you are gaining an understanding of addiction and will see how the Narconon Program can help. WHY PEOPLE TAKE DRUGS

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2 Addiction Explained Drug addiction is a powerful and destructive force that rips families apart and ruins the lives of good people every day. It is important to note that drug or alcohol addiction is not just about the individual on drugs. It s about the families, loved ones, friends and community that surround the addict who also suffer, sometimes as much or more than the addicted person themselves. The greatest suffering for those who love the drug user is almost always the helpless feeling of not knowing what to do to keep the person from destroying his or her life with drugs. Usually, those individuals who love and care for someone who is addicted are WILLING to help the person get off drugs, but often lack the knowledge of what it is they are dealing with.therefore, many efforts to help the drug user get better or quit drugs are not successful. When these attempts fail, a feeling of hopelessness and helplessness often results. Fortunately, no matter how hopeless it may seem, the trap of addiction can be undone. With a complete understanding of addiction and the proper tools to apply, virtually anyone can rid themselves of the harmful effects of drugs and alcohol and lead a productive and drug-free life. By reading this, The difference between an addict and a non-addict is that addicts choose drugs or alcohol as a SOLUTION to their unwanted problems or discomforts. you are gaining an understanding of addiction and will see how the Narconon Program can help. WHY PEOPLE TAKE DRUGS For drugs to be attractive to a person there must first be some underlying unhappiness, sense of hopelessness or physical pain. These negative emotions, feelings and sensations are problems for the person, as they don t want to feel or experience them. The problem the person is having seems overwhelming and they believe a solution is not available to them. This could be a physical discomfort such as an injury or chronic pain. It can also include problems such as having difficulty fitting in as a child or a teenager, anxiety due to peer pressure, or as is often the case with young people, shyness or even boredom. Everyone has experienced problems like these in life to a greater or lesser degree. The difference between an addict and a non-addict is that addicts choose drugs or alcohol as a SOLUTION to their unwanted problems or discomforts. They then adopt drug or alcohol use as a common, fix-all solution to any other problems they become faced with in the future. There are hundreds or thousands of problems that a person might be attempting to solve by using drugs or alcohol. The truth is that these problems are actually NOT solved by the use of drugs or alcohol, 2

3 Addiction Explained they are only masked temporarily. The real underlying problems remain untouched. When the drug user becomes addicted they feel ashamed of their own inability to control their life. This being another problem, the person will then resort to the same solution which caused these problems in the first place: MORE DRUGS. Drugs are never the solution to problems, if only because they create far more problems than they could ever hope to solve. WHAT DRUGS DO The simple truth is that drugs are essentially poisons. One of the first destructive side effects that drugs have on any individual is the burning up of the nutritional stores in the body. Vitamins, minerals and amino acids are the actual fuel that the body needs to properly function and to repair itself. Taking drugs accelerates the burning up of these nutrients. It is partially the rapid consumption and depletion of these nutrients that helps to create a totally artificial sense of well-being while under the influence of the drug. This causes cellular damage often leading to discomfort, pain, disease and unfortunately, the need for more drugs. As the person continues to use drugs, their physical condition becomes worse and worse. As the amount of drugs taken increases, the physical damage done to the addict s body becomes greater as well. By constantly blocking the body s internal warning signs the person can allow real physical problems to grow out of control. The drug user can often be dreadfully sick, yet be utterly unaware of the illness due to the numbing effects of drugs. The end result is a continually worsening physical condition and in some cases, disease-related death. This presents a problem. Drug users hope they can quit drugs and live a normal life. However, when they attempt to stop, they have no energy and feel bad all the time. They naturally want to feel good and not sick. As they are unaware of the actual causes of the way they feel and have no alternative method of handling the problem they are caught in the trap of having to go back on the drug or suffer through life without it. 3

4 Addiction Explained HOW THE BODY ADJUSTS TO DRUGS (Dangerous effects of continued use) In time, as the person uses any drug, his or her body will begin to adapt to the presence of these toxic chemicals. The body, in effect, gets used to having the chemicals in it. People s tolerance to a drug will increase the longer they use the substance. As the tolerance builds, the euphoric effects become less and less the more and longer they use the drug. They compulsively try to achieve the same good feelings the drug once gave them by taking more and more of the drug. The body s tolerance to the drug masks the poisoning effects of the larger and more lethal amounts of the drug that the addict needs to take to kill the physical pain or discomfort that exists when they are not under the influence of the drug. At this stage of addiction, the individual is prone to overdose. OTHER DANGERS OF DRUG USE: We experience the world around us through sensory channels such as smell, sight, touch, hearing and taste. These sensory channels are like the microphone and camera lens of our mind s video camera that receive the sensations and perceptions we use to handle our environment and function in day to day life. Without the ability to sense the environment a person can become a great danger to themselves and others around them. Drug use causes people to lose their ability to perceive the world around them, making them a hazard to themselves and others. However, life doesn t have to be this way! The Narconon Program offers a road out. There is a very specific technology used at Narconon of Northern California to address each aspect of drug addiction. We will first explain how drugs get stored in the body and then how the Narconon Program actually works. 4

