OK Legislator Wants More Oversight After Narconon Arrowhead Deaths

tulsabeacon [Oct.03.12]  A local lawmaker disturbed by suspicious practices of a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in his county of Pittsburg plans to eliminate a loophole which allowed centers deemed “nonmedical” to operate without any state oversight.

In response to the recent deaths at Narconon Arrowhead, recently Rep. Brian Renegar, D-McAlester, requested the House of Representatives legal staff to draft legislation to require that nonmedical treatment centers must receive oversight and certification from the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.

NBC Rock Center Narconon Arrowhead

As Narconon expanded its treatment to include non-Indians, they attempted and ultimately failed to receive certification from Oklahoma’s Department of Mental Health, which denied them on the basis that there was no credible evidence that the program was effective for chemical dependency.

At the time, however, the state allowed for the center to get an exemption from certification when Narconon went instead to a private group, the Commission for Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) based out of Arizona, for approval.

State law later changed wherein the CARF certification alone was no longer sufficient to satisfy state licensing issues. The Department of Mental Health acknowledged the CARF approval, but only as it applied to the first of Narconon’s four steps in its treatment program - the non-medical withdrawal phase.

Lacking proper certification was Narconon’s practice of rehabilitating people with substance abuse issues with saunas, vitamins and minerals.
[contined @ tulsabeacon] (scroll down, 4th story)

 More on Narconon
• Ripoff Report: Narconon
• Wikipedia.org: Narconon
• TippingPoint: Narconon