The original name was The Tender Loving Care Club. In 1967, Synanon purchased the Club Casa del Mar, a large beachside hotel in Santa Monica, as its headquarters and a dormitory for those undergoing treatment for drug addiction. Brainwashing is powerful enough to cure drug addiction while members remain subject to it. Those suffering from addictions to illegal drugs were not always welcomed into AA because it was considered that their addiction issues were significantly different from those suffered by alcoholics. Synanon is purported[by whom?] Social scientists flocked to see for themselves, while Hollywood came out with the film Synanon in 1965, starring Edmond O'Brien as Charles and Eartha Kitt as Betty. [10][11] In 1959, Synanon moved from their small storefront to an abandoned armory on the beach. 40 years ago, Synanon, a cult with a violent past, moved into Havasu. In response to these accusations, Dederich declared that Synanon was a tax exempt religious organization, the "Church of Synanon". 81.169.224.1 Dig Deeper Listen: The American Rehab podcast series Read: Reveal's reporting on All Work, No Pay. Addicts behaviors and past lives were attacked viciously in games, members were told their lives depended on staying, contacts with family were prohibited, and a system of rewards and punishments was applied. Men were given forced vasectomies, and a few pregnant women were forced to have abortions. "Synanon House A Consideration for Its Implications on American Correction". (Synanon board minutesJady Dederich, Wendall Stamps Imperial Marine diary, People vs. Dederich, IRS vs, Synanon). Dederich also created an armed wing within Synanon called the Imperial Marines, and ordered those within the unit to prevent any of the residents from leaving. LOS ANGELES -- Thirteen past and present members of Synanon, the controversial drug and alcohol rehabilitation organization, surrendered in court Tuesday on two secret indictments charging them. In the 1970s, two men were run off the road near one of their properties. Remarkably, the authorities refused to intercede. He had outsmarted Synanon and its team of lawyers. Synanon Holy War file memos on beating). Synanon members were instructed in writing to physically harm others, take responsibility for it and never reveal Synanons involvement. "But it wasn't too long before I knew it was true," Morantz says. [42], The author, journalist and activist Maia Szalavitz claims to chart the influence of Synanon in other programs including Phoenix House, Straight, Incorporated and Boot Camps in addition to those mentioned above. Neighbors complained fearing Synanon would unleash non-recovered addicts into Santa Monica who came from other areas. [36], Synanon struggled to survive without its leader, and also with a severely tarnished reputation. With its sudden fame, by early 1964 Synanon had also become an alternative community, attracting people with its emphasis on living a self-examined life, as aided by group truth-telling sessions known as the Synanon Game. With its new wealth, they started building its first city in Marin County (Tomales Bay). Did Synanon save my life? Dederich placed them in a 72 hour game (stew) and harangued them for not seeing his vision. After several inquiries into their practices and financial holdings, Board of Directors passed declaration which made Synanon . Aired: 06/14/2020 TV-14 | 2 years left Season 2 - Episodes 43:49 S2 - E1 Spiritual Warriors 43:49 Synanon struggled to survive without its leader but with a severely tarnished reputation. The school attracted lawyers, screenwriters, and business executives, all wanting to educate their children in a progressive environment. They acted as "the punch" of the Imperial Starfleet. [14][22], The game turned into a 72-hour version and was admitted by Dederich to be brainwashing. They are draining lifes blood from us and expecting us to play by their silly rules. In the 1970s, two men were run off the road near one of their properties. Declaring Synanon a religion (shades of L. Ron Hubbard! This made him a public hero and Governor Edmund Brown, Sr. signed a save Synanon bill giving Synanon an exemption from Health licensing laws. Bombs, he would say in l978 to news reporter Connie Chung (CBS NEWS l978), could go off in homes of critics (Deposition of Dederich, Synanon vs. Time, Inc.; Synanon vs. ABC). Synanons goal, Dederich said, was to lead the world into the 21st Century and anything less than changing the world is Mickey Mouse. (Morantz archives on Synanon, Gerstel, Paradise Inc.). On Oct. 10, 1978, Morantz was bitten by a rattlesnake left in his Pacific Palisades home mailbox by two members of the Synanon Imperial Marines. Lance Kenton was sentenced to a year in prison. Beginning in the mid-1970s, women in Synanon were required to shave their heads, and married couples were made to break up and take new partners. She has not been seen or heard from since. The game was eventually used to pressure people to submit to Dederich's will, abort pregnancies, undergo vasectomies, and commit violence. The Associate Press did a study of Synanons efforts to discourage the press (AP Study on Synanon Retraction Program). Paul Morantz got the court order giving Ms. White custody, but Synanon refused to turn them over. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. These changes led Synanon to its then certain fate. Returning to. (Tony Lang, Synanon, Morantz archives on Synanon). (Dave Mitchell, The Light on Synanon). As a condition of probation, he was disallowed from taking part in managing Synanon. In 1974 Synanon declared itself a religion and centered on middle-class searching for utopia rather than addict curing. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, In 1975-Oakland, CA- more than 500 women from Synanon communities throughout California shaved their heads, Members of Synanon have their head shaved in 1969, Synanon, poster: Richard Conte (cigarette left), Edmond O'Brien (top head), Alex Cord (arm outstretched), Stella Stevens (bare shoulder), Eartha Kitt (bottom right), 1965, Synanon founder Charles Dederich was arrested in Arizona on a California warrant charging suspicion of conspiracy and solicitation to commit murder in the rattlesnake attack of a Los Angles lawyer, The name was chosen when a member slurred the words 'Symposium' and 'Seminar', explains, Members of Synanon at the North Beach branch have a party to celebrate the 1,000 live-in member, April 4, 1968. spread throughout California, and Synanon became a counter-culture community by 1964. more than 1,300 members - resulting in a healthy bank balance, as its assets totaled about $33 million. The Trippers, many of whom had been awake for 65 or more hours, were hugged and cheered. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. Synanon, is the first ever self help-no doctors- drug rehabilitation program, founded by Charles "Chuck" Dederich Sr. (1913-1997) in 1958 in Santa Monica, California. Was it a wonderful place to be? [7], Dederich eventually changed his way of thinking about Synanon and transformed it into something resembling a human progressive group. Dederich was arrested while drunk on December 2, 1978. George Orwells l984 had arrived early. Members were to confess in games and no secrets were allowed. By BRANDON MESSICK Bmessick@havasunews.com Dec 9, 2018 Updated Aug 21, 2022 2 Stay Informed.. Hollywood Park: A Memoir, by Mikel Jollett (founder of The Airborne Toxic Event) was published in May 2020 and describes Jollett's life in, and escape from Synanon. Synanon lawyer Howard Garfield ordered Marine head Dr. Douglas Robson to collect all Synanon memos describing their violence and transfer them to legal department so attorney client privilege would attach. He and his family were represented by Paul Morantz and Ed Martin in a civil suit. As a result of its poor conduct, Santa Monica surrendered and Synanon became untouchable. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. A Grand Jury in Marin County, pushed by Paul Morantz, issued a scathing report in March of 1978 attacking Synanon for its child abuse and for the profits that flowed to Dederich, weapons, threat and also attacking authorities for their lack of oversight. Curing dope fiends was what they wanted. Several weeks after NBC began receiving threats, on October 10, 1978, two Synanon members placed a de-rattled rattlesnake in the mailbox of attorney Paul Morantz of Pacific Palisades, California. Tax issues arose. (Dederich tape: The Freebies are Over; Arizona vs. Home Place Inc., Morantz archives on Synanon. These lawsuits ultimately turned out to be a large part of Synanon's undoing, by giving journalists access to Synanon's own internal documents. Several of the famous jazz musicians credited with cure returned to drugs. Their last hope. Outsiders were permitted to attend the "Synanon Game" there as well. Synanon disbanded in 1991[6] due to members being convicted of criminal activities (including attempted murder) and retroactive loss of its tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) due to financial misdeeds, destruction of evidence, and terrorism. A hoop-a-la began (Synanons dance). (Marin Grand Jury Report on Synanon l978). Synanon expanded an old Trans-Pacific Marconi RCA radio station in Tomales Bay now Marconi Conference Center State Historical Park. The New York psychiatrist Daniel Casriel M.D. This included taking vengeance against former Synanon members. During a bout of paranoia where he would not leave his room, he read Emersons Self Reliance and using it as a bible he quit his job to devout full time to cleaning up other Alcoholics. In not too long of a time, Synanon commenced training the Imperial Marines in Depot Flats in the Badger Mountains and then attacked over 40 people (some attacks were before Marines trainedDederich, New Religious Posture, Dont Fuck with Synanon. One just had to surrender to Synanon. While his associates went to jail, Dederich avoided imprisonment by pleading no contest to conspiracy to commit murder, agreeing as part of probation to formally step down as Chairman of Synanon and agreed to have nothing to do with running Synanon. "It's kind of like saying you can't go to therapy," Nolan told reporters outside the courtroom. CEDU's schools used the confrontation model of Synanon. (Synanon vs. KGO, Los Angeles Times archives, CBS News archives)/ Law suits brought by Morantz, and ones by Synanon against ABC and Time Magazine ultimately turned out to be Synanons undoing, giving through legal investigation journalists access to some internal documents on violence. The 1950s were a time when incarceration was considered the only cure for drug addiction. Dederich is credited with coining the phrase Today is the First Day of the Rest of Your Life. (Casriel, So Fair a House, Yablonski, The Tunnel Back: Guy Endore, Synanon; Charles Dederich tapes on history of Synanon). He is known for taking legal cases alleging brainwashing by cults, self-help groups and for sexual misconduct by psychotherapists. Old Trans-Pacific Marconi RCA radio station in Tomales Bay now Marconi Conference Center State Historical Park from online.. By psychotherapists Ron Hubbard jazz musicians credited with coining the phrase Today is the first Day of Imperial! 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