Category Archives: NA Meeting Photos

Bogus Labeling Of Adolescents As Addicts And Having A Brain Disease

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All this talk about Whitney Houston’s death has brought out a plethora of talking 12 step heads hyperventilating about how addiction is a life long disease and the children of addicts have “The Gene”. This can become a self fulfilling prophecy. Dr Drew and Jane Velez-Mitchell are all over TV spouting lots of information as if it is fact.

The fact is many people do not agree with the 12 step dogma at all. What is most upsetting though is how they are stigmatizing our children into thinking they have a disease and inherited a gene from there addicted parents.
The Fix has an excellent article about this below.

We need to stand up to this 12 step madness and save the kids from emotional harm from this brainwashing from 12 step zealots.

How a Bogus Addiction Panic is Criminalizing Our Kids
The new official definition of addiction will likely label many more young Americans with the disease. Do we really want to dump this on the next generation?

By Maia Szalavitz
02/15/12

The DSM V—the next edition of psychiatry’s diagnostic bible—will redefine addiction in ways likely to have long-lasting, real-world consequences. As I explored in my column last week, psychiatrists are eliminating the seriously problematic terms “Substance Abuse” and “Substance Dependence” and placing all related conditions into a single new category: “Substance Use and Addictive Disorders.”

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Indeed, research shows that some people who meet the full criteria for alcoholism or addiction can return to controlled use—though this proportion decreases as severity of the problem increases. The data also shows that a large proportion of people who would currently be diagnosed as “substance dependent” recover without any type of treatment or self-help involvement at all.

In short, no one can predict which college drunk will go on to skid row—and which one will become President.

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Even now, however, a great deal of treatment energy and time is currently aimed at trying to get people in recovery to admit that they have “the disease of addiction” and to label themselves as “addicts” or “alcoholics” in therapy groups. Counselors and other staff press clients to confess to a greater and greater problem severity, due to the pervasive suspicion that most people with addiction lie about how much they use. (This continues to be done in the face of research showing that doing so does not benefit recovery—if anything, “confronting denial” is linked with more relapse, not less.)

This push to adopt an addict identity happens even in adolescent treatment— despite the fact that most teens in treatment do not meet criteria for being addicted (some don’t even meet criteria for drug abuse!). Indeed, the vast majority are, not surprisingly, nondaily binge users of booze and pot. Nonetheless, at ever-younger ages, these kids are being pressured to view themselves primarily as addicts and alcoholics and to admit to having a chronic, lifelong illness with a 90% chance of relapse. Very little research has been done on the effects of this “treatment”—but given what we know about the fluidity of adolescent identity, it certainly has the potential to do significant harm.

For one, it can be a self-fulfilling prophecy—and I’ve spoken with quite a few people who have gone into adolescent treatment as marijuana users and emerged as cocaine or prescription drug misusers, in part because they felt that they were “already addicts anyway.” Second, since research cannot predict which teens will outgrow their problems and which will have a chronic course, does it really make sense to have them all embrace a stigmatized identity centered around a disease?

Bogus Labeling Of Teens As Addicts

The Complete Article-
http://www.thefix.com/content/addiction-definition-phony-epidemic-DSMV8765

Scientology Scams and the Predatory Cult Of Narconon

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Warning to those thinking they are seeking out Narcotics Anonymous and stumble across Narconon ads in the US, Canada or abroad- BEWARE!  People getting involved with AA or NA will have enough problems with those Organizations without having to get harmed by this arm of Scientology.

Narconon – Predatory Cult

Posted on January 21, 2012
“The lucrative market for predatory cults and interventionists to fill their coffers with fast cash appears to be expanding faster than a get rich quick, pyramid scheme. A simple Google search for an “interventionist” or “addiction help”, immediately entraps the vulnerable into the money machine of cons and quackery.” A recent Narconon documentary exposing the health risks and dangers at Narconon and Scientology in Quebec, has stirred an ongoing controversy, resulting in government intervention at Narconon Trois-Rivieres. The Ministry of Health and Social Services is investigating numerous complaints arising from patients being mistreated and abused. The Quebec Human Rights Commission is moving forward with several cases, including Narconon exploiting disabled patients, forced labour without remuneration, as well as intimidation and other abuses. http://narcononcanada.com/2012/01/21/narconon-predatory-cult/

