September 21, 1978 ex-member Phil Ritter, was severely beaten by two members, causing him to fall into a coma for a week. Learn: American Rehab resources The husband hired attorney Paul Morantz, who had recently finished a case against persons who had kidnapped skid row alcoholics and kept them on thorazine in nursing homes in order to bill the State. Originally a nonviolent group, Diedrich created the "Imperial Marines" to maintain orderwithin and outside of the community. People originally inspired by their CEDU experience developed or strongly influenced a significant number of the schools in the therapeutic boarding school industry. [citation needed]. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. [37][38][39], Mel Wasserman, influenced by his Synanon experience, founded CEDU Education. Founder of Synanon House for drug addicts Charles Dederich, Chuck Dederich stands by his new wife, Ginny, at Synanon branch in Marshall, California, Founder of Synanon House for drug addicts Charles Dederich (centre) and staff members during rehabilitation session, Drug addicts at Synanon House for rehabilitation, Donald Trump announces enhanced counter-narcotics crackdown on drug cartels amid the coronavirus crisis, Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). We will make the rules. Juveniles in the 70s were often sent to Synanon by juvenile agencies or by courts on juvenile officers recommendation. Curing dope fiends was what they wanted. The Marin County Supervisors, including Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein did not want to take a public position against Synanon as it was a constituent. To recruit needed non addict club members, Dederich created The Trip, forerunner of Werner Erhards est training, which was a combination of group psychotherapy, coercive persuasion, mysticism and old fashion spiritual revival. Publicly, Dederich warned that people should not mess with Synanon because the organization could not control its members. Yes, it is all true. (Dave Mitchell, The Light on Synanon; Gerstel, Paradise Inc.. Synanon Holy War file memos on beatings, Dr. Doug Robson letters, various police reports). (White vs. Butler, Herb Caen column, Pat Lynch, NBC Synanon segment 3.). [25] Initially Synanon did not support violence; Dederich later changed the rules to allow for violence in order to maintain control. [5] The group ultimately became a cult called the Church of Synanon in the 1970s. Synanon would possess its own fleet of trucks and automobiles, hundreds of motorcycles, a mini-armada of 21 boats, a squadron of ten airplanes and its own airstrip. The Story of This Drug Rehab-Turned-Violent Cult Is Wild, Wild Country-Caliber Bizarre . Synanon claimed it had cured thousands but by 1967 Dederich turned the organization into a "lifestyle" by recruiting non-addicts ("Squares") and building cities in Marin County, then Tulare County and eventually Lake Havasu. He studied on his own in a library and his AA speeches changed from typical religious overtones to a psychological/philosophy slant. Dederich officially declared it a Holy War. (Dederich letter to Mike Garrett, Synanon Holy War file, 1978 Board minutes of SynanonJady Dederich, Morantz vs Synanon, IRS vs. Synanon. During summer l978 California congressman, Herschel Rosenthal, a long-time Synanon supporter, attached a rider to a bill that if passed would exempt Synanon from all health licensing laws regardless of condition person taken in. Despite the Trip conversion success, the old-timers, the Retired Dope Fiends, aka The Walking Dead, remained a problem. [5] Outside of The Game, members were required to act civilly to each other. [40] The CEDU model was widely influential on the development of parent-choice, private-pay residential programs. Cole had received a court order to enroll in Synanon before she disappeared. The Trip was so successful that in only its second year the lifestylers business contributed $500,000. His successful prosecution of Synanon led to an attempt against his life, by means of a rattlesnake. This article is about the organization. Dederich was familiar with Waldens Pond and the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson and B. F. Skinner. 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. Skip to content It's Time for Morning Meeting Sharing our Synanon Stories Menu About Stories Contact Kids Places Faces Philosophy The End Early Days Work Play 'imperial marines 1978' Leave a Reply Cancel reply He wasn't wearing his contact lenses, so wandered over to inspect the "mystery" object, assuming it was a scarf. 