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Name: Darren

Email: radmail@tesco.net

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NEUROSCIENCE TUTORIALS:

Neuroscience tutorial:
http://thalamus.wustl.edu/course/

Neuroscience for kids:
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/introb.html

Visual tour of the brain: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/brain/3d/
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CALTECH:

Human Brain Project, Caltech (an example of how neuroscience, computational scientists and embryologists are using the results of optical and fMRI to atlas the anatomy and neural wiring of the brain):
http://www.artificialbrains.com/archives/000052.html

http://www.gg.caltech.edu/hbp/

The Koch Lab- Consciousness Research (looking for the Neural Correlate of Consciousness- NCC):
http://www.artificialbrains.com/archives/000053.html
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NEUROSCIENCE LABS:

Koch Lab:
http://www.klab.caltech.edu/index.shtml

Lab for Neuroengineering, Ga. Tech.
http://www.neuro.gatech.edu/

Donohue Lab
http://donoghue.neuro.brown.edu/

Nicoloelis Lab
http://www.nicolelislab.net/
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ARTIFICIAL BRAIN IMPLANT AUGMENTATION:

Artificial Brains.com:
http://www.artificialbrains.com/archives/cat_neuroscience.html

World's first artificial Hippocampus:
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993488

Cyberkinetics prepares for cortical implants:
http://www.cyberkineticsinc.com/

Rat neurons control robotic device (Steve Potter and Peter Passaro):
http://www.gatech.edu/news-room/release.php?id=125

Connecting brain to computer (Peter Passaro):
http://imminst.org/forum/index.php?s=&act=ST&f=47&t=864&st=0&#entry6608

Peter Passaro, building a bridge to our brain.
http://www.imminst.org/forum/index.php?act=ST&f=67&t=938&s

Researchers at the University of Calgary have found that nerve cells grown on a microchip can learn and memorize information which can be communicated to the brain:
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/TechNews/2004/02/19/pf-353584.html

Normann visual cortex implant:
http://www.bioen.utah.edu/cni/projects/bli...ss.htm#overview

U. Mich Auditory Brain Stem Implant:
http://www.med.umich.edu/opm/newspage/2003...3/bionicear.htm

Auditory Brain Stem Implant - New Scientist Article:
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?...p?id=ns99994540


-----------------------------------------------------------

OBJECTIVE MEASURES, BRAIN SCANNING:

Magnetic Resonance Imaging:
http://www.artificialbrains.com/brainscanning/fmri.html

Nanomagnetic particles enhance MRI Imaging:
http://www.biophan.com/release_071503.php

MRI 80 nanometer resolution:
http://www.aip.org/enews/physnews/2004/split/680-1.html

New optical recording technique:
http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Feb04/Optical_recording.hrs.html

An example of how psychology is used in tandem with neurological data:
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/11/16/1068917667171.html

Ray Kurzweil comments on the exponential growth of technology including brain scanning technology:
http://www.kurzweilai.net/news/frame.html?main=news.html?id%3D2786

Cell signaling, new mathematical models:
http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/newsroom/pr.cfm?ni=102

MRI used to detect lone electron:
http://www.newscientist.com/news/print.jsp?id=ns99996158

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IMPROVING HUMAN COGNITION, PSYCHOLOGICAL UPGRADE:

http://www.smalltimes.com/print_doc.cfm?doc_id=7522

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NEURAL CODING:
http://www.klab.caltech.edu/~pam/nnss/biblioOther.html

http://epl.meei.harvard.edu/~bard/Publications.htm#Pitch


-----------------------------------------------------------

OTHER FORUMS:

Cog news:
http://cognews.com/

ImmInst.org:
http://imminst.org/forum/

Google groups:
http://groups.google.com/

AI forum:
http://www.ai-forum.org/forum.asp?forum_id=1

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SINGULARITY AND NANOTECH:


http://www.betterhumans.com/index.aspx

Singularity stuff:
http://www.singularitywatch.com/

Center For Responsible Nanotechnology (CRN):
http://CRNano.org

Drexler:
http://e-drexler.com/

Accelerating Future:
http://www.acceleratingfuture.com

Singularity Institute:
http://www.singinst.org

Nick Bostrom:
http://www.nickbostrom.com

Max More:
http://www.extropy.org/

*NANOTECH TIMETABLES:

UK Parliament on MNT (micronanotech):
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200304/cmselect/cmsctech/56/56we10.htm#n26

NNI:
http://nano.gov/

NNI report timetable on nanotech:
http://www.lucifer.com/pipermail/extropy-chat/2004-April/005485.html




-----------------------------------------------------------
ALGORITHMS:

Data mining Algorithms:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~kjoshi1/data-mine/proj_rpt.htm#Introduction

Algorithm:
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Algorithm.html

EA:
http://www.aaai.org/Pathfinder/html/genalg.html

http://www.genetic-programming.com/


-----------------------------------------------------------
NEURAL NETS:

Neural Networks (NN), FAQ:
ftp://ftp.sas.com/pub/neural/FAQ.html#A2

NN speech Recognition:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/10/991001064257.htm

What is a neural net?:
http://www.bkgm.com/rgb/rgb.cgi?view+594
-----------------------------------------------------------
*AI:

London AI Club (source of many useful links):
http://www.geocities.com/john_f_ellis/bess.htm

AI on the web (huge list):
http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/%7Erussell/ai.html

AI, American Association for Artificial Intelligence (AAAI):***
http://www.aaai.org/Pathfinder/pathfinder.html

Social Science Information Gateway:***
http://www.sosig.ac.uk/roads/subject-listing/World-cat/intsys.html


*STRONG AI:

Six arguments for strong AI:
http://www.comp.glam.ac.uk/pages/staff/efurse/Theology-of-Robots/Arguments-for-Strong-AI.html

What is strong AI?:
http://www.ptproject.ilstu.edu/STRONGAI.HTM



-----------------------------------------------------------
CONSCIOUSNESS AND QUALIA:

Qualia:
http://home.btclick.com/scimah/Qualia.htm

Consciousness:
http://www.klab.caltech.edu/~koch/crick-koch-cc-97 .html

Crick, Koch:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/13/science/13CRIC.html?pagewanted=print&position=

