Synanon was initially a drug rehabilitation program founded by Charles Dederich Sr. (1913–1997) in 1958 in Santa Monica, California. 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". Synanon ultimately became the cultish Church of Synanon in the 1970s and the group disbanded finally in 1989 when the doors were closed by the Internal Revenue Service. Drug rehabilitation (often shortened to drug rehab) is an umbrella term for process of medical and/or psychotherapeutic treatment, for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and so-called street drugs such as cocaine, heroin or amphetamines. ... 1913 (MCMXIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII in Roman) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Santa Monica Pier Santa Monica is a coastal city in western Los Angeles County, California, USA, by the Pacific Ocean, south of Pacific Palisades and Brentwood, and north of Venice. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ... In religion and sociology, a cult is a cohesive group of people (often a relatively small and recently founded religious movement) devoted to beliefs or practices that the surrounding culture or society considers to be far outside the mainstream. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the United States government agency that collects taxes and enforces the tax laws. ...

Beginnings

Dederich was a reformed alcoholic and regular attendee at meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous who made an impression as a speaker on many attendees. Drug addicts were not accepted into the AA at that time so he created his own program to address their needs. This article needs cleanup. ... Alcoholics Anonymous (known commonly as A.A. or AA) is a world-wide fellowship of alcoholics whose stated primary purpose is to stay sober and to carry the message of recovery from alcoholism through the Twelve Steps. ...

Club Casa del Mar, at one time a Synanon facility, on the beach in Santa Monica, California (photo 2005).

Synanon began as a two-year residential program, but before long Dederich decided that members could never graduate, that full recovery was never possible. The community developed a business selling promotional items, a successful enterprise that generated roughly $10 million per year of revenue. The Club Casa del Mar, a large beachside 1926 hotel in Santa Monica, was purchased and used as a headquarters and dormitory for drug treatment. Children were reared communally in the Synanon School, and juveniles were often sent to Synanon by the courts. Professionals, with and without drug addictions, were eagerly invited and were expected to turn over their assets to the group. Control over members was imposed through the "Synanon Game". The "Synanon Game" could be considered a therapeutic tool, likened to group therapy, a social control, in which members humiliated one another and encouraged the exposure of one's innermost weaknesses, or both [1]. Beginning in the mid 1970s, women were required to shave their heads, married couples were made to break up and take new partners, males were given forced vasectomies, and a few pregnant women were even required to have abortions. Image File history File links Club Casa del Mar, at Pico Blvd and beach in Santa Monica, California. ... Image File history File links Club Casa del Mar, at Pico Blvd and beach in Santa Monica, California. ... 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Sterilization is a surgical technique leaving a male or female unable to procreate. ...

Lifetime rehabilitation concept

Beginning in 1974 the authorities began to question Synanon's promises and practices. The concept of "lifetime rehabilitation" did not agree with therapeutic norms, and it was alleged that the group was running an unauthorized medical clinic, and that on remote properties in California such as Tomales Bay in Marin County and Badger, Tulare County, the organization had built unpermitted buildings, a trash dump, and an airstrip. Tax issues came up. To dodge these accusations Dederich declared that Synanon was a tax exempt religious organization, the "Church of Synanon." 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1974 calendar). ... Tomales Bay Tomales Bay is a long narrow inlet of the Pacific Ocean in Marin County in northern California in the United States. ... Official website: http://www. ... The town of Badger, CA, belongs to the Cutler-Orosi Unified School District; High-School-Aged students who live in badger must ride a bus for about 23 miles to attend school. ... A tax exemption is an exemption to the tax law of a state or nation in which part of the taxes that would normally be collected from an individual or an organization are instead foregone. ...

The change did not make the problems disappear. Children assigned to Synanon began to run away, helped by an "underground railroad" that sought to return them to their parents. Beatings of opponents and ex-members, "splittees", occurred across the state. A Grand Jury in Los Angeles issued a scathing report in 1978 attacking Synanon for its child abuse and for the profits that flowed to Dederich, and also attacking authorities for their lack of oversight. Remarkably, the authorities still did nothing. Though local newspapers and broadcast media covered the case, they were largely silenced by lawsuits from Synanon lawyers charging libel. Those suits ultimately turned out to be Synanon's undoing, giving journalists access to internal documents. A grand jury is a type of common law jury responsible for investigating alleged crimes, examining evidence, and issuing indictments if they believe that there is enough evidence for a trial to proceed. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... Child abuse is the physical or psychological maltreatment of a child. ...