81.169.224.1 That is a very satisfactory, humane way of transmitting information. Members were to confess in games and no secrets were allowed. Synanon is purported[by whom?] "But it wasn't too long before I knew it was true," Morantz says. Synanon is mentioned in Joan Didion's 1979 essay The White Album. The 1984 TV movie Attack on Fear, directed by Mel Damski, written by T.S. Synanon Holy War file memos on beating). [36], Synanon struggled to survive without its leader, and also with a severely tarnished reputation. Synanon organized groups called the "Imperial Marines" and the "National Guard," and called for "Holy War" against its enemies. Knowing away from the environment people were using, he closed the doors in l967 and ended the idea anyone should ever leave. Brainwashing is powerful enough to cure drug addiction while members remain subject to it. She has not been seen or heard from since. The city claimed it owned the beach front and rather than take the issue to court it sent police officers and bulldozers across the sand knocking down cabanas and paved courts. Some laughed, others howled and sobbed. It was just weeks after Morantz had won a $300,000 judgment against Synanon, a shady drug rehab facility that opened in Santa Monica in 1958. It would grow to become a well-funded utopian society throughout the late '60s and early '70s, before declaring itself a religion in 1974. . More than 80 people had been attacked by Synanon, Morantz said. Synanon fought and lost the action on summary judgment based on their own admissions in their internal records. The Imperial Marines was Synanon's private fighting force, trained inside the organization and heavily armed. In 1959, Synanon moved from their small storefront to an abandoned armory on the beach. Synanon emphasized tough love and a cold turkey approach to rehabilitation for substance abusers. The Internal Revenue Service revoked the organization's tax-exempt status and ordered them to pay $17 million in back taxes. Synanon A Los Angeles lawyer is attacked by a poisonous rattlesnake leading police to a bizarre cult veiled as a drug and alcohol rehab facility. Dederich was arrested for operating in Santa Monica without a health license and out of zone. (People vs. Dederich, Synanon memos on incident). The concept of lifetime rehabilitation did not agree with therapeutic norms, and eventually in l977 attorney Paul Morantz would bring to the Health Depts attention that the group was running an unauthorized medical clinic and taking in people with medical needs Synanon had no license to treat. Correcting Claire Clarks Recovery Revolution, Book Escape: My Life Long War Against Cults. I am quite willing to break some lawyer's legs, and next break his wife's legs, and threaten to cut their child's arm off. Did Synanon betray me an wound me? (Dederich, Act as If). In 1962 Dederich moved to an empty National Guard building on the beach in Santa Monica. Some Trippers began to hallucinate, Dederich having achieved his LSD replicated altered state of consciousness. On October 10, 1978, Morantz was bitten by a rattlesnake which had been placed in his Pacific Palisades home mailbox by two members of the Synanon Imperial Marines, Lance Kenton and Joe Musico. The school was headed by Al Bauman, who believed in an innovative philosophy and aimed to teach children in the same manner to think differently. Life Magazine did a 14 page photo spread, which a Congressman called the Miracle on the Beach, and Columbia Pictures made a movie Synanon, starring Edmond OBrien, Chuck Conners and Stella Stevens. (Time Magazine, Dec, 1977). According to court records, the cult formed a militant branch, known as the "Imperial Marines," to inflict violence against opponents of the organization. That is the end of that lawyer. Ultimately, it purchased an arsenal of high-powered weapons, developed its own security force and in an isolated concealed valley across its airfield called Depot Flats, it set up camp to train the Imperial Marines. The police told Synanon the kids were coming with them; the only question was how? A third defendant, Synanon founder Charles Dederich, earlier was put on . (Eidson v. Robson, Synanon; Synanon memos describing incident). Her daughter died in Synanon and the husband split. Eartha Kitt, right, giving dancing lessons, donated the proceeds from her classes to the Synanon House, aving an abortion is like squeezing a boil, nothing more. Dederich placed them in a 72 hour game (stew) and harangued them for not seeing his vision. He remarried, but alcohol did in that marriage, too. Read More. Men were given forced vasectomies, and a few pregnant women were forced to have abortions. Did Synanon save my life? While in The Game, members criticized each other, but left as friends