Quantum consciousness:
http://www.nature.com/nsu/030901/030901-8.html

http://www.consciousness.arizona.edu/hameroff/New/Time_Flies/Time_Flies.htm

http://www.consciousness.arizona.edu/quantum-mind2/

University of Arizona, consciousnes studies:

http://www.consciousness.arizona.edu/dialogs/tour/map2.htm

http://www.consciousness.arizona.edu/modernsci/presCurrentLecture.html

http://www.consciousness.arizona.edu/quantum/index.html

Joel Morrison, The Nucleation of Observability and Spinoza's Attribute Polarity:
http://home.comcast.net/~anpheon/misc/Spinozas_Att ribute_Polarity.pdf
-----------------------------------------------------------
FREEWILL:

Francis Crick:
http://www.cneuroscience.org/Topics/Will/Q...m_Free_Will.htm


-----------------------------------------------------------
NEWS:

Brain waves made me do it:
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/23/health/23MEAS.html?ei=5062&en=9c7185bfe8655995&ex=1072760400&partner=GOOGLE&pagewanted=print&position=

Brainwave fingerprints:
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3495433.stm

Why brain cells die after a stroke:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/12/031228164720.htm

Unmaking memories:
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa004&articleID=0006783F-2CFE-1FE2-ACFE83414B7FFE9F

Illusionary perception site? processing reality and illusion:
http://news-info.wustl.edu/tips/page/print/652.html

Rays book website:
http://www.penguinputnam.com/static/packages/us/kurzweil/excerpts/exmain.htm

Creative machines:
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/News/Science+Medicine/E981DA33F2CF718986256E250061FFF6?OpenDocument&Headline=Computer+Creativity+Machine+simulates+the+human+brain

Human brain learns like AI:
http://www.nature.com/nsu/040607/040607-5.html

Larry's solution to synthetic consciousness:
http://mindsif.blogspot.com/
http://syntheticmind.blogspot.com/

DARPA's super soldiers:
http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/1019037/posts

Mind over machine:
http://www.popsci.com/popsci/medicine/article/0,12543,576464,00.html

Processing reality:
http://news-info.wustl.edu/tips/page/print/652.html

Machine Defined:
http://www.kurzweilai.net/mindx/show_thread.php?rootID=23297#

Eureka!:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4900162-103690,00.html

Pattern recognition:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-05/asu-aac051004.php

Treating Epilepsy, Depression and Compulsive Disorders:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/24/science/24PACE.html?pagewanted=print&position=

Brain implants 'read' monkey minds:
http://www.newscientist.com/news/print.jsp?id=ns99996127

Web Dictionary of Cybernetics and Systems:
http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/ASC/INDEXASC.html

http://freewebhosting.hostdepartment.com/d/dankomed/

http://www.scirus.com/srsapp/

http://newton.ex.ac.uk/aip/

Kadampa Buddism:
http://home.btclick.com/scimah/

-----------------------------------------------------------
THE UNIVERSE:

Sorce Theory:
http://www.anpheon.org

http://www.kurzweilai.net/mindx/frame.html?main=/mindx/show_thread.php?rootID=13620

Quantum mechanics:
http://www-theory.chem.washington.edu/~trstedl/quantum/quantum.html

postulates of quantum mechanics:
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/quantum/qm.html

Schrodinger's equation:
http://www-theory.chem.washington.edu/~trstedl/quantum/scrod.gif

The photoelectric effect:
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/imgmod2/pelec.gif

The double-slit experiment:
http://www.kfunigraz.ac.at/imawww/vqm/page...les/04_18a.html
http://numerix.us.es/numex/dschirmt.gif
http://itl.chem.ufl.edu/4412_aa/Gifs/wp3_02.gif

Photon Intensity vs. Energy:
http://srs.dl.ac.uk/XUV-VUV/science/manual...images/Gr11.GIF

Model of an Atom:
http://science.howstuffworks.com/atom8.htm
http://www.toppermost.biz/atom.gif
http://www-theory.chem.washington.edu/~trs...um/orbitals.gif

The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle:
http://www.honors.unr.edu/~fenimore/wt202/close/
http://cwx.prenhall.com/petrucci/medialib/...ges/FG09_16.JPG

Many Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics:
http://kosmoi.com/Science/Astronomy/Cosmol...antum/Bits/MWI/

The Force of Empty Space:
http://focus.aps.org/story/v2/st28

article on indeterminism:
http://www.stanford.edu/group/dualist/vol9.../pdfs/tamir.pdf

-----------------------------------------------------------

PSYCHOLOGY LINKS:

science direct (International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences):
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/referenceworks/0080430767

Social Science Information Gateway:
http://www.sosig.ac.uk/

Psych web:
http://www.psychwww.com/

------------------------------------
Cochrane library:
http://www.update-software.com/cochrane/

Mental Health (Gov):
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/cgi-bin/ukparl_hl?DB=ukparl&STEMMER=en&WORDS=mental+health+&COLOUR=Red&STYLE=s&URL=/pa/cm199900/cmselect/cmhealth/373/373ap22.htm#muscat_highlighter_first_match


Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health:
http://www.scmh.org.uk/wbm23.ns4/WebLaunch/LaunchMe

Mental Health Links:
http://www.namgauds.net/mental_health.htm



------------------------------------


http://www.xenu.net/archive/narconon/

http://www.xenu.net/archive/techniques/hj170889b.html

http://www.crackpots.org/

http://www.crackpots.org/uletrsm.htm?FACTNet

http://www.shipbrook.com/jeff/CoS/narconon/

http://www.holysmoke.org/narconon/narconon.htm

http://www.skeptictank.org/narcocos.htm

http://www.raids.org/rusprsn4.htm?FACTNet

http://www.apologeticsindex.org/n05.html

http://www.lermanet.com/cos/frontgroups.html

http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/03/09/08/0230218.shtml?tid=123&tid=99



http://www.factnet.org/Scientology/dianetics.html

http://www.crackpots.org/tonylehy.htm?FACTNet

http://www.crackpots.org/narcutah.htm?FACTNet

http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Narconon/

http://www.xenu.net/roland-intro.html

http://www.torymagoo.com/anoscam1.htm?FACTNet

http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/StudyTech/boston-help.html

http://www.slatkinfraud.com/index.php

http://www.skeptictank.org/sciscam.htm?FACTNet

http://www.crackpots.org/narcspam.htm?FACTNet

http://www.scientology-lies.com/fliers/sucker.html?FACTNet

http://www.holysmoke.org/cos/susanna-stahl.htm

http://www.holysmoke.org/redux.htm

http://www.shipbrook.com/jeff/CoS/narconon/

http://studytech.org/home.php

http://www.torymagoo.com/


Studies
http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Narconon/studies.htm