5 Cravings UNDERSTANDING DRUG CRAVINGS AND RELAPSE The experience of craving drugs is sometimes just a passing thought by the person during a busy day. Sometimes the drug craving can seem like an overwhelming, unstoppable urge that only the use of more drugs can satisfy. In either case, drug cravings are the leading cause of relapse for a person who is desperately trying to leave drugs behind. Fighting these daily or hourly desires to use drugs is a humiliating and frustrating battle for those who seek to quit drugs. The process of craving drugs can literally go on for the remainder of the drug user s life if the CAUSE of the drug craving is not completely handled. For example, a person who has been using drugs for years somehow manages to stop. He is currently sober, but his thoughts are constantly fixed on drugs and alcohol. Although he is no longer using drugs to solve his problems, he does not have the ability to solve his problems without drugs. He is usually miserable and life is a constant struggle. Life is consumed with the battle against drugs and it is everything he can do just to keep himself from getting high. The addict then decides that he would rather use drugs and feel good than be depressed in a life without them. normal bodily functions. The drugs are broken down into what are called metabolites, which are more easily eliminated from the body. Unfortunately, many of the drug DRUGS metabolites are drawn to the fatty tissues that surround the blood vessels and become trapped there. In other words, the metabolites stick to the fat cells in the body and build DRUG METABOLITES BLOOD VESSEL FAT CELLS CHEMICALLY TRIGGERED DRUG CRAVINGS The body identifies drugs as toxins or poisons as soon as they are taken. This causes the liver and kidneys to instantly begin breaking the drug down to allow it to be excreted by 5

6 Cravings up every time more drugs are taken. Studies suggest that drug metabolites can affect the body s functioning for a very long time, even decades. Chemically triggered drug cravings occur when the drug metabolites that have stuck to fat cells are released back into the blood stream and travel to the brain. This can happen any time the person s body burns fat for energy. Normal life situations like stress, exercise or anger can launch the metabolites into the bloodstream from the fatty tissue, where they flow to the brain and cause drug cravings. While one may have heard stories about individuals having flashbacks from LSD, individuals who have used any drug can experience frequent and subtle drug flashbacks and can also have drug cravings for years after they have stopped taking the drug. The only effective way to completely rehabilitate the individual is to address the biophysical aspects of the addiction. When these memories are triggered, the individual feels bad, but doesn t know WHY.Again, this can occur at any time, regardless of what the person is doing. All that has to occur is for the metabolites of past drug use to be released back into the bloodstream and travel to the brain. While in this state, the person can easily fall back into the pattern of addicted thinking, which is: if you feel bad, take a drug or drink and you ll feel better. In spite of real and logical reasons he or she has to NOT use drugs, the person involuntarily desires to use drugs again. Without the total removal of these drug metabolites from the body, even an addict who has managed to come off drugs may experience these drug cravings, or chemically triggered drug memories, for years after getting sober. Drug cravings are the most common reason for relapse after typical substance abuse rehabilitation. When these cravings hit, former addicts who have been clean for months or years can suddenly find themselves back on the street using drugs, baffled by their failure to control themselves and their addiction. The only effective way to completely rehabilitate the individual is to address the biophysical aspects of the addiction. Without removing the toxins stored in the fatty tissue, the drug user s chance at real rehabilitation is very low, as they are being constantly bombarded with the chemical triggers that cause drug cravings. Drugs and other toxins lodged in the body can be flushed out and eliminated through a specific program called the New Life Detoxification Program. This process is one of the first and key steps in the Narconon Program. Only when the body is cleansed of toxins can the addict see what led him or her to drugs in the first place and address underlying, previously hidden problems. 6

