Prepared by Shelley L. Beckmann, Ph. D.

December, 1994

Narconon Chilocco vs. Traditional Treatment

The Narconon program addresses all aspects of addiction, with the result being that over 70% of those graduating the Narconon program are drug-free two years later. This is in contrast to the 16%-20% of more traditional programs.

Key Findings

Incarcerated Populations:

Narconon was originally set up for incarcerated populations. The program has been delivered in a variety of institutional settings. Several means of monitoring the programs' effects have been used:

1. Parolees who had taken Narconon courses at the California Dept. of Corrections, The California Institute for Women, the Arizona Correctional Authority and Riker's Island Institute for Men in New York were tracked. On average, 73% of Narconon clients released from prison remained clean while on parole.

2. Youth at the Youth Training School of the California Youth Authority had the opportunity to participate in a Narconon program. The behavior of youth at the facility was monitored by the number of infractions, the number of restrictions, and the grade being achieved in trade school.

Those youth who participated in the Narconon program showed positive changes in each of these measures compared to other youth at the same facility who did not participate. In fact, the number of infractions and the number of restrictions of non-participants increased while the numbers for Narconon clients decreased.

3. Narconon clients at the State Reformatory for Men in Minnesota showed improvements in the number of rule infractions they were found guilty of the days of lost privileges, and the days of segregation. These changes were evident during both program delivery and follow up time periods.

4. Parolees from the Delaware Correctional Center were tracked. 70% of the Narconon clients had no arrest during the follow up period, compared to 36% of the control population.

Residential Programs:

Narconon has been delivering services to non-incarcerated populations since 1972.

1. In surveys of graduates from four facilities located in Connecticut, Boston, West Berlin and Sweden, employment was almost doubled, arrests were greatly reduced, and the vast majority (as much as 90%) reported that they were no longer using drugs.

2. In a study conducted in Spain, over 75% of graduates remained free of drugs. Whereas almost 90% had been actively involved with crime before Narconon, none were involved with crime afterwards.

The Narconon program is effective, both in reducing drug abuse and in improving the behavior of clients.