The way that Narconon presents its claimed success rates is, on the whole, very peculiar. As well as not making available source data from studies, it often claims that its success rates are universally applicable - that is, that a particular success figure is obtained everywhere. In a great many cases, figures are quoted without any reference to their sources; basic information such as where they come from, when they were determined and how many people were evaluated are often wholly absent. Even when some kind of citation is included, it is often extremely vague - for instance, "a study conducted by an independent organisation" (who, where, when, how?). Detailed citations are vanishingly rare in Narconon's literature.

Narconon's publicity material presents a number of different figures for its claimed success rates, for instance:

Narconon International - 75% success rate
Narconon's methamphetamineaddiction.com website - "over 76%"
Narconon Finland - 70%
What is Scientology? - 78.37%
Narconon of Oklahoma - "86% improvement in reported criminal activity"
Narconon Montreal - "a 60%-70% success rate over two years"
Freedom magazine (a Scientology publication) - "more than 70 percent"
Ron the Humanitarian (another Scientology publication) - "84.6 percent"

[URLs are respectively: , , , , , ,
, ]
In many cases, the sources of these figures are not given. When they are, however, the most commonly cited sources are studies carried out in Sweden and Spain during the 1980s and in Oklahoma during the 1990s and 2000s.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Swedish Study

Narconon has made much over the years of a study of its graduates carried out in Sweden in 1981 that, depending on where you obtain the information from, showed that variously 78%, 78.6%, 84.6% or 85% of those that completed the Narconon programme were still drug free a year later. On Narconon's websites, there are only three mentions of the study's author, no details are available of how the study was conducted, the detailed figures are not reproduced and the organisation does not appear to have made the study report available anywhere - it also does not appear to respond to requests for it, as many people (including the present author) have requested copies over the years but have never been able to obtain them from Narconon. Typically, Narconon will omit to mention how many actually completed the programme. For instance, Narconon International's website states:

In 1981, Peter Gerdman, an independent researcher, examined the long-term effects of the Narconon program for 61 drug abusers who graduated from Narconon Huddinge, a facility outside Stockholm. He followed the graduates for four years after they completed the program.

Although 69 percent had been using drugs for 6 to 10 years prior to coming to the Narconon program, and nearly all were addicted to a multitude of different drugs, four years later 78.6 percent were drug free.
["Summary of Evaluations of the Narconon® Program over the Last 30 Years" - ]

In other words, 78.6% of the 61 drug abusers had become drug-free. Simple arithmetic shows that this cannot possibly be correct - 78.6% of 61 is 47.946 people - and a closer examination of the study reveals the true facts, which are very different to how Narconon presents them.

One Swede, Catarina Pamnell, did manage to trace the report. It had been sent to the municipality of Huddinge in 1983 as part of an evaluation on whether Narconon should be fully accepted as a treatment facility, and is publicly available under Sweden's "Offentlighetsprincipen" (freedom of information laws). Peter Gerdman, a Stockholm social worker, conducted the study in May 1981. On his behalf, Narconon staff interviewed persons who had entered the Narconon programme in Vårby Gård (at the Narconon Huddinge branch) just outside Stockholm in 1977. This presents an immediate problem with the veracity of the data, as Gerdman was dependent on Narconon's staff being scrupulously honest and impartial. In his introduction to his report, he refers to the problem of the "halo effect" (of the data gatherers polishing up the data), but concludes that since the staff are themselves former drug addicts and there is no monetary gain involved, such an effect is unlikely. This may, however, be overly optimistic as it does not take account of possible ideological motives - as the "Narconon and Scientology" section explains, L. Ron Hubbard's followers encourage (indeed, demand) an uncritically worshipful attitude towards their guru and his works. Oddly enough, he later writes that "the use of an independent scientific consultant constitutes a form of warranty against "sunshine research" [geared towards showing positive results rather than describing reality]. From the point of view of objectivity, it cannot be considered satisfactory to plan and execute an evaluation of one's own activities." In effect, he dismisses the worth of his own research methods.

When the actual figures gathered by Gerdman are considered, it is hardly surprising that Narconon has been so reluctant to publish the study. They show that:

61 individuals entered the programme, of whom
24 left during detoxification;
23 left during other stages;
14 completed the programme.
The overall completion rate was thus 23%.

Of the 14 who completed the programme, 13 were contacted a year later (the last could not be reached). When asked if they had used drugs any time during the year after completing the programme, 7 said yes; 4 said no; 2 said they didn't know. Those who had used drugs had taken heroin (5), amphetamine (3), marijuana (3) and alcohol (more than temporary intake) (2). When asked if they were presently, i.e. within the last month of the interview, taking drugs, 11 said no, 1 said yes, 1 said they didn't know.

Of those who left Narconon before completion, 24 of 47 were interviewed. 10 said they were drug free (41.6% of those surveyed, 16.4% of the total). This group of people appears to be omitted entirely from any statistics quoted by Narconon.

The 84.6% percent figure quoted by the Narconon and the Church of Scientology corresponds to 11 out of the 13 people interviewed after completion saying that they were not using drugs presently. The alternative figure of 78.6 percent refers to 11 out of the 14 completions (but is skewed due to the uncontactable 14th person being counted as a failure). This is, to say the least, a very partial presentation of figures which overall are extremely unflattering for Narconon:

77% of those who enrolled on the course quit before completing it.
50% of those who did complete it went back onto drugs afterwards (and another 14% somewhat mysteriously didn't know if they had or not).
54% of those interviewed afterwards who did not complete it went back onto drugs.
34% of enrollees said they had completed the programme and relapsed but claimed to be drug free at the moment.
6.6% of enrollees said they had stayed totally drug free for one year afterwards.
If the latter figure - those who completed the course and claim to have completely turned their backs on drugs - is taken as the eventual success rate. Compare this with the rates quoted in Ron the Humanitarian - "The rate among similarly comprehensive rehabilitation clinics, even when patients are “handpicked,” averages but 15 percent, often as low as 1.6 percent." If this is so, then Narconon is achieving poor results even by its own standards. If the results of the study are treated as being generic for all Narconon branches, which is how Narconon itself treats it, then it suggests that:

Most Narconon entrants do not complete the programme.