Narconon Scam- ‘Narconon websites and brochures profess that Narconon has qualified professional counselors who tend to the individual needs of each patient, when, in fact, many of these Narconon “counselors” have no training whatsoever, except for the Scientology courses taken at each Narconon and a certificate printed in fancy colors. This alone is what Narconon means by “certified counselor”.   As a Narconon Trois-Rivières patient and staff member, I experienced my private life being stripped away and my dignity reduced to a state of obedience under the control of Scientology gradient indoctrinations. As a staff member, I enrolled in the Scientology-Narconon courses to help suffering patients lead a drug free life — I cared with my entire being. To become a course room supervisor was an easy task, although extremely boring, and most of the training material made absolutely no sense as far as drug treatment and rehab therapies are concerned. Listening to 12 hours of tape recordings by the founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard, was a prescription equivalent to a handful of Valium or bottle of barbiturates; my efforts to avoid falling asleep failed me on several occasions. As a former owner/operator of a rehab facility back in the early 1990’s, I wondered what the hell this absurd course had to do with treating addicts. For twelve days, I listened to Hubbard ramble on about his photography experiences and I had to “word-clear”ridiculous words such as “nomenclature”, “it”, “the”, etc. — having to define with dictionary-like perfection what these words mean. “Oh, this should really help a distraught, suffering addict,” I mused. I later learned that it was all about being able to control others, as well as obeying the control commands of superiors. A gradient of brainwashing may well be the best way to describe this process. When patients complete the Narconon program, which consists of studying eight Scientology books with Narconon stamped on them and completing the toxic sauna Purification Rundown, many are more confused and unable to cope than when they first arrived. In this vulnerable state, being recruited onto staff by a keen Scientology staff member is no big chore. “Saving lives” is the motto each morning at the military-style roll-call. Playing God in a science-fiction adventure of deception and abuse may be a fitting way to describe the plot of the Narconon story.’ http://narcononcanada.com/2012/02/01/narconon-aftercare-relapses/ Narconon on the Rip Off Report- http://www.ripoffreport.com/directory/Narconon.aspx

DAYTONA BEACH NA MEMBER THREATENS THE LIVES OF CITIZENS IN SUNRISE PARK HOLLY HILL FLORIDA

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PHOTO- Daytona Beach Narcotics Anonymous / Alcoholics Anonymous Member, Sunrise Park Holly Hill Florida    

The day was November 21st 2010 in Volusia County, Sunrise Park in Holly Hill Florida. The local community had rented the pavilion for a Thanksgiving celebration cookout. It was a beautiful Sunday morning, and there were ribbons around the pavilion to notify others it had been reserved. Law abiding, local business owners and well respected long time residents were preparing to cook a turkey. Steve who had recently run for the position of Mayor of Holly Hill and had been a long time Boy Scout Master was there to cook the turkey.

At around 11:00 a.m., when The Daytona Beach Area Narcotics Anonymous members were starting to arrive for their Sunday meeting, many NA members were quite upset that the citizens of Holly Hill had actually rented the pavilion. Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous continually refuse to pay rent to secure the pavilion for their scheduled meetings. It was available to rent for those that chose to pay the City of Holly Hill the required fees to reserve it for November 21st 2010.

We were unprepared and shocked for what happened next. A tall biker guy named Terrence, actually walked into the center of the pavilion and started to flex his muscles as if he were Hulk Hogan. He said the words from a beatles song that went,  ” Bang, Bang Maxwell silver hammer came down upon her head, Bang bang Maxwell silver hammer made sure she was dead ” while he continued to flex his muscles. Terrence then did a bow to those of us in the pavilion and said, ” I am feeling generous today and will allow you to live another day!”. Needless to say all of us were pretty shocked.

Pictures were taken of this man as he was leaving. He turned and flipped us the bird in a very menacing manner. He then went to his motorcycle and came BACK into the pavilion a 2nd time and told a local Holly Hill citizen, who was a court employee, that he could squash him like a bug. He took out his cell phone, got in our faces and started to take pictures of us. Then he walked over to the NA meeting that was taking place in another part of the park. The Holly Hill Police were called and 3 officers responded to the call. What a relief (we thought).

