Change
That Which Is Hardest To Confront Is Usually For The Better

Easily observed in rural populations, many people in America are suspicious of new ideas or methods, no matter how good or how effective they might be. Take for example the microwave oven, which needed nearly 30 years to finally become commonplace in homes across the country, or e-mail, now used by the majority of the population 12 and older, was first developed in 1972 yet took more than twenty years to catch on. It often takes many years for new things to gain recognition and acceptance in areas where tradition is valued and even considered a virtue.
When it comes to drug and alcohol rehabilitation and education, there is a unique program that fits in this same category of being new. Though the NARCONON program has been getting people stably off drugs for more than three decades, it is still looked at as a new approach and therefore sometimes causes hesitancy to accept. This is despite the fact that the program achieves proven results for helping individuals overcome addiction far above typical programs in the same field.
Founded by William Benitez in 1966 in Arizona State Prison and based on research and development by L. Ron Hubbard, the Narconon® program has since expanded to operations in 35 countries and continues to rapidly grow, simply because it works.
Support for the program has gone beyond mere acceptance, with community leaders and government officials recognizing that in order to reverse the downward spiral our society continues to drown in we must utilize the most effective methods available.
This has to be done in conjunction with efforts from all sectors of society, including elected officials, law enforcement, schools, parents, the many faith organizations, healthcare providers, the correctional system and of course the various forms of media to help carry the message that change for the better must occur.
As per the vision of the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, the parties truly interested in making a change need to work together to organize and develop plans and programs to coordinate anti-drug efforts. The result is a comprehensive, community-wide approach to substance abuse and its related problems. At the center of this approach must be effective prevention and rehabilitation methods.
As a society we can remain in the frame of mind that the problem is ‘over there,’ or we can step up to the plate and take responsibility for today and for our future, our children. The methods that have been used to date have yet to reverse the statistics of our society. The difficult task of confronting the problem fully and demanding results rests on the shoulders of us all; nobody else is going to do it for us.

Next Story©2003 Narconon of Oklahoma, Inc. All Rights Reserved. NARCONON is a registered trademark and service mark owned by Association for Better Living and Education International and is used with its permission.