Criminal behavior

On March 20, 1978, a former member of Synanon was severely beaten (for being a "splittee") during his honeymoon when he took his bride to see where he had once lived on the Walker Creek Ranch. March 20 is the 79th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (80th in Leap years). ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... Italic textItalic textA honeymoon is the traditional trip taken by newlyweds to celebrate their marriage, and presumably, consummate it. ...

They also beat a neighbouring rancher who was helping children run away from Synanon and return to their parents.

On September 21 two members clubbed nearly to death an ex-member, Phil Ritter, who was a witness for Time magazine. Brain fluid leaked into his spine, and Ritter nearly died of spinal meningitis. He was in a coma for a week. (Clockwise from upper left) Time magazine covers from May 7, 1945; July 25, 1969; December 31, 1999; September 14, 2001; and April 21, 2003. ... Meningitis is inflammation of the membranes (meninges) covering the brain and the spinal cord. ... This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

On October 11, 1978 two Synanon members placed a rattlesnake (rattle removed) in the mailbox of an attorney in Pacific Palisades, California. The victim had successfully sued on behalf of a woman that Synanon had abducted. The lawyer was bitten and barely survived. October 11 is the 284th day of the year (285th in leap years). ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... Species 27 species; see list of rattlesnake species and subspecies. ... Pacific Palisades is a district within the city of Los Angeles, California located between Brentwood to the east, Malibu to the west, Santa Monica to the southeast, the Santa Monica Bay to the southwest, and the Santa Monica Mountains to the north. ...

Six weeks later the Los Angeles Police Department performed a search of the ranch in Badger that turned up a recorded speech by Dederich in which he said that ""We're not going to mess with the old-time, turn-the-other-cheek religious postures...our religious posture is: Don't mess with us. You can get killed dead, literally dead...these are real threats," he snarls. "They are draining life's blood from us and expecting us to play by their silly rules. We will make the rules. I see nothing frightening about it...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. That is the end of that lawyer. That is a very satisfactory, humane way of transmitting information....I really do want an ear in a glass of alcohol on my desk." [2] Parker Center-LAPDs Headquarters The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is the police department of the City of Los Angeles, California. ...

A drunken Dederich was arrested on December 2. The two other Synanon residents pleaded "no contest" to charges of assault and conspiracy to murder. While his associates went to jail, Dederich avoided imprisonment by formally stepping down as Chairman of Synanon. December 2 is the 336th day (337th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... In both criminal and civil trials in the United States, a plea of nolo contendere means that the defendant neither admits nor disputes the charge. ...

Much of the violence was carried out by a group within Synanon called 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. The Point Reyes Light is a weekly newspaper published since 1948 in western Marin County, California. ... Official website: http://www. ... The Pulitzer Prize for Public Service has been awarded since 1918 for a distinguished example of meritorious public service by a newspaper through the use of its journalistic resources which may include editorials, cartoons, and photographs, as well as reporting. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ...

Synanon struggled to survive without its leader and with a severely tarnished reputation. The Internal Revenue Service revoked the group's tax exemption and the properties were confiscated or sold. By the mid-1990s the community had essentially folded. Seal of the Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the United States government agency that collects taxes and enforces the tax laws. ... The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive. ...

Successes

Despite its faults, the Synanon program worked for many individuals. Among other successes, it is credited with curing (temporarily) heroin-addicted Jazz musicians Art Pepper, Frank Rehak and Joe Pass. The organization was touted by motivational speaker Florrie Fisher in her speeches to high schoolers, and she credited it with curing her of a heroin addiction. It also inspired more moderate, successful programs such as Delancey Street, co-founded by a former Synanon member. Many former members still value the positive aspects of Synanon, primarily its strong sense of community, and remain in close contact, personally or through online chat groups, and some even own businesses together. Jazz is an original American musical art form originating around the early 1920s in New Orleans, rooted in Western music technique and theory, and is marked by the profound cultural contributions of African Americans. ... Arthur Edward Pepper, Jr. ... Joe Pass (born Joseph Anthony Passalaqua, January 13, 1929, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA, died May 23, 1994, Los Angeles, California, USA), was a virtuoso jazz guitarist. ... A screen capture from Florrie Fishers 1970 public service announcement. ... Heroin or diacetylmorphine (INN) is a semi-synthetic opioid. ...

Synanon in Germany

A branch of Synanon founded in Germany in 1971 is still in operation.

Trivia

Charles Dederich is said to have coined the phrase "today is the first day of the rest of your life" [3][4]

External links

• A German offshoot of Synanon, in German.
• Rick A. Ross Institute (cult research).
• A site devoted to Synanon nostalgia, with links to other sites.
• The Devil and John Walker by Paul Morantz (the lawyer targeted for killing by Dederich), an article on brainwashing in coercive groups, including Synanon.