and supportive community members. Synanon struggled to survive without its leader but with a severely tarnished reputation. Some rolled up on the floor in fetal positions. Journal of Humanistic Psychology 18.3 (1978): 320. IMPERIAL MARINES, AND DOPE FIENDS by George Pendle, Cabinet Magazine, Winter 2012-2013 . For the film, see, Synanon's influence in the behavior-modification field. The Conductor made it clear this was the resisters last chance. By the early 1960s it had become an alternative community as well, attracting people with its emphasis on living a self-examined life, as aided by group truth-telling sessions known as the "Synanon Game." Upon Synanons disobedience, 13 police vehicles surrounded the building and drew their weapons. (Morantz archives on Synanon, People vs Dederich, IRS vs. Synanon). The Guides, all experienced game players, turned each group from enthusiasm to a depression and defeat, wallowing in its collective shame. The program was based on testimony of fellow group members about their tribulations and urges of relapsing, and their journeys to recovery. ), On March 20, 1978, a former member of Synanon, Tom Cardineau was severely beaten (for being an alleged spy) while tied to a post during his honeymoon when he took his bride to show her where he had once lived on the Walker Creek Ranch. AN ULTRA-violent cult brainwashed addicts into shaving their heads, and enforced mass sterilizations in "Gestapo-like" demands. 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). (Synanon Holy War file, Robson letters, IRS vs. Synanon). 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. (Tony Lang, Synanon, Morantz archives on Synanon). [23], Beginning in 1964,[24] the legal authorities began to investigate Synanon's practices. It is currently active in Germany. Soon, Synanon owned properties across America; at Tomales Bay, it had a fleet of ships, and at the Badger property hundreds of motorbikes and trucks, not to mention an airstrip and a private plane. The Imperial Marines was Synanon's private fighting force, trained inside the organization and heavily armed. Synanon was initially a drug rehabilitation program founded by Charles "Chuck" Dederich Sr. ( 1913 - 1997) in 1958 in Santa Monica, California. "[7][8], Charles Dederich, a member of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), was known to speak for hours uninterrupted at AA meetings. Synanon evicted by tossing people and belongings out of apartments (even off a roof). Later the flies (Dederich trained youngsters) took over the attack. Mitchell developed a deep throat in the Sheriff department, Art Disterheft. [22] The Game served not only as Synanon's most prominent form of therapy and personal change, but also worked as a way for leaders to collect the opinions of community members. By 1991 the community had essentially folded. Though local newspapers and broadcast media covered the case, they were largely silenced by lawsuits from Synanon lawyers charging libel. Deadly Cults is back for a chilling second season, starting Sunday, April 26 at 7pm ET/PT on Oxygen. It is also referred to in the song "Opening Doors" from Stephen Sondheim's musical Merrily We Roll Along, which mentions it as a hypothetical song title in a satirical revue of the 1960s. Ten years after its founding,. Dederich declared they were better than the world and through his experimentation Synanon would lead the human race into the 21st Century. Dederich became an AA favorite speaker and went to an AA meeting every day. The squares were pushed to confess their prior loneliness and despair. Finally, during the third stage, members both worked and lived outside of the community, but still attended regular meetings. Daniel Gumbiner refers to this cult in his National Book Award-longlisted, The Boatbuilder. By the late 1970s, he'd formed a small army called the Imperial Marines, which committed dozens of heinous crimes, like mass beatings against defectors, whom Dederich called "splittees." Both were members of Synanon's 'Imperial Marines,' a security group within the drug and alcohol rehabilition organization. "Synanon: Toward Building a Humanistic Organization". The Department of Justice in the 80s, hiring Morantz and sociologist Richard Offshe as consultants, sued Synanon to remove its tax-free status retroactively for committing a reign of terrorism. [31] NBC continued with a series of reports on the Synanon situation on the NBC Nightly News. He recalled: "Chuck Dederich walked in, and he said 'I'm tired of these guys coming in this place. This bankrupted Synanon, which formally dissolved in 1991. Childbirth said Dederich, was no more important than squeezing