Narconon® Canada Drug Rehabilitation and Prevention

On August 2, 1965, after having read the book Fundamental of Thought, by L. Ron Hubbard, William Benitez, an inmate at the Arizona State Prison, made a life-changing choice by jumping down from his double bunk bed and noting on his calendar: “Decision to set up Narcotic Foundation.” He wanted to establish an effective drug rehabilitation program inside the prison walls, and soon. So, he circled the 18th of the same month, which was his target date to approach prison officials for their permission.

After the officials received Mr. Benitez’s request, they came to the conclusion that a program consisting of twenty convicted drug addicts would only aggravate the prison’s security issues. These types of drug rehabilitation programs were indeed rare during that decade. The officials stood by their decision for the following six months, without realizing that this request from a repeatedly convicted and habitual drug addict would become one of the nation’s most successful drug rehabilitation programs for substance abuse.

Mr. Benitez’s persistence and determination eventually convinced the officials that a drug rehabilitation program was greatly needed and would not pose a threat to the safe and orderly operation of the prison. After running the program on a trial basis, William Benitez founded the Narconon program (Narco-tics, Non-e) on February 19, 1966.

Shortly after founding the Narconon program, William Benitez researched his court conviction and discovered he had been tried under the wrong statute and was sentenced in excess of that prescribed by law. Upon return to court, Mr. Benitez was advised that he could conceivably be re-sentenced to time served and be released based on his eighteen months already served because of the miscarriage of justice.

The Narconon program developed inside the prison walls was only a few months old at the time, which worried Mr. Benitez as he believed the program would collapse if he left the prison. To accomplish this, he requested a smaller sentence, instead of petitioning for his immediate release. The court re-sentenced him to four to six years, leaving him sixteen months to serve. This allowed Mr. Benitez to fully implement the Narconon program and develop it to its full capacity. When looking back, he states, “It was the best, but toughest decision I ever made in my life. I would have loved to walk away from that court a free man.”

The general public became aware of the existence of the Narconon program after reporters from the Arizona Daily Star secured permission from the prison warden to interview the inmate who requested to be returned inside the prison walls. Deeply interested in the story, the Star published a thorough two-part series on the Narconon program in August 1966. Following this, the TV Channel 10 News from Phoenix brought its cameras to the prison to interview Mr. Benitez and other members of the Narconon program and to observe how it functioned.

Upon completion of his prison term, Mr. Benitez was released in October 1967. Afterwards, he moved to California to expand the Narconon organization and make it easily available for individuals in need. L. Ron Hubbard and his organizations supported his efforts, which resulted in worldwide expansion.

"The addict has been found not to want to be an addict, but is driven by pain and environmental hopelessness... As soon as an addict can feel healthier and more competent mentally and physically without drugs than he does on drugs, he ceases to require drugs."

— L. Ron Hubbard

Several years later, Mr. Benitez returned to Arizona and was hired in 1981 as an Inmate Liaison by the former Arizona Department of Corrections Director, Ellis McDougall. Until his death in 1999, he served as a Hearing Officer on inmate complaints for the Corrections Director at Central Headquarters.

Today, the Narconon program has expanded from that one program in the Arizona State Prison to community programs in numerous countries such as France, Sweden, Germany, Holland, Denmark, Italy, Spain, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Russia, Brazil, Mexico, Switzerland, Colombia, New Zealand, Ghana, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Taiwan, Indonesia, Australia, Argentina, the United States of America and Canada.