7 Declining Personal Values DECLINING PERSONAL VALUES Another problem that occurs with drug use is the gradual lowering of a person s morals and personal values. Commonly, a drug user needs the drugs he or she has become addicted to but doesn t have the money to buy them. To solve this problem, the person frequently steals money from their parents. The drug user knows that stealing money from their parents is wrong but commits the act anyway in an attempt at solving the problem of needing drugs. In addition to stealing from the family, the person lies to the family about the things they have done. Each time the drug user comes in contact with his or her family he or she is reminded of these actions and must withhold this act from his or her parents because of the fear of punishment. This is one reason that the person will start to pull away from or be unable to face or confront those people, places and things they have done wrong. It becomes easier to just avoid the family and the guilt they feel. The drug user may also distance themselves from the family by becoming angry toward them. This is another means of removing themselves from the family by making excuses to cut them off. At this point it becomes appealing to the addict to join a gang, live on the street or to hang out with other drug users. In this environment, they will not feel judged by others and will not have to hide their addiction. Usually they find themselves getting in trouble with the law and in danger of going to prison. There is no limit to how low one can go once he or she has fallen into this trap. Here, the only future available to the addict is incarceration or death. The Narconon Program s rehabilitation method systematically resolves each of the underlying factors of drug or alcohol addiction However, there are methods utilized by the Narconon Program to help the person get honest and straight. This part of the program gets the addict to take responsibility and confront what he or she did in the past, realize who may have been influencing them and show them how to unburden themselves from the guilt and shame that come about from drug use by providing a system to repair past transgressions. 7

8 Overall Narconon has a program that works. I know. I did it. It saved my life! Kirstie Alley Narconon International Spokesperson Now I have a clear body and a clear mind. The Narconon Program has changed my life in so many ways, I love this place so much I have chosen to work here after I am done with the program. I went from being a good student and the captain of the track and cross-country team [in high school], to a drug and alcohol abuser, to the happiest person I have ever been. Coming here is the best decision I've ever made, I hope others can make the same choice. Narconon Northern California Graduate 2002 OVERALL There is a false idea that drug and alcohol addiction can be effectively treated through the magic pill theory or the idea that someday there will be some quick fix solution for the problem of addiction. This has not been nor will it ever be the case. There is no pill that someone can take to overcome drug and alcohol addiction. The Narconon Program s rehabilitation method systematically resolves each of the underlying factors of drug or alcohol addiction and teaches addicted individuals how to repair the damage done to their relationships and improve their quality of life. It is not always easy, but those who have honestly done the Narconon Program know that people can stably overcome addiction and lead happy and productive lives. Our program is one of the most effective rehabilitation methods available today. Past and continuing studies show that the majority of Narconon Program graduates achieve stable drug-free, ethical and productive lives. You have an opportunity to give yourself or a loved one REAL help. Don t take it for granted that there will always be time to deal with this or that the addict will not get worse. The longer you wait, the more likely it is that the person can: Overdose. Get arrested. Cause an accident and possibly die. Take a bad batch of drugs leaving them permanently damaged. Get robbed, raped or killed by a drug dealer or gang. Or simply continue to live a miserable life without meaning. Don t miss out on this chance at a new life! Take advantage of the most successful and effective program available to you and DO SOME- THING about the problem you face. 8

9 our Our program Program situations in life, to communicate and to resolve problems through communication. Book 2 The Narconon New Life Detoxification Program: This process helps the client to sweat out the drug residuals and metabolites stored in the body s fatty tissue. The program utilizes intensive sweating in dry sauna, in combination with plenty of fluids Road leading to Narconon facility in Watsonville View from Watsonville facility WHAT THE PROGRAM CONSISTS OF: Drug-Free Withdrawal: During the drug-free withdrawal stage, the addict is supervised 24 hours a day and is actively participating in techniques specifically designed to ease withdrawal symptoms. Nutritional therapy includes vitamins, minerals and amino acids and healthy food. Therapeutic processes are also incorporated to help ease the mental and physical pains and get the body s natural healing process operating again. Often, addicts coming off heroin or other drugs with typically tough withdrawal symptoms are amazed at how good they felt during the drug-free withdrawal stage. Book 1 Therapeutic Training Routines: Drugs and alcohol severely hinder the addict s social skills and reasoning as they have been living in an unreal world. This course is comprised of drills and other practical steps that enable students to improve their ability to confront Swimming pool at Watsonville facility View of Monterey Bay from Watsonville facility and nutritional supplementation. This, as discussed earlier, is absolutely vital in the successful long-term rehabilitation of the client. Book 3 The Learning Improvement Course: A course that enables students to overcome barriers to study and improve their learning skills, comprehension and ability to apply what they study. Since most of the Narconon Program contains study, this step is crucial to ensure the remainder of the program material is well learned. During this step we see clients not only become more competent as students but also more willing to study and learn. Book 4 The Communication and Perception Course: 9