Most of those who do complete the programme return to drug abuse subsequently.
There can be little doubt that the success rates found by Gerdman's studies have seriously been misrepresented. The Scientology publication Ron the Humanitarian states that "Even a year after completion of the program, independent Swedish studies found a full 84.6 percent of Narconon graduates remaining entirely drug-free." [Narconon Sydney home page - and Ron the Humanitarian - ] In fact, the Gerdman study showed that only 6.6% of Narconon Huddinge clients "remain drug-free permanently" - if this is any way typical, it represents a success rate only one-eleventh of that which is claimed. Similarly, Narconon International's website states that "61 drug abusers who graduated from Narconon Huddinge ... [were] followed for four years after they completed the program. Although 69 percent had been using drugs for 6 to 10 years prior to coming to the Narcononprogram [sic], and nearly all were addicted to a multitude of different drugs, four years later 78.6 percent were drug free." This suggests that Gerdman managed to follow all 61 individuals, which he did not, and that the 78.6% figure relates to the full sample of 61, which it does not (and cannot - 78.6% of 61 people is an impossible 47.946 people). It also does not mention the fact that the 61 individuals represented only 23% of the entire intake, the rest having dropped out prior to graduation. ["Summary of Evaluations of the Narconon® Program over the Last 30 Years", Narconon International - ] In fact, it is remarkably hard to find any figures from Narconon on what percentage of its clients manage to graduate.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Spanish Study

Another source which Narconon often quotes is a study, variously described as "official" and "independent" said to have been carried out in Spain. Narconon Montreal cites this study on its website:

In a study conducted in Spain by an independent sociological research foundation it was found that 78% of the individuals were still off drugs two years after they completed the program. In another study in Sweden, it was found that 80% of the Narconon graduates who completed the program were still drug-free five years after completing the program.

The Spanish study also showed that before entering the Narconon program 62.2% committed robberies and 73% sold drugs. After the Narconon program, robberies and drug dealing decreased to 0%. In other words, 100% had no criminal activity after the program.

The Spanish study was conducted by a sociological group called Tecnicos Asociados de Investigacion y Marketing (TAIM). They have conducted other studies for the Ministry of Health, the Social Services Department of the Town Hall of Madrid, and the National Institute of Social Services of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security...
["Narconon Professional Endorsements" -]

The date of this study is usually not given but where it is disclosed, it is claimed to be either 1985 or 1987. Like the Swedish study, its source is also only rarely named - it is more usually attributed to "an independent sociological research foundation". A Spanish writer on cults, Pepe Rodríguez, investigated the matter after Scientology and Narconon became embroiled in a major public controversy which saw the President of the Church of Scientology International arrested and released on a $1m bail (which he promptly forfeited). [See (in Spanish). Sr Rodríguez has a website focusing on cults at ] It is unclear what TAIM's relationship with Narconon was, as the organisation no longer appears to exist. Prior to the production of the TAIM report, Narconon had become the subject of public criticism apparently after dissatisfied customers began to complain. Rodríguez reports that a meeting was held between Narconon executives and a Scientology lawyer, Jose Luis Chamorro, on 14 January 1987, in which Chamorro advised that "if we are able to demonstrate that 60% of the students of Narconon really are rehabilitated, we will be able to utilize this to show the effectiveness of our system [and defend] against the attacks on Narconon." (In itself, this is very intriguing; Narconon had been operating in Spain for nearly four years, so why had it not already demonstrated its effectiveness?) Tecnicos Asociados de Investigacion y Marketing (TAIM) was hired to do the study, which it conducted in March/April 1987, and subsequently reported that 78.37% of individuals who had completed Narconon in 1985 were drug-free.

However, the raw figures reveal considerable statistical creativity. For a start, it is impossible to derive a figure of 78.37% from a sample of 52 people; that corresponds to 40.7524 people, an obviously impossible number (what is 0.7524 of a person?). The sample size does not support that precise a measurement of the success rate. The same statistical oddity prevails throughout the TAIM survey - many of the figures which it cites range from dubious to simply impossible. As Dr. David Touretzky of Carnegie-Mellon University puts it, "anyone who would make that kind of elementary mistake is clearly not familiar with scientific research, much less competent to conduct same." [Conversation with the author.]

The individuals concerned came from several areas of Spain but the only Narconon centre surveyed was that at Los Molinos, near Madrid, which at the time was one of four such centres in Spain. 93 people were contacted for the survey (73.8% of those who had passed through the centre in 1985, which has a capacity of 30 people at a time), of whom 52 - little more than half - responded. The 1985 intake was the only one surveyed, despite the centre having been open since 1983.

Of those interviewed, 78.4% said that they had recommended the Narconon programme to others, 78.37% reported that they performed jobs for Narconon and 78% reported that they were no longer using drugs. It is highly likely that these very nearly identical percentages comprise the same group of about 40 people. The fact that so many of those who responded worked for Narconon severely skews the results; the sample is, in effect, a self-selecting one in which the drug-free were almost certainly heavily over-represented. The success rate is far less impressive when compared with the total number of those contacted - only 43% of the total reported being drug-free - and even less impressive compared with the total yearly intake of approximately 120 - about 33%. It also notably omits the important question asked in the Swedish survey, namely whether those reporting to be drug-free had not used any drugs since completing the course.

The great majority of those interviewed were of above average socioeconomic backgrounds: 17.3% classed themselves as wealthy, 67.3% as well-off and only 15.4% as average-to-low earners. This is highly significant: sociological studies have repeatedly demonstrated the close link between drug addiction and poverty, and drug addiction is principally an affliction of the poor. Los Molinos' graduates, therefore, were far from representative of drug users as a whole. As Rodríguez points out, it is also indicative of the way that Narconon's high costs filter out those who cannot afford it (which in practice means most drug users). Interestingly, the socioeconomic class of the graduates had a major influence on their successful completions. While the average time of completion was 160.8 days (about five months), on average the wealthy completed the programme in 97.5 days (about three months), the well-off in 123.8 days (four months) and the average-to-low earners in 174.6 days (almost six months). It is hard to envisage how wealth could make such a drastic difference to the results of a residential course, unless those involved were receiving differing levels of treatment due to their varying abilities to pay.

The extremely strange statistical figures given in this study make it difficult to take its findings seriously, and the obvious methodological flaws do not help either. Without actually having a copy of the study report - Narconon claims to have it "on file" but it does not appear to have been made available anywhere, either in print or on the Web - it is impossible to evaluate the methodology used. In terms of providing a satisfactory analysis of Narconon's efficacy, it is effectively useless.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Oklahoman Studies
Narconon claims to have conducted a number of studies of its effectiveness at its Chilocco (now Arrowhead) branch in Oklahoma in the United States. These do not appear to have been published, so there is no way of gauging their reliability or methodology. However, a few figures have been given by Narconon Arrowhead's executive director, Gary Smith, in an interview with the Oklahoman newspaper on 1 July 2001. The Chilocco facility was said to have had 2,029 clients since it opened; in 2000, 352 students enrolled and 185 graduated (a graduation rate of 52.5%) and from January through to the end of June 2001, 350 entered and 189 graduated (a rate of 54%). An overall success rate of 70-74% is claimed for the graduates, producing an overall success rate of only 40% of all entrants to the Narconon programme. Narconon does make this distinction in some cases, although it never seems to allude to the much lower overall success rates - for instance, the Narconon Arrowhead website (at http://www.stopaddiction.com) states that "70% of Narconon Graduates Beat Their Drug Addiction Permanently" (my underlining). Yet the same Narconon branch's printed literature makes no such distinction; a letter from its Admissions Coordinator claims that "we achieve a very high success rate; that success rate is 76%, the highest in the nation" and its promotional brochure states that "The Narconon® Program Achieves A 74% Success Rate". The claim is not qualified in any way (and there is no explanation of why the same source should quote three different percentages). A search of Narconon's websites suggests that the unqualified claim is used far more often than the qualified one, giving a very misleading view - going by Narconon's own figures - of its success rates. At the very least, it shows a remarkably careless use of statistics.

There are literally hundreds of instances on Narconon's websites of the claimed Oklahoman success rates being presented in a very misleading and occasionally downright untruthful fashion. For instance, the websites of Narconon Sydney and a number of other Narconon organisations declare that "76% of Narconon® Clients remain drug-free permanently!". If around 45-50% of its clients drop out, which Narconon's own figures suggest, this cannot possibly be true. Likewise, the Oklahoman results are treated as being universally applicable. The official Narconon FAQ, which appears to be a standard pro-forma document disseminated with minor changes by Narconon branches as far apart as Oklahoma and New South wales, declares bluntly that "Our success rate is 76%" (where "our" is clearly meant to refer to the local branch). ["Frequently Asked Questions About Narconon Arrowhead" - ] Almost identical versions of the same document are distributed by Narconon branches around the world, with only the name of the branch changing. In other words, at each individual branch of Narconon a 76% success rate is supposedly achieved. This is quite clearly untrue. The Oklahoman results were produced at one Narconon organisation in one country for a limited period of time; there is simply no way that such a small survey can be extrapolated for Narconon as a whole.


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Other Studies

Narconon occasionally quotes a number of other studies of its efficacy. No copies have been been obtained by the author, so comment is necessarily confined to what Narconon itself says about the studies (with all the attendant uncertainties that brings).

The Russian Study
Narconon International's website states:

In 1998, an "Expertise of the Drug Rehabilitation Program at Narconon Moscow" was prepared by U.D. Gurochkin M.D., N.N. Grigoriev (Lecturer, Russian Interior Ministry), and V.V. Khlystoun (Special Correspondent "Trud" [Labor]). Studying the files and medical documents of 32 students who had completed the Narconon program between 1995 and 1998, their research included health examinations, evaluation of objective and subjective data following program completion including drug screens, and evaluation of the students’ mental condition.

Their final "Conclusions" state, "Professional study of Narconon materials and the medical-psychological investigation of 32 patients has shown:

1. The Narconon Method’s ratio of efficiency is 72%, demonstrated by study of the patient histories.

2. Professional inspection of patients’ physical and mental condition has shown significant improvements.

3. The Narconon Program can be recommended to the State Narcology Institutes of the Ministry of Health for application."
["Summary of Evaluations of the Narconon® Program over the Last 30 Years" - ]

Until late 2002, a fourth author was included on the list - "Vladimir E. Ivanov (Candidate of Medical Sciences)". ["Narconon - Reducing the Drug Problem" - this page is no longer available on Narconon's website but was formerly at ] However, in June 2001, Dr. Ivanov publicly broke with Narconon and Scientology, denouncing the latter as a "criminal cult". He has since become a non-person in the eyes of Narconon; in the most recent version of the page on the Russian study, his name has been removed from the list of authors. Narconon's "disappearance" of Dr. Ivanov has a certain irony in a country with such a long history of erasing the politically inconvenient from history.

The Russian study was almost certainly prompted by the Russian Ministry of Health's prohibition in 1996 of the use of the Narconon programme in the Russian public health system. Several problems are immediately apparent with this study:

As usual, it is not reproduced in full - all we have are the "headline figures" which, as we have already seen, Narconon misrepresents for other studies. (In fact, it appears to be mentioned only once on just one of Narconon's many websites.)

Because of this, we have no information about the methodology used. Without knowing something about the methodology, it is impossible to assess the reliability of the survey methods used.

The sample size is very small (only 32 people); this makes it impossible to reliably extrapolate the results to other Narconon organisations.

The only actual statistic quoted is so vague as to be meaningless; what is a "ratio of efficiency"? If the figure of 72% of 32 people is supposed to represent a cure rate, it is mathematically impossible; it works out at 23.04 persons.

The qualifications and independence of its authors are questionable; one of the authors was the man who ran Narconon Russia (hardly an independent assessor!), one was a lecturer and one was a journalist, leaving only one medical doctor whose relationship with Narconon is undisclosed.
In short, the quoted study results are so vaguely stated and so poorly documented that, once again, it is impossible to draw any reliable conclusions from them.

The Palo Alto Study
In January 1977, the Californian city of Palo Alto made an evaluation of a contract with Narconon which it had recently terminated. Narconon was deemed to have failed to meet its performance targets, due at least in part to poor internal administration, and its success rates were also not encouraging; between 1 July 1975 and 1 February 1976, 43% of those enrolled on Narconon's course quit before completing it. The authors of the study did not examine whether the remainder were certifiably drug-free afterwards, apparently being more concerned with throughput than outcomes. (See "Annual Performance Evaluation of the City of Palo Alto's Contract with Narconon Palo Alto" for details.)

The Prison Studies
Narconon International also cites a number of "Drug reversion surveys of Narconon graduates done in the 1970s" in various prisons in the United States:

The California Dept. of Corrections reported on 19 inmates who had participated in the Narconon program while in prison. 17 had been paroled. 12 of these were reported as clean (70%). Of the 5 remaining, 2 were not found, 2 had been arrested and one had been suspended from the program due to cocaine use.

The California Institute for Women reported on 25 Narconon clients. 23 had been paroled. 18 of these were clean (78%). Of the remaining, 3 were parolees at large and 2 had been re-arrested.

The Arizona Correctional Authority reported on 76 Narconon students who had been released from prison. 32 were found. 24 of these were clean (75%).

Rikers Island Institute for Men in New York. Of the 81 students who had started the voluntary Narconon program, 43 had completed the initial program. 21 of these had been paroled and 17 were contacted. 14 of these were clean (82 percent of those found, 67 percent of total parolees).
["Summary of Evaluations of the Narconon® Program over the Last 30 Years" - ]

The veracity of these reported results has not yet been confirmed. Again, however, the survey reports are not published anywhere, no information is provided of their authors or methodologies, the samples are small and only the "headline" statistics are given. Even the dates are not given, although in the case of California it was probably before October 1974, when the State Evaluation Committee strongly criticised the programme and recommended a termination of funding. Narconon states that "all these studies had been done prior to the development of the Narconon New Life Detoxification Program", which must mean some time before 1978; they therefore represent a very different Narconon programme to that which exists today. As even the very existence of these studies cannot be confirmed, let alone the veracity of the reported results, they are of little use as evidence.

Some of Narconon's claimed success rates in correctional facilities were considered in 1974 by the California State Department of Health's assessment team, but were rejected out of hand as "simply not true":

a. Public Descriptions by Pamphlets, Notices, etc.: The 86% "cure rate" is totally unfounded. Narconon publishes a voluminous amount of paper for the purpose of public relations. The main Narconon rehabilitation program bulletin states that a high percentage of clients, approximately 75%, are rehabilitated within 3 months. The pamphlet further states that one supervisor can supervise 42 people a day in three 3-hour periods. Furthermore, one supervisor can train 14 new supervisors in three months.

b. Misleading Claims: Narconon claims to have an 86% cure rate for narcotics addicts which is simply not true. Mr. Greg Zerovnik, National Director - Narconon U.S., explained that the 86% figure came from a study of parolees from the Arizona State Prison who may or may not have been narcotics addicts. This sort of claim is, of course, misleading to both the prospective client and to public officials who are sincerely attempting to find ways to cope with the problem of drug abuse.

Narconon also advertises detoxification with mega-vitamins and other non-medical procedures that may be hazardous and in some cases lethal. Attachment 19 is a Narconon letter to the East Valley Free Clinic advertising an extraordinarily expensive detoxification procedure. It furthermore claims a 68% two year "success rate" for drug abstinence and for arrests "for anything related to drugs." It implies that these success ratios are applicable to heroin addicts and alcoholics. This claim is either misleading or miraculous. Without supporting data the evaluation team cannot but presume this document, however enticing, is a misleading claim.

Narconon implies that it can raise I.Q.'s and generally increase communication skills for their clients. There is no scientific evidence that these alleged changes cause a cure in approximately 50% of cases seen as stated by Mark Jones [then Executive Director of Narconon] in a Los Angeles Times article.
["Outline for recovery, House Evaluation" - by Forrest S. Tennant, Jr., M.D., Dr.P.H., Jane Thomas, R.N., Mike Reilly, and Joseph Shannon, M.D., M.P.H. Submitted to Don Z. Miller, Deputy Director, Health Treatment System, State Department of Health, Sacramento, CA, on 31 Oct 1974]

One prison study which Narconon does not mention, for some reason, is that conducted in Ionia State Prison, Michigan in April 1980. Between 1978 and 1980, some 200 inmates were put through the Narconon programme under a contract with the state's Department of Corrections. The Department's Program Bureau examined the recidivism records of those who had been paroled prior to 1 September 1979, so as to provide six months of community experience to study. 14 were excluded as not having a prior history of substance abuse (so why were they in Narconon in the first place?), leaving 29 individuals who had a history of substance abuse and had completed at least part of the Narconon course. Only one of the 29 had actually completed the programme - barely a 3.5% completion rate - while the majority, some 79.3%, had got halfway through. The study concluded that "the graduates from the program clearly are not doing as well as the average prisoner going to the community ... [they] do not do as well as our population in general." Four of Narconon's graduates (including the one who completed the course) committed a new felony and went back to jail; five committed technical violations of their parole; seven absconded; and thirteen were "maintained under supervision" (i.e. they abided by the terms of their parole). Overall, the recidivism rate was just over 55%. This compared unfavourably with the return rate from other programmes in Michigan, which "has varied between 28% and 40%, historically." Overall, "the optimism of [Narconon's] supporters in [the] belief that it will produce significant behavioral change for the long run is not supported." [Evaluation of Narconon program in Ionia State Prison, Michigan Dept. of Corrections Program Bureau, 7 April 1980]


Utvärderingen av Narconon
http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Narconon/sources/reports/gerdman.htm

This report was written in May 1981 by Peter Gerdman, a social worker hired by Narconon to evaluate its Huddinge facility at Vårby Gård near Stockholm. On his behalf, Narconon staff interviewed persons who had entered the Narconon programme in 1977 to determine what their original problem had been and how they had fared since undergoing Narconon's therapy. The results were strikingly poor - only 23% had completed the programme, with only 6.6% saying that they had stayed totally drug free for one year afterwards. Narconon has, however, presented the results rather differently (see "Does Narconon Work? - Studies").

The report is currently available only in Swedish; an English translation is being prepared.




Success Stories
http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Narconon/stories.htm

I would like to write this success story attesting to my completion of the Narconon program. When I came to Narconon in September of 1999, I was in a state of desperation because I did not want to use drugs anymore, but no program that I had tried was able to help me, and I was beginning to lose hope. I always knew that I was a good person but I could not obtain any long-term sobriety. The program that Narconon offered me has changed my life. It not only helped me to stop using drugs, but it taught me how to really live again. I had the ability, but they helped me to see it, and most importantly, how to get and maintain control in all areas of my life. This has been the experience of a lifetime. Thank you. - P.L.
["Alcohol Addiction Treatment Program by Narconon and Narconon Success Stories" - ]

One of Narconon's favourite "proofs" of its efficacy is the "success story". The organisation has thousands of these, extolling Narconon in ecstatic terms similar to the above. However, as a means of assessing Narconon's worth, they are useless. The fact that they are all success stories means, by definition, that they will not document failures. They are not even reliable as a measure of success; they are often merely a snapshot of the client's satisfaction immediately after finishing the course, and say nothing about long-term progress.

Perhaps more importantly, writing success stories is compulsory. Narconon clients are required to write "success stories" on a standardised form at the end of each course, in order to "attest" to a successful completion. This is one of Narconon's legacies from Scientology; as Hubbard stated, the key statistic for measuring the success of an organisation is "PAID COMPLETIONS ACCOMPANIED BY AN ACCEPTABLE SUCCESS STORY". [Hubbard, "Org Condition Stat Change", LRH Exec Directive 153 Int of 30 August 1971] They are not simply a method of surveying customer satisfaction; if a client does not submit a success story, he or she is deemed not to have completed the course and may have to redo it, with possible attendant financial implications. This gives clients a motive for submitting as positive a success story as possible (particularly if they have been compelled to enter the course, for instance as part of a prison sentence), thus destroying any possible remaining objectivity of the success stories.

That assumes, of course, that objectivity is sought. In fact, it almost certainly is not. There is ample evidence from Hubbard's writings to suggest that his knowledge of statistics was limited and his usage of them was confined to certain very specific lines of enquiry. The extreme scarcity of data on Narconon's long-term success suggests that the organisation makes little effort to obtain follow-up statistics, otherwise it would surely be able to quote more figures. On the other hand, it undoubtedly has a good idea of how many people have completed the Narconon course.

If one applies Hubbard's policy that "paid completions" are the key statistic, this becomes perfectly understandable; in Hubbard's view, the paid completion is the critical factor, not the amount of "raw meat" (his phrase) that signs up in the first place. Viewed in purely mercantile terms this is logical. A shop's income is directly dependent on how many customers actually buy things, not on how many go through the store. On this basis, the number of passers-through is secondary to the number of purchasers. If "paid completions" are indeed the most important objective, this would produce some odd measurements of Narconon's success. For instance, imagine that a Narconon organisation takes on 100 clients in a year, of whom 20 graduate. The following year, 200 clients are taken on, of whom 30 graduate. This represents a worsening of the graduation rate as a percentage of the total (falling from 20% to 15%) but a 50% increase in the "paid completions" rate. If the latter is taken as the key figure, the decreasing graduation rate would be ignored in favour of the rapid increase in "paid completions". This may explain why Narconon so heavily promotes its claimed graduate success rate (which corresponds to "successful paid completions") but not its apparently very much poorer entrant success rate.

Success stories are also a key tool for promotion and recruitment. A staff member is given responsibility for collating success stories (the post is referred to as the Success Officer) to "help Ron get volume high communication success stories into the hands or notice of the org's publics, enhancing and increasing desire for the Org's services." [Hubbard, "Success Officer Duties", Board Policy Letter of 14 June 1973, Issue II] Hubbard described the tasks to be undertaken:

Categorizes success stories into types of successes and results. Distributes and posts success stories and makes such available for use in ... promotion pieces and also for [recruitment] use. Sees that success stories are used. All these duties adds up to ensuring good word of month.
[Hubbard, "Big League Registration Series No. 12", HCO Policy Letter of 14 November 1971]

This is exactly the context in which success stories are used; every Narconon website and much of its promotional material contains numerous glowing success stories, repeatedly described as an "explanation of our program from the only source that matters - our students and their parents."





http://www.xenu.net/archive/techniques/hj170889b.html

Scientific And Medical Accuracy Of Narconon Program Questioned

The Newkirk Herald Journal (?),
17 August 1989


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A Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Oklahoma calls it "pure unadulterated 'cow pies"'.

A Doctor of Internal Medicine in Ponca City says it is "filled with ...many false generalizations, internal inconsistencies, outright lies, and potentially dangerous treatments."

They are talking about the Purification part of the Narconon drug rehabilitation program that will be offered at Chilocco. According to a document called the Narconon Technical Line-Up copyrighted 1984 by Narconon, their rehabilitation program consists of several steps:

First, there is a Detoxification and Withdrawal program, followed by a Drug Education/Orientation lecture, Hard TR's (Training Routines), the Purification program, Objectives, the Drug Rundown, and the Way To Happiness Rundown.

Several area individuals have ask for and have been promised a copy of the Narconon "protocols" that will be used when Narconon is in operation, but after several weeks, nothing has been forthcoming from Narconon.

However, Narconon and Scientology documents have been provided by former Scientologists, Narconon volunteers, and Narconon patients which give a pretty clear idea of program contents.

One of those documents, a Hubbard Communications Bulletin called "The Purification Rundown Replaces The Sweat Program" is said to contain the core of L. Ron Hubbard's "technology" regarding the removal of toxic substances such as drugs from the body. It is a regimen which includes exercise, sauna sweat out, nutrition including vitamins, minerals, etc, as well as oil intake, and a properly ordered schedule of activity.

This and several related documents were offered for evaluation by a University of Oklahoma Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and by a Ponca City Doctor who specializes in internal medicine. Their reports are being forwarded by city leaders to the State Health Department.