out a football. Declaring Synanon a religion (shades of L. Ron Hubbard! Outsiders were permitted to attend the "Synanon Game" there as well. Copyright Paul Morantz. He was found passed out on a kitchen floor and was told, "Fatso," if you . [10][11] Dederich declared when he moved to The Home Place in Badger he did not want ex dope fiends around him (Gerstel, Paradise Inc.). The Marines were led by Dr. Douglas Robson who would eventually flee in fear of arrest and set up practice in Seattle. [citation needed]. (Robson card, Morantz memorandum). View our online Press Pack. "[28] During the investigations researchers also came across multiple lawsuits and arrests against Synanon members. Morantz had prepared for that. (Tony Lang, Synanon). You can get killed dead, literally deadthese are real threats, he snarls. Males were forced in games to have vasectomies performed by Synanon doctors, and a few pregnant women were even required to have an abortion. (Tony Lang, Synanon, Morantz archives on Synanon). Disoriented by lack of sleep, each was moved to the point of intense disillusionment. Dederich was arrested while drunk on December 2, 1978. (Berkeley Gazette l978, Mitchell, Light on Synanon). It was a game because one being gamed could turn the game on another. Lance Kenton was sentenced to a year in prison. [22] During this practice, members were encouraged to be critical of everything, using harsh and profane language. Dederich preached Act as If which meant do not try to reason as to what Synanon asks they do; as thinking got them there, just trust what they were told and act as if it is right. Synanon was allowed to have members kick addiction cold turkey without drugs. Synanon is a US-founded social organization created by Charles E. "Chuck" Dederich Sr. in 1958 in Santa Monica, California, United States. He later founded AREBA, the oldest surviving private addiction treatment centre in the United States, as well as Daytop Village, one of the world's largest therapeutic communities. Dederich and his wife sat on thrones and often wore robs. Drug users started coming, and the alcoholics objected, and since there was already AA Dederich tossed out the drunks and kept the dope fiends. A members sluring the words symposium and seminar led to name Synanon. Dig Deeper Listen: The American Rehab podcast series Read: Reveal's reporting on All Work, No Pay. Abused Children assigned to Synanon began running away, helped by an underground railroad, led by neighboring rancher Alvin Gambonini, who sought to return them to their parents. Much of the violence was carried out by the Imperial Marines. The tiny Point Reyes Light, a weekly newspaper in Marin County, received the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 1979 on account of its coverage of Synanon when other news outlets avoided covering the group. Some believe Bettys Death unleashed Dederichs fury. You will learn more about yourself, your fellow man, the world, the nature of reality in one weekend than you would in four years. In 1974 Synanon declared itself a religion and centered on middle-class searching for utopia rather than addict curing. (Gerstel, Paradise, Inc.). He existed on a $35 unemployment check and charity from others. Hang Tough and Dederich pulled on everyone to stay, promising that a great future would emerge. When members kicked and their shakes disappeared many were told their problems were they still loved their mothers and were given suggested mates for holding power. Recovering alcoholic Charles 'Chuck' Dederich founded Synanon in 1958 to provide substance abuse reform to drug users as well as alcoholics in Santa Monica, California. 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. He had outsmarted Synanon and its team of lawyers. The broken joined the attack. Synanon, is the first ever self helpno doctors drug rehabilitation program, founded by Charles Chuck Dederich Sr. (19131997) in 1958 in Santa Monica, California. Synanon sought religious status in 1974, with Diedrich as its leader. They survived by begging stale food from catering trucks, hookers doing tricks and donations. The group attracted thousands of drug addicts and eventually accepted juvenile delinquents who were ordered by the courts to receive Synanon's services - for a fee of course. ( Dederich tapes on Synanon history; Tony Lang, Synanon, Guy Endore, Synanon, Gerstel Paradise, Inc). Their armed security was known as the Imperial Marines. 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. 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. Marino said: "I thought they were going to kill us.". Beatings of opponents, alleged thieves and ex-members ( splittees) occurred across the country. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. He volunteered for a Dr. Keith Ditman LSD experiment and felt he had a cathartic break through and now understood the world and that good and bad were the same. It will produce a new breed of human beings with greatly expanded potentials. Crying, Trippers embraced, feeling euphoria and transcending love. Men were given forced vasectomies, and a few pregnant women were forced to have abortions. A big shot would advise the Trippers they were not really chosen as an honor, but each was really selected because each was a resister, thinking he or she knew better the direction Synanon should go, part of the dummies that hold Synanon back. Maybe, Dederich said, one day we will just put dingbats like you against the wall and wash them off and bring them back into the human race. (Tony Lang, Synanon, Morantz archives on Synanon). He decided to move to Santa Monica and become a beach bum. 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. The concept of "lifetime rehabilitation" did not agree with therapeutic norms, and it was alleged[by whom?] Morantz had successfully brought suit on behalf of a woman abducted by Synanon, winning a $300,000 judgment, obtained release of children, gave information to the press and lobbied (defeating) another Synanon bill written by Herschel Rosenthal. The couple claimed that the wife had been held captive by Synanon and that during her stay, leaders at Synanon had attempted to brainwash her. Several weeks later, October 10, 1978, two Synanon members placed a de-rattled rattlesnake in the mailbox of attorney Paul Morantz in Pacific Palisades, California. Dederich would elsewhere declare that if you kept people up long enough you can make them believe anything (Deposition of Charles Dederich, Morantz vs Synanon, Morantz archives on Synanon. The organization developed a business that sold promotional items, a successful enterprise that eventually generated roughly $10 million per year of revenue. These are real threats", he snarled. "By July and August, I realized what Id stepped into, but it was too late to get out of it.. Teeth were knocked out. But he nearly lost his life as a result of his investigation into Synanon. synanon imperial marines. Robson wrote back the mission was accomplished (Garfield-Robson letters). Restaurants near Hotel Imperial, Amsterdam on Tripadvisor: Find traveler reviews and candid photos of dining near Hotel Imperial in Amsterdam, North Holland Province. Neighbors complained fearing Synanon would unleash non-recovered addicts into Santa Monica who came from other areas. The group is featured in the 2021 book Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by American linguist Amanda Montell. And there was no way that its leader was going to share any of that with the taxman. But Synanon still remains the Granddaddy of all drug rehabs, the failure that launched an industry, its failure teaching us more than whatever its success had (Richard Ofshe, The Failure that spurned an Industry). The main character discusses a drug rehabilitation cult "The Church of Niebor," which is based on Synanon.[46]. Members were taught that if caught on a violent mission to go to jail and to not blame Synanon. They would adopt the Synanon family, said the board, or the fifth circle in Dantes hell, where tormented souls are terrorized and torn, awaited them. On June 13, 1977 it was decided that the Imperial Marines would help teach doctors martial arts. (Defendant's Statement of Material Facts at 68-74, 108-09.) . Synanon was also developing a paramilitary organization that included two police forces (the Imperial Marines and the National Guard). He aimed to ensnare patients to remain in Synanon forever, and create a utopian society of his own design. That is a very satisfactory, humane way of transmitting information. Montell's father was a member as a child and spoke freely to Amanda about his experience in Synanon. Much of the violence by Synanon had been carried out by a group within Synanon called the "Imperial Marines". Escape From Cielo Drive (A Tale of Three Charlies) The strange tale of Charlies Manson, Charles Watson and the suggested unknown forewarnings of an eventual murder attempt on my life through similar circumstance. As a result of its poor conduct, Santa Monica surrendered and Synanon became untouchable. When all were exhausted Dederich returned and offered forgiveness for surrender. Beatings of Synanon's opponents and its ex-members, "splittees", occurred across California. During the first stage, members did community and housekeeping labor. 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