10 Our Program a more desirable state on a step-bystep basis. Here the addict begins to repair and improve areas in their life ruined by drugs. The client Main facility The addict or alcoholic tends to live in a world that is not based on reality. Here, the person s decisions are based not on logic or reason but instead are being controlled by drugs and they cannot handle their lives. Here, the client overcomes this through a series of study and exercises that develop self-control, extroversion and an ability to maintain control of one s environment. Nearby Santa Cruz coastline Book 5 The Ups and Downs in Life Course: The lifestyle of a drug addict is filled with negative associations and influences that perpetuate the addict s use of drugs. This course enables students to evaluate the characteristics and personal qualities that make one a constructive or destructive individual. It also provides methods for handling personal instability brought about by acquaintance with destructive persons. Book 6 The Personal Values and Integrity Course: To survive, the addict must learn a new way of life. Where they once depended on lies,thievery and distrust to survive, they must now make necessary changes in order to stay off drugs. This course teaches the value of honesty and allows one to regain their personal integrity through an examination of past harmful actions and an acceptance of responsibility for these, relieving guilt. Book 7 The Changing Conditions in Life Course: This course teaches how to recognize and improve condition in life to View from Watsonville facility Narconon client 10

11 Our Program Narconon graduate 2. On-Site Counseling: If a current situation is not solving over the phone, the graduate may return for a 2-3 day remedial program at the facility (not necessarily in-patient). 3. Thirty Day Intensive Review Program The client can return to the facility as a resident for a period of up to 30 days toreview the various elements of his/her program and address any new issues that have come to light since completing the Narconon Program. LEGAL ASSISTANCE: We understand that legal problems often accompanydrug addiction. We are dedicated to providing assistance to our clients in the form of court appearances, reduced sentencing, alternative sentencing, progress reports and drug tests. We also fulfill Prop 36 or PC 1000 requirements. Often, participating in the Narconon Program will satisfy the court sentencing requirements of jailtime. FACILITIES: Narconon of Northern California has been established for over a decade. Our main facility is located on 34 acres in beautiful Santa Cruz County. The site offers breathtaking views of Monterey Bay and is just minutes from the beach. All clients of the program enter through this center, which is the headquarters for Narconon of Northern California, and holds approximately 70 students at a time. Narconon of Northern California has another site located 3 hours north in a beautiful mountain town called Placerville in the heart of California's gold rush country. Located just 30 minutes from Lake Tahoe, this site holds approximately 20 students and offers a smaller facility for those interested in such anenvironment. Narconon facility in Placerville HOW THE PRICE OF NARCONON COMPARES TO OTHER PROGRAMS: Prices of the other programs: Passages Malibu $40, DAYS Sierra Tucson $33, DAYS Hazelden $21, DAYS Narconon of Northern California $25, DAYS 7 out of 10 Narconon graduates remain clean after completing the program. 11

12 FAQS: Q. How does the Narconon Program differ from other programs, including traditional 12-Step programs? In most conventional drug treatment programs, the addict is told that addiction is a disease and that they are powerless over it. We at Narconon do not believe this is true and that each individual needs to take responsibility for the life they are leading and the decisions they have made. The Narconon Program is an extensive program that uses its own unique technology of physical purification (The Narconon New Life Detoxification Program) and effective life skills courses designed to cleanse the addict s body and mind of toxins and teach them a new way to live. Q. What percentage of Narconon Program graduates remain drug-free? Narconon has had many studies conducted to gauge the Program s effectiveness. The Narconon Program has produced an average success rate of 70% for two years after Program completion. This compares to an average 10% success rate of traditional treatment Programs. Q. How long does the Program take to complete? The Narconon Program averages three months to complete. The time it takes to complete varies due to the extensiveness of the addict s problems, their literacy level and how hard they work throughout the program. Some have completed in 65 days, others have taken as long as 6 months. Q. Is Narconon part of the Church of Scientology or any other organized religion? No, the only affiliation is that the Narconon drug rehabilitation technology and the religion of Scientology are based on the works of the same man, L. Ron Hubbard. Narconon is a separate public benefit, non-profit corporation. It is not a religious organization and is nondenominational in its view of religion. The Narconon organization supports and acknowledges all religions that work to eradicate substance abuse, but is not corporately part of any religious organization Q. What are the qualifications of Narconon of Northern California staff? The primary counselors are accredited by the National Board of Addiction Examiners as Certified Chemical Dependency Counselors. Narconon of Northern California also has a registered nurse living on the property 24 hours a day. In addition, a large percentage of the staff are themselves former addicts and this makes for a greater understanding of the problems of addiction. Q. Is the Narconon Program covered by insurance? Every insurance plan is different, but in general terms, many companies will pay for part of the Narconon Program, provided the policy is not an HMO plan. Admissions: Watsonville Site: Placerville Site: drugfree@drugrehab.net 262 Gaffey Road, Watsonville, CA Narconon of Northern California. All rights reserved. Narconon and the Narconon logo are trademarks and service marks owned by the Association for Better Living and Education International and are used with its permission.