Pubdate: Wed, 18 Apr 2012
Source: Montreal Gazette (CN QU)
Copyright: 2012 Canwest Publishing Inc.
Contact: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/letters.html
Website: http://www.montrealgazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/274
Page: A7
Author: Catherine Solyom

HEALTH OFFICIALS SHUT DOWN NARCONON DRUG REHAB

Treatments Based On Scientology

Health officials have ordered the Narconon rehabilitation centre for 
drug addicts in Trois Rivieres to evacuate and relocate its 32 
residents, citing concerns over procedures that "may represent a risk 
to health" and a lack of doctors on staff.

Following an investigation into the centre's activities by the Centre 
Quebecois d'agrement, an independent body mandated to monitor quality 
in health care, the agency for health and social services for the 
Mauricie Region said Tuesday it does not intend to certify Narconon.

The centre, among the largest of 50 Narconon centres in 22 countries, 
bases its treatment on the teachings of the Church of Scientology, 
headquartered in California, giving its "students" high doses of 
niacin and having them sit in saunas for about five hours a day. The 
rest of the treatment consists of "training routines" based on the 
teachings of L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, in which 
patients perform the same tasks over and over.

Residents in Trois Rivieres paid $25,000 to $30,000 for their 
treatment, which lasted on average three to five months.

Marc Lacour, the director of the Mauricie Health and Social Services 
Agency, said he had received several complaints about the centre in 
the last few months. But the agency's decision not to certify was 
based on visits to the Narconon centre in February, and the 
recommendations of a national committee of experts convened in March 
to discuss the case. Though the centre has been in operation since 
2005, it was only this year that certification by the agency became 
mandatory for all rehabilitation centres, Lacour explained.

"The criteria (for certification) relate to safety, sanitation, 
nutrition, insurance, administrative practices, an ethical code and 
the approaches and techniques used by the centre," Lacour said. "The 
approach used by Narconon is not recognized in Quebec, and it was 
mainly on that basis that the agency decided to relocate its residents."

Most of the residents, Lacour said, are from other provinces of 
Canada, particularly British Columbia, and the United States. Most 
have been relocated to other Narconon centres south of the border.

Lacour said Narconon has 10 days, as of April 13, to comment before 
the agency makes its final decision on certification. Narconon also 
has 60 days to appeal the decision at the Tribunal administratif du 
Quebec. In the meantime, Narconon will no longer be able to operate 
in the Mauricie region.

"For sure, if we came to this conclusion (about Narconon), we worry 
about what may be happening elsewhere," Lacour said, adding Narconon 
has been banned in France.

David Love, a former patient and staff member of Narconon in Trois 
Rivieres who has been tirelessly campaigning against the organization 
since he left it in 2009, saw the closing as a victory, but not the 
end of his mission.

Love has filed a complaint against Narconon and the Church of 
Scientology with the Quebec Human Rights Commission. Andre Ahern, the 
director of legal Affairs for Narconon Trois Rivieres, could not be 
reached for comment Tuesday.
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart