Synanon
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| for-profit | |
| Genre | new religious movement |
| Founded | 1958 |
| Founder | Charles Dederich, Sr. |
| Defunct | 1991 |
| Headquarters | Santa Monica, California |
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Key people
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Charles Dederich, Sr. |
| Products | drug rehabilitation |
| Subsidiaries | Synanon Branch, Germany |
The Synanon organization, initially a drug rehabilitation program, was founded by Charles E. "Chuck" Dederich, Sr., (1913–1997) in 1958 in Santa Monica, California, United States. By the early 1960s, Synanon had also become an alternative community, attracting people with its emphasis on living a self-examined life, as aided by group truth-telling sessions that came to be known as the "Synanon Game." Synanon ultimately became the Church of Synanon in the 1970s, and disbanded permanently in 1991 due to many criminal activities, including attempted murder of which members were convicted, and legal problems, including losing its tax free status retroactively with the Internal Revenue Service due to financial misdeeds, destruction of evidence and terrorism. It has been called one of the "most dangerous and violent cults America had ever seen."
Charles Dederich, a reformed alcoholic and a member of Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.), was said to be an admired speaker at A.A. meetings. Those suffering from addictions to illegal drugs, besides alcohol, were considered to be significantly different from alcoholics, and therefore were not accepted into A.A. Dederich, after taking LSD, decided to create his own program to respond to their needs. He was said to have coined the phrase "today is the first day of the rest of your life." After his small group, called "Tender Loving Care," gained a significant following, Dederich incorporated the organization in to the Synanon Foundation in 1958.
Synanon began as a two-year residential program, but Dederich soon concluded that its members could never graduate, because a full recovery was impossible. The Synanon organization also developed a business that sold promotional items. This became a successful enterprise that for a time generated roughly $10 million per year.
In 1959, Synanon moved from their small storefront to an armory on the beach. In 1967, Synanon purchased the Club Casa del Mar, a large beachside hotel in Santa Monica, and this was used as its headquarters and as a dormitory for those undergoing anti-drug treatment. Later on, Synanon acquired a large industrial building, which had been the home of the Oakland Athletic Club, in Oakland, California, and then transformed it into a residential facility for Synanon's members. Outsiders were permitted to attend the "Synanon Game" there as well. Children were reared communally in the Synanon School, and juveniles were often ordered to enroll in Synanon by California's courts.
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Wikipedia