Little did we know that we would be revictimized again by the very police officers that were called to protect us. They started questioning us in a very hostile tone. Officer Thornton kept demanding to know why we were there. Puzzled by their hostile and odd behavior we kept explaining to her that we had rented the pavilion for a Thanksgiving cookout. We showed them the big Turkey that we were cooking as well. The police were asked by one of the victim’s “is there a problem with the citizens renting out the pavilion? ” Officer Thornton answered quickly, that she thought it was ” MALICIOUS” to rent the pavilion! This was one of many inappropriate and shocking comments coming from Officer Thornton and the other policeman. ( Formal complaints have been filed against Officer Thornton and The Holly Hill Police Department). Officer Angelo Alexogiannis stated that he used to work at The Stewart Marchman Rehab Center and sympathized with the NA members. They showed no concern or interest whatsoever for our safety, or in what had just happened. They exhibited a strong bias in favor of the NA group. They seemed to be joined at the hip. Later it started to make more sense as we learned of Officer Thornton’s own colorful background.

When we had identified the man who had harassed and threatened us, the police said that they knew who he was. They then went over to the large NA meeting taking place and talked and laughed with them a bit, including the member that threatened and harassed us. The officers came back and said to stay away from one another, and allowed this man to remain at the park! He was not arrested or trespassed from the park. One officer asked if their was anything else he could do. We asked if charges could be pressed for threatening us. They said no, there was nothing we could do. Could we fill out a report? No-we could not fill out a report.Then Officer Angelo Alexogiannis was asked if he would at least fill out a report stating what had happened. He promised he would indeed do that.

Well this initially put a damper on the festivities, we made the best out of it and enjoyed a delicious Thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings. It was enjoyed by many from the local community.

The following week the police report was requested from the Holly Hill PD. There was a report # given and the incident call, but no actual report. We were later told by staff that the officer decided not to do a report after all! This was  knowing that a report was requested and it had been promised. This appears to be an attempt to cover up the incident to protect the image of Daytona Narcotics Anonymous and the identity of Terrence, the long time NA member that harassed us.

To our complete surprise there were 2 incidents that day at the park. One had a report and the other did not. Both of them shocked us. Where local citizens were threatened there was no report, only a short statement in the incident log stating that the incident was caused by the victim who was threatened and called the police! Also, even though the police stated they knew who the perpetrator was and spoke to him, they did not put his name in the incident log. It’s a good thing citizens were wise enough to get the licence plate of the man,and were able to identify him, Terrence T. This was another rude awaking as to how the police were protecting the NA members, and what a cozy relationship they had with them. We knew then, that the Holly Hill PD and Chief Mark Barker were not going to protect the citizens and local business owners from the harassment and threats by NA members.

Then there was the 2nd report. A woman named Danielle went to the police station later in the afternoon on the day of the incident and filed a report stating that a woman was following her 8 year old daughter around the park with a video camera! At the time it was was not known, but it became clear in the following months that Danielle was the treasurer for the entire Daytona Area Narcotics Anonymous. No where in the report did she state any connection to the earlier incident or that she was affiliated with NA.This was a false report filed by Danielle. This is a crime. She said in her report that the person who she accused of filming her daughter was the lady who owned the store across the street. The owner of the store across the street just happened to be the same person that called the police on Terrence the NA member, and was part of the Thanksgiving party at the pavilion. The owner of the store did not own a video camera. No pictures were taken of her daughter, and certainly the owner was not following a child around taking pictures! This was an obvious attempt by Danielle to start her initial process of setting up the convenience store owner for retaliation. Diabolical indeed! Mark Barker went along with it hook line and sinker. This was the beginning of Danielle making multiple false accusations when calling police against the owner, along with lying to the the commissioners at a City Hall meeting, stating we were dumping cigarette butts on the ground, and blaming it on NA members was just one of the outlandish claims.

Citizens asked to fill out a report that November 21st day, we were denied this right. Yet Danielle was able to waltz into the police department later and file a false police report, which was very oddly written. Neither the police or Danielle were too worried about it, as no one ever came to talk to the owner of the store who was accused of following a child in the park and videotaping her. You would think that a concerned mother would ask the person themselves why they were taking pictures of their daughter, if it actually happened. Of course that was another lie. Danielle is not the mother of the child she was referring to to but her Aunt. She is the daughter of her brother who has a lengthy criminal background.

We soon realized the depth that Holly Hill PD would go to protect NA / AA members. NA members were fabricating stories and lying about the events of that day. Then Narcotics Anonymous World Services in California said that their policy was to do nothing about criminal matters by their own members. We then knew the extent of what we were up against. NAWS advice was to just call the police and that this was a police matter and has nothing to do with them. Well that was, and still is a joke as time would continue to demonstrate the bias of the Holly Hill PD. We knew then that a grass roots effort had to be initiated to expose this fiasco.

Photo of Daytona NA Member Terrence coming back into the pavilion a second time and threatening to squash a citizen like a bug.