Narconon delivers a rehabilitation program for drug abusers in several dozen treatment centers worldwide, chiefly in the United States and western Europe. Although it is often confused with Narcotics Anonymous (NA) - which is sometimes inaccurately abbreviated as Narcanon - Narconon is not a twelve-step program and has no relationship with NA.

The organization was originally founded in 1966 by William Benitez, at the time an inmate at Arizona State Prison serving time for narcotics offenses. It was subsequently supported by L. Ron Hubbard and the Church of Scientology. In the early days, it was very closely related to Scientology - the name Narconon actually referred to a set of Scientology courses delivered to drug abusers, and Scientology executives were directly involved in the management of the organization.

Narconon today delivers a "New Life Program," employing variants of several Scientology courses. The program consists of two principal stages - "detoxification" and "rehabilitation." The detoxification regimen is an adaptation of Hubbard's Purification Rundown (known as the "New Life Detoxification Program" in Narconon) a demanding regimen requiring large doses of niacin and other vitamins; exercise; and lengthy sessions in a sauna. The remainder of the Narconon course utilizes "training routines" originally devised by L. Ron Hubbard to teach communications skills to Scientologists. In the Narconon variant, these courses are designed to "rehabilitate" drug abusers.

Since its establishment, Narconon has faced considerable controversy. The main issues of controversy have been the safety and effectiveness of its rehabilitation methods, and the organization's links to the Church of Scientology. The medical profession has been sharply critical of Narconon's methods, which rely on theories of drug metabolism that are not widely supported. Particular criticism has been directed at the therapy's use of vitamins and sauna sessions in quantities several times greater than medically recommended. Although Narconon claims a success rate of over 70%, no verifiable evidence for this appears to have been published by the organization and independent researchers have found considerably lower rates: as low as 6.6% in the case of a Swedish research study.

Concern has also been raised over Narconon's relationship with the Church of Scientology. Narconon downplays its connection to Scientology, insisting that it is entirely "non-religious" in nature, and Scientology is never mentioned in its publications. There is little hard evidence to support the claim that Narconon sets out to recruit suspectible persons into Scientology - a claim which both Narconon and Scientology vehemently deny. However, it is certainly fair to say that there are two important links between the two: Narconon's courses are firmly rooted in Scientology religious doctrines (from which they are adapted) and Narconon is directly subordinate to a Church of Scientology organization, the Association for Better Living and Education (ABLE).

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