they had a chance to persuade you of the "rightness" of their teachings.
2. Narconon and its affiliated organizations try persistently to gain access to schools, governmental programs, and other public venues. They offer free seminars, offer free literature and other perks to try to entice cash strapped public organizations to accept their voluntary contributions to the greater good. Were they upfront and honest about their ties to Scientology they would have less luck gaining access to school kids and others for their indoctrinations.
3. Many graduates of Narconon drug rehabs complain bitterly about the constant indoctrination attempts throughout rehab to the preaching's and rightness of Scientology. Narconon operates in some ways as a front organization recruiting converts to the Church of Scientology.
Narconon is Scientology
There can be no doubt that Narconon operates as a direct and active arm of the Church of Scientology, but can you imagine a Christian based rehab hiding it's affiliation to the Christian church?
If there is nothing wrong (read what is wrong with Narconon) there is nothing to hide, and the fact that Narconon goes to such great lengths to protect its actual identity and protects all information about its treatments and success rates (claimed at 80% or better, independently confirmed at 7%) with such vigor, should certainly raise serious questions about its legitimacy as a treatment organization.
There are a lot of reasons why you should not participate in a Narconon run drug or alcohol rehab, and their secrecy about their true nature is merely one of a host of grave concerns about their drug and alcohol rehabs.
They are not backed by a single legitimate scientist or scientific organization, not backed by a single legitimate medical organization, psychiatric organization, or organization of addictions professionals. They are not legitimate, they are dangerous, and they misrepresent themselves in the hopes of securing admissions and later converts to the Church of Scientology.
For so many reasons, if you need drug or alcohol treatment, do not consider a Narconon run rehab.
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