An obvious front for Scientology

About 15 years ago, I made a private survey of various anti-drug organizations active in Sweden. Most were (of course) relatively normal, but one group stood out: Narconon, which turned out to be a project supported by the Church of Scientology. Narconon's treatment facility had some kind of quasi-official endorsement by the Swedish authorities. Another Scientology-sponsored group attempting to ingratiate itself with social justice activists was the CCHR or Citizens Commission on Human Rights. Since the Scientologists are often regarded as a dangerous cult, this sure raises some eyebrows. So does the number of well-known Swedes taken in by Narconon, including Bengt Feldreich and Svante Nycander, who defended Narconon in one of his books.

The book "The Humanitarian: Rehabilitating a Drugged Society" is a book promoting both Narconon and Scientology's founder L. Ron Hubbard. Don't ask me where I purchased my copy - I honestly don't remember! A flee market? Although the book doesn't explicitly connect Narconon and Scientology, the complete concentration on Hubbard and his supposed scientific discoveries makes it pretty obvious anyway. So does the photo of Kirstie Alley and the quote from John Travolta, two celeb Scientologists of long standing. Apparently, Alley is the international spokesperson for Narconon.

The medical profession considers Narconon's treatment program sheer pseudo-science, but this didn't deter Hubbard from making some pretty far-reaching claims. For instance, he claims to have discovered that niacin can cure radiation sickness caused by radioactivity! Really? I think it's obvious that the real purpose of Narconon is to recruit new members or at least fellow travellers to Scientology. Since almost everyone is (or used to be) against drugs, attacking drugs and the drug trade is a safe way of making people pay attention.

Personally, I just found "The Humanitarian" to be weird and, indeed, cultic. Only one star for this publication!