Narconon buys themselves a "peer reviewed" paper. Rebutal early and often.

http://www.streetinsider.com/Press Releases/Narconon International Releases a Three-Year Outcome Review of Narconon Eslov in Sweden/8768153.html&c=5pnFOP8XF5Mx

Unless Narconon Eslov is somehow different from every other Narconon, the paper had to be a crock. So let's look at that "peer-reviewed journal"...

http://www.la-press.com/a-simplifie...ing-after-drug-abuse-tr-article-a3885-discuss

Published in Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment, which is part of Libertas Academica.

The first warning sign is that it's an "open-access" journal. Rather than selling subscriptions, they charge the people with papers to be published. I assume that if the peer review rejects a paper, they don't get anything. That seems like a conflict of interest.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertas_Academica

Predatory open access is a second warning sign. That usually means that they have all sorts of come-ons for contributors, without ever mentioning that it's pay-for-publish.

Someone recently submitted a scam paper to a large number of open access journals to test their claimed peer review. Many failed badly.

Fake Cancer Study Spotlights Bogus Science Journals
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/...science-spoof-open-access-peer-review-cancer/

So that's where they're coming from when they claim to have a paper published in a peer-reviewed journal. The next step is to dissect the paper itself, because you can bet that they'll be using this piece of bumwad everywhere!

The authors are "incredible" in the first place. Something like one scilon doctor and one got himself a fancy empty job title and charge other people for it.

My bad! The first warning sign is that Alfonso Paredes is one of the co-authors. Apparently he hates Scientology and Narconon, but his son is a member, so they use Disconnection as extortion to use his name for anything they feel like. The poor guy must be ancient by now.

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Stop-Narconon/AdvisoryBoard/

^^

It doesn't look like they are saying the paper is peer reviewed. It looks like they claim to be following a methodology that is peer reviewed.

Typical clam misleading phrasing.

Discussion on the publication:
Posted by Clark Carr - 14:11,September 17, 2013

“Thank you for this very interesting paper and for the initiative shown in doing an actual demonstration in the field of a workable, simple procedure that alcohol and other drug rehab centers can use to do outcome monitoring, both to observe their longitudinal results and to improve internal quality of delivery.”
When the president of Narconon International thanks them for publishing a paper within a day of it being published you know something really stinks.

Who are chestnut health systems?
http://www.chestnut.org/

The paper was "peer reviewed" (for very small values of peer review).

For the next while, this will be their standard reply to anything about Narconon.

Narconon was closed in Quebec.
- But we have a peer-reviewed paper!

Narconon Georgia is being investigated for credit-card fraud.
- Who cares, we have a peer-reviewed paper!

Narconon Arrowhead lost its certification.
- But now, we have a peer-reviewed paper!

http://www.truthaboutscientology.com/stats/by-name/c/clark-r.-n.-carr.html
Clear No. 11,896 in April 1979.. No OT Levels completed since.

Chestnut Health Systems' Board of Directors

• • • Judith J. Smithson, Chairperson
    • Mary Ann Webb, Vice Chairperson
    • Laura Haas, Secretary
    • Parker Kemp, Treasurer
    • Kaye Andrews
    • Vic Armstrong, Jr.
    • Al Bowman
    • Dan Brimer
    • Don Hammer
    • Bill Johnston
    • Jason Vasquez

Chestnut Health Systems' Executive Leadership

• • • Russell J. Hagen, Chief Executive Officer
    • Mark W. Campbell, Director of Human Resources
    • Jack L. Croughan, M.D., Medical Director
    • James G. Fraser, Director of Business Development
    • Mark D. Godley, Director of Lighthouse Institute
    • Joan A. Hartman, Central Regional Manager
    • Jeffrey Koski, Director of Management Information Systems
    • Orville D. Mercer, Southern Regional Manager
    • Renee M. Popovits, General Counsel
    • Karen S. Rettick, Chief Financial Officer
    • Alan Sender, Chief Operating Officer
    • David A. Sharar, Managing Director of Chestnut Global Partners, LLC

Checking ...

^^Thanks.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/...science-spoof-open-access-peer-review-cancer/

So it's not the same Alfonso Paredes that reached OT VIII last year?
http://www.truthaboutscientology.com/stats/by-name/a/al-paredes.html

No. Possibly the OT VIII is his son? (i.e. Alfonso Paredes jr.)

• Taking Chances March 28, 2007, David Alire Garcia, Santa Fe Reporter

Not exactly glowing praise.

What is an "externally contracted staff member" ?

Its cool CP .. They are all board certified in the specialty they practice. No droids to be found here

http://www.truthaboutscientology.com/stats/by-name/m/mark-campbell.html
http://www.truthaboutscientology.com/stats/by-name/j/james-fraser.html

Fairly common names, so dunno.

If that's true, as Director of Human Resources it's a bit scary.

LOL

From the paper:

http://www.manta.com/c/mm3jvwy/psychometric-technologies-inc

One employee. This looks legit.

Richard D. Lennox, one of the authors, doesn't seem to be anyone important at Chestnut.

Wow how the fuck does this even qualify as scientific?

So I had a quick read of the paper. It is possible it is legit in a sense (though I'm by no means qualified to thoroughly assess it).

However, the paper is not assessing Narconon's efficacy. It is testing the efficacy of a particular method of monitoring patients post-discharge. The work was done at Narconon Arrowhead (who also paid for it) but the paper is all about the evaluation criteria rather than Narconon's methods.

And this paper is not the study allegedly done by Narconon in Sweden. That study merely uses the methodology allegedly validated by the linked paper. They are not claiming the Sweden study has been peer reviewed.

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/mark-campbell/13/443/18b


http://www.chestnutglobalpartners.org/Affiliations/ProfessionalAssociations


I've been digging deep ... Honestly, they appear to be legit.

Richard D. Lennox has been involved in other narconon studies
http://www.narconon.org/drug-education/narconon-study-drug-education.pdf

Then it becomes a matter of pooning them to reveal the association between Narconon as the subject in this study.

When they realize the "ethics" of the organisation they've just been associated with, something will happen

I found Richard D. Lennox.
http://www.chestnutglobalpartners.o...CommercialScienceStaff/tabid/346/Default.aspx

The only part in the paper that mentions Chestnut is this:

It's possible that he's legit, and was only writing about what Arrowhead claimed was their process, rather than what they actually did.

Ripping off the model?

We need an ex-Narconon Arrowhead staffer who was there during that period.

If Richard D. Lennox is legit and Alfonso Paredes is probably warehoused in a Home for Emeritus Professors, then who is Marie A. Sternquist "Independent research consultant, Anchorage, AK"?

She appears to be Marie Cecchini Sternquist, with strong Scientology connections, including Narconon.
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/marie-cecchini-sternquist/5/89/b81

There's a Facebook page for a Dr. Sternquist of Anchorage, but the LinkedIn Marie Cecchini Sternquist doesn't seem to have completed her doctorate.
https://www.facebook.com/AlaskaHealth

Marie Cecchini in Scientology's Published Service Completion Lists

http://www.truthaboutscientology.com/stats/by-name/m/marie-cecchini.html

But nothing for Marie Cecchini Sternquist or Marie Sternquist in completions.

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/marie-cecchini-sternquist/5/89/b81

Ah a vitamin pusher. Hope she enjoys her cancer!

http://xfinity.comcast.net/blogs/lifestyle/2013/10/07/the-top-5-vitamins-you-should-not-take/

Marie must have pissed off somebody she is now in Alaska
Problems of Work seminar

Saturday, Oct 5 1:00p to 3:30p

Church of Scientology Mission of Anchorage Anchorage, AK

Life is composed of seven-tenths work, one-tenth familial, one-tenth political and one-tenth relaxation. Want more control over that crucial seven-tenths of existence?
Attend our Personal Efficiency Course and gain the key skills to handle every activity, every problem of work. Renowned speaker and successful businesswoman Marie Sternquist reveals the core problems of work and life and gets you solutions for getting more done in less time and with more fun.
RSVP now to anchoragemission@gmail.com

Read more here: http://events.adn.com/anchorage_ak/events/show/349673803-problems-of-work-seminar#storylink=cpy

http://events.adn.com/anchorage_ak/events/show/349673803-problems-of-work-seminar

It appears there is a Mr. Sternquest

Alaska Health Improvement Center, Dr. Sternquist
is on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/AlaskaHealth

Buy the comments Marie Cecchini Sternquist is probably his wife who has co-authored narconon papers.

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/marie-cecchini-sternquist/5/89/b81

I believe Marie was once married to George Veliskakis and here is a link to another failed study

https://whyweprotest.net/community/threads/growl-flawed-narconon-study-gets-published.9967/page-4

http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/podcasts/current/

Narconon Arrowhead continues to spam junk press releases referring to the paper.
http://www.virtual-strategy.com/201...-system-used-and-developed-narconon-arrowhead

Chestnut Health Systems seems like a legit mental health place so I’m surprised it’s connected to a Narconon study.

Chestnut Health Systems Inc
1003 Martin Luther King Dr.
Bloomington, Illinois 61701

Company Background & Description
Employees: 500 - 1,000
Industry: Hospitals & Clinics , Healthcare
Products and Services: mental health

Company Description: Since 1973, Chestnut Health Systems has been providing behavioral health care in Illinois. Chestnut has approximately 600 committed, compassionate employees providing care out of multiple chemical dependency and mental health treatment centers in Central and Southern Illinois. We have been continuously Accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) since 1975. For your convenience our Web site is broken down into three broad sections: About Chestnut, Services and Search.

http://www.zoominfo.com/s/#!search/profile/company?companyId=58247148&targetid=profile

The part by the guy from Chestnut is just a paragraph unrelated to Narconon. Still, Chestnut should get down to the clinic and get themselves checked for anything communicable, before their reputation rots and falls off.