Research Studies

The Narconon International Science Advisory Board has taken on a very important role. In the last three decades, the scientific community has been in a ferment regarding vital questions such as what is addiction and what is recovery. These are extensive questions. Science has by no means settled on the answers. In the middle of this confusion, L. Ron Hubbard announced in the mid-1970s that not just toxic pesticides, but also street drugs and pharmaceuticals are stored in body tissue. They have long-term pernicious effects on physical and mental health. This was a bold stroke. Mr. Hubbard's release of a carefully piloted detoxification regimen that could be delivered safely to the broad majority of people was a solution far ahead of its time. Narconon Science Board members for years have been doing clinical studies of different aspects of this detoxification procedure.

Narconon Science Board members have presented numerous papers on this procedure for publication or at prestigious conferences including: the Royal Swedish Academy's AMBIO, the Journal of Toxicology, and presentations to the American Public Health Association. Sufficient documentation had been collected on the detoxification protocol so that the International Conference on Human Detoxification was held in late 1995.

Narconon International is very appreciative of the serious and extensive work being contributed by the Science Advisory Board members. This work is making known to the world's professional community that significant benefits can be gained from Mr. Hubbard's detoxification protocol and the life skills and rehabilitation courses of the Narconon program.

Evaluation of Recent Narconon Program Graduates

The average graduate of the Narconon program takes three to five months to fully recover. However, some take significantly longer and others have graduated the program in less than two months. Each and every step of the program is created to guide the individual back to sobriety and living a clean and ethical life. The order of the program is carefully organized to utilize prior tools the individual has learned and prepare them for the next step. Ideally, each and every student will complete every part of the Narconon program. A very important part of measuring the success of the Narconon program is its percentage of program completions. The number of clients completing the program internationally in 1990 was 789 (39% of starts), in 1991 was 1,019 (51% of starts) and in 1992 was 1,084 (56% of starts).

Crime

The Narconon program also had a profound effect on the criminal activities of clients. Before entering the Narconon program, 62.2% of the participants admitted having committed robberies, and 73% had been dealing drugs. Only 10.8% of the participants did not previously engage in criminal activity. The study revealed that no criminal activities were reported by any of the Narconon program graduates after graduation.

When it came to relationships with their families, 67.6% of Narconon program graduates said that their family situation was now much better, 29.7% said that it had changed for the better, and only 2.7% said that it was the same. Absolutely no one stated that it had changed for the worse.