The Beliefs of synanon

Moriah Ponder

April 24th, 2016

Professor Delaporte

Blog #2

The Beliefs of Synanon

            Synanon began as a very peculiar Rehabilitation Center that didn’t use doctors or medication. Over the years Synanon went from the first ever no doctor involved self help drug rehab, to a building of a new society in Synanon cities to lead the world into the 21st Century, to becoming a self-claimed religion. These changes occurred over the span of the life of the cult.

            Charles Dederich grew up living a rough life. He lost his father in a car accident at age 4. Then at age 8 he lost his brother from influenza. He felt very guilty and responsibly, he would never have a good relationship with children again. His mother remarried when he was 12, he turned to alcohol and rebelled. He dropped out of Notre Dame, got married twice but both relationships were ruined from alcohol. Even after having children of his own, he still had bad relationships with children. He almost died from meningitis but was saved by penicillin in the 1940’s when t was discovered. He was found passed out on a kitchen floor and was told, “Fatso,” if you do not go to Alcoholic Anonymous you will die.” (Morantz).

            Dederich joined Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and attended meetings every day; he even became a regular speaker. He read Emerson’s “Self Reliance” and it inspired him to devout his time to cleaning up other Alcoholics.  He lived off of a $35 unemployment check and donations and charity from others. He volunteered for an LSD experiment, during this time he thought he understood the world and that good and bad are the same. When he spoke at AA meetings, his speeches shift from more psychological topics to philosophical. He slowly began to gather a group of followers; they had meetings in an apartment, and then rented a small store for meetings because they grew. The original named for Synanon was The Tender Loving Care Club. The main form of therapy was the group session called “The Game”. This consisted of people yelling at each other about anything they wanted, it didn’t matter if it was true or not. Violence was prohibited during “The Game” and outside of it as well. Members of this group survived off of stale food from catering trucks, and hookers doing tricks and donations.

            Eventually, drug addicts began to attend and alcoholics objected. Dederich kicked out alcoholics because there was already AA.  A member’s slurring the words “symposium” and “seminar” led to name Synanon. While in Synanon members go through withdraws and are mentally and emotionally abused. Addicts’ behaviors and past lives were attacked viciously in games, members were told their lives depended on staying, contacts with family were prohibited, and a system of rewards and punishments was applied. Dederich preached “Act as If” which meant do not try to reason as to what Synanon asks they do; as thinking got them there, just trust what they were told and act as if it is right.” In 1962 Dederich moved to an empty National Guard building on the beach in Santa Monica. He was arrested and imprisoned for operating without a health license but Governor Edmund Brown Sr. signed a bill to save Synanon and make them exempt from health licensing  laws. The imprisonment made Dederich a public martyr. Monetary donations came in from the rich and Hollywood, as guys like Robert Wagner, Leonard Nimoy and Ben Gazzra came to Synanon to play the game with ex-addicts and ex-hookers. Synanon became an alternative community in 1964, attracting people with its emphasis on living a self-examined life, as aided by group truth-telling sessions known as the “Synanon Game.” With its new wealth, they started building its first “city” in Marin County (Tomales Bay) (Morantz).

            Charles Dederich believed that his program was unsuccessful. He realized that ex-addicts would revert back to drug without peer pressure. He believed that people should stay at Synanon forever. If members stayed forever they could build a Utopian world designed by Dederich. The organization developed a business that sold promotional items, a successful enterprise that eventually generated roughly $10 million per year of revenue. Synanon enterprises would run gas stations, pottery making, apartment buildings and other income businesses without having to pay workers or taxes. Dederich bought and sold real estate. 

            Synanon purchased in 1967 the Club Casa del Mar, a large beach side 1926 hotel in Santa Monica), and used it as a center and dormitory for drug treatment and business operations. The city tried to claim they owned the beach front but Dederich went to the press and declared Synanon would sue the city. At this point Santa Monica surrendered and Synanon became untouchable. It no longer obeyed zoning rules, sympathetic donations reheated and Synanon soon became Santa Monica’s largest land owner.

            Synanon began using other ways of treatment such as containment (keeping member separate from their families), The Trip, and The Stew ( a 72 hours Game).

            In the 70’s juveniles were sent to Synanon, but these juveniles did not want to be there causing the methods of Synanon fail. Synanon accepted juveniles to keep their tax free status. Violence was permitted on juveniles. This was the first time Synanon broke the “non violent rule”.

            On remote properties in California such as Tomales Bay in Marin County and Badger, Tulare County, the organization had built unpermitted buildings, a trash dump, and an airstrip. (Gerstel, Paradise Inc.) Beginning in 1974 the authorities began to question Synanon’s promises and practices.   Paul Morantz brought various issues to the Health department in regards to Synanon and some of the medical practices they did. This caused some tax problems. Dederich declared in l974 that Synanon was a tax exempt religious organization, the “Church of Synanon (Morantz).” Dederich declared no more children were allowed in Synanon because it took time away from Synanon goals. Men were forced to have vasectomies and women were even forced to have abortions. These were just some of the crazy beliefs Synanon had during their history

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Morantz, Paul. "The History of Synanon and Charles Dederich." The History of Synanon and Charles Dederich. Paul Morantz. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.