Nonprofit Group in 19 Prisons Help on Drug Use

To a drug addict, basic communication is with an arm and a needle. In 19 prisons across the country, however, these persons and other inmates are learning to communicate instead.

They participate in programs sponsored by Narconon, a nonprofit organization which uses a technology of prevention and rehabilitation to reduce drug abuse and crime.

Los Angeles, supervisor of Narconon, said, “I believe a lack of ability to communicate is an underlying cause of drug usage, crime, etc. Narconon helps the individual to handle life, to increase his or her ability to confront and experience it. The purpose of the program is to increase the inmate’s ability to communicate, to both give and receive.”

The program, which started in 1966 in the Arizona State Prison, emphasizes confrontation of reality, communication with one’s self and others and awareness of surroundings.