The OU Professor in his August 4, 1989 report, writes, "My overall comment on Mr. Hubbard' s literature is that there is an absolute lack of data to support his assertion that the Purification Program succeeds in doing what the presently adopted programs fall to do. The documents reviewed also contain many truths and half-truths."

"However," he continues, "there is no evidence that Mr. Hubbard's approach will cure these ills.

"(Hubbard' s statement that) "There is no such thing as a fat cell" is a meaningless statement," the professor says. " 'Fat tissue' should be adipose tissue which consists of many cell types and the major lipid storage cell is termed a 'brown cell".'

Where Hubbard suggests that in 1973 someone got a Nobel Prize for curing insanity with niacin, the OU report says it is "too absurd to comment on." As far as can be determined, the professor said by telephone, no such prize was ever given.

The OU report complains of a lack of scientific data within the documents to sup- port the statements made, and concludes that, "Overall the program proposed by Mr. Hubbard is pure unadulterated 'cow pies'. It is filled with some scientific truth but mainly is illogical and the conclusions drawn by Mr. Hubbard are without any basis in scientific fact."

A report received August 14 from a Ponca City doctor specializing in Internal Medicine says...

"As a previous Medical Director of two alcohol and drug rehabilitation units, I feel I am qualified by training, interest and experience to comment specifically on the proposed treatment center's so called Purification rundown.

The Purification Rundown is apparently either all or part of Narconon' s initial detoxification program. The ... document is in general a poorly written program. There is extremely poor organization. The material is full of generalizations that have no substantiation in fact. There are internal inconsistent statements. There is no documentation.

The Purification Rundown is somewhat patterned after many reputable detoxificalion programs in which diet, exercise, education and behavioral modification are used. But due to the above mentioned deficiencies as well as several outright untruths, I think that it is fair to say that the Purification Rundown is without merit."

Some specific points made in the report: "There is certainly no scientific documentation that exercise significantly speeds up the detoxification process."

"The author states throughout, that sweating increases the rate at which drugs in general leave the body. This is certainly untrue of many drugs, as most drugs of abuse are eliminated from the body by detoxification through the liver, or by passage through the kidney, or occasionally by passage through the lungs. Although minute quantities of some drugs may appear in the sweat it is such a small fraction of drug elimination that no matter how much a patient were made to sweat it could not significantly increase his clearing of most drugs."

"The author states 'There is no such thing as a fat cell.' This is absolutely false and can be disproven by any college student who has had a course in Histology."

"The author' s recommendation for taking Vegetable Oil to replace the oils in our fat tissue that are contaminated with drugs has no documentation or basis in fact."

"Perhaps the most blatantly false statement made in the entire document (is where the) author states, 'niacin's biochemical reaction is my own private personal discovery in the middle of the 1950's. Niacin was discovered several decades before the 1950's and its importance and multiple biochemical reactions have been studied from that time until present."

"The author further goes on to state 'Niacin runs out radiation' ... There is no scientific documentation that niacin in any way gets radiation out of the body. The symptoms of which the author talks are due to dilation of the blood vessels of the skin and is a known side-effect of niacin administration."

The report continues... "there are aspects ... which I find medically unsafe. (Parts of the program) suggest that the author expects that in many cases heat exhaustion will occur. Any treatment which leads to heat ex- haustion is unsound and unsafe."

Regarding suggested use of a medical officer, the report states, "It seems quite apparent that medical officer does not equate with medical doctor or physician as the author...goes on to say 'the medical officer gives a person an OK to go on to the program after insuring the person' s blood pressure is normal and he is not anemic. The medical officer does these checks himself where he is trained to do so'. Therefore, it seems medically unqualified persons are going to be supervising this program which I think is quite dangerous."

The report concludes, "While a drug free society is a worthwhile goal of any institution, when the initial entry into this program, i.e. the Purification Rundown is filled with so many false generalizations, internal in- consistencies, outright lies, and potentially dangerous treatments, I think it is without question that Narconon will be a detriment to the Newkirk area, Kay County, and the State of Oklahoma as a whole."

City leaders say they intend to forward complete, signed copies of the two reports to the same state and federal officials who previously received other packages of material concerning Narconon.




Ron The Dope Fiend

http://www.clambake.org/archive/ronthenut/dope.htm


If you have ever read Scientology® "scripture" and ever wondered if Hubbard was high on drugs when he wrote it, the answer is: PROBABLY! Hubbard wrote that human beings are infested with the spirits of murdered space aliens, and that only Scientology®'s "science" can remove them. His book "Dianetics®" appears to have been written while he was doped up on cocaine: much of it involves his abortion fantasies and hatred of women. Hubbard also took large quantities of steroids and testosterone to help him overcome his lack of libido and his impotency. He also wrote to the Veteran's Administration just after World War Two that he was taking an anti-depressant.

[...] Ron Jr. states in a sworn affidavit:

'I have personal knowledge that my father regularly used illegal drugs including amphetamines, barbituates and hallucinogens. He regularly used cocaine, peyote, and mescaline.
According to statements made by attorney Michael Flynn, Hubbard, until at least February of 1980, filled out fraudulent 'doctor's' prescriptions for a large array of medical drugs for himself.

Sara Hubbard explained that Hubbard was 'self-medicated,' but that during the five years they were married, she knew of no instances when he used 'street drugs'.

Armstrong told me, among other things, of a letter from Hubbard to his third wife Mary Sue when Hubbard was in Las Palmas during 1967 at the inception of the Sea Org. This letter is now in the custody of the court. In it Hubbard tells his wife: 'I'm drinking lots of rum and popping pinks and greys.'

John McMasters told me that on the flagship Apollo in the late sixties, he witnessed Hubbard's drug supply. 'It was the largest drug chest I had ever seen. He had everything!'

It was shown in the Armstrong trial in Los Angeles in 1984 that Hubbard even had blank prescription slips from the U.S. Navy, one of which had a prescription for phenobarbital (a barbituate and hypnotic) written in Hubbard's handwriting.

Also, in the Armstrong trial where the "Affirmations" [handwritten essays by Hubbard] were introduced, a letter by Hubbard to his first wife was revealed, the last sentence of which declared: 'I do love you, even if I used to be an opium addict.'

-- Bent Corydon (former Mission owner) in his book "Messiah or Madman?"