Jump page on Synanon based substance abuse and behevior modification
Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of it's victims may be the
most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral
busy-bodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point
be satiated; but those that torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they
do so with the approval of their own conscience.
-- C.S. Lewis.
Greetings,
My name is Ginger Warbis. If you happen to know me from Sarasota cir. `80 - `82, you'd
remember me as Virginia McNulty. And you'd almost have to be a former Straightling, as I
never really had the oportunity to make friends outside the Program.
This page is intended as an introduction to a couple of basic concepts about the Program and an
index to more information on it. The concepts are these:
- Straight Incorporated was a cult and a particularly crooked and mean spirited one.
- The treatment modality popularized under that Straight trademark and sometimes called
"Therapudic Communities", is neither theraputic nor conducive to community building. It
was not invented by Art Barker, nor even by Chuck Dederich. It is an implimentation of psychological
torture techniques borrowed from Korean and Chineese POW camps. And this was well known to and
carefully hidden from public view by the founders of that program.
- They have not gone away, they've simply opened locations under new names.
- When politicians talk about "treatment, not incarceration" this is very likely what
they're talking about.
- Discussion
- Straight Inc. Survivors
Hosted by former Straight Client, Kathy Martin.
- Side Talk - A public, unmoderated forum for dialog,
on coercive rehab and behavior modification. (hosted by Fornits.com)
- Straight Inc. Alumni
For those associated with Straight Inc. Even if you
didn't 7th Step/Graduate. Regardless of your current lifestyle and view of
Straight Inc. you are welcomed to join. Hosted by Don Smith, 7th Stepper
from the Cincinnati Branch
- Clipping service -- News items and press releases
- Civil Settlements against programs
- Search/Browse All Articles
- Web Sites
- Former clients, staff, parents, families of Straight Incorporated
- 1401 Cattleman Road This is my personal story. I've chosen to pass on my right to privacy in this matter for one very important reason. There is power in a name. It is my hope
that I will be able to tell the story in sufficient detail so that people who have been (or are now being) subjected to the Program under the pretense of drug
rehabilitation, behavior modification for troubled teens or in any other venue will be able to recognize just what manner of beast it is. If we can name it, then we
can deal with it more appropriately.
- Straight, Inc. Survivors
"Calling all Straight, Inc. Survivors from around
the country to come join others who have been
there. What were your experiences? What has
happened to you since then? What have been
some of your coping mechanisms? Let's finally
tell the TRUTH!"
- Straight, Inc. The Drug War Concentration Camps of the 1980s
"... It has now been over 15 years. I am estranged from my
adoptive parents and will probably always be so. I've had
nightmares about Straight ever since I left. I am in therapy
for PTSD that stems from abuse as a child at the hands of
Straight, Inc. ..."
- StraightInc.com Former Client; Straight, Inc. Website that promises Worldwide exposure.
- Related sites
- The Recovery Liberation Front The purpose of this website is to help those
who have been hurt in 12-step groups, forced into 12-step groups, or who wish to leave 12-step groups. You will find validation,
information, and recreation here. *updated daily*
- The Synanon Story A Child’s Experience
1968-1976 An Autobiography by Julie Johnson (The Seed, predecessor of Straight, employed tactics developed at Synanon)
- Intrepid Net Reporter
on WWASP Specialty Schools for Defiant Teens, a network of programs similar to Straight
- Straight, Inc. Alumni In case you were wondering,
yes, brainwashing does work and can be quite persistent even for years afterward.
- Where are they now? - The people behind Straight Incorporated and the influence they exert on public policy and opinion.
 Art Barker, Founder of
The Seed, is still at it to this day! Not only that, but he moved his operation
back into the original building in Ft. Lauderdale.
A lot of people attribute the invention of the Gateway Theory
to Robert DuPont, author of "Getting tough on Gateway Drugs". But he only
plagerized the idea from Art. See, Art found himself in a lurch in the Summer of 70 when all the news had forcast
a massive epidemic of heroin addiction. But it never happened. So here's this guy with all the gears set in motion
to build himself the most revolutionary, fantastical, Earth shaking drug rehab that ever was, but no goddamned
druggies! So this was his answer; convince the parents, already
scared to death by the Summer of Manson propaganda, that pot smoking (which represented a plentiful market
for his services) would set their children on an inexorable path to destruction via heroin addiction.
Is this guy evil? Maybe so. Art Barker stole my family from me when
I was just 6 or 7 years old. But I knew the guy personally in a sense. I had about the same
contact with Art as a parrishioner of a very large revival movement might have with the Bible Thumper.
I tend to think of him first as a self deluded megalamaniac; he's only dangerous if you believe
him. I think Art was a stooge for Dupont, very like the many Dr.'s (of education) who
have been hired by the spin-off programs for the misleading use of their titles. One very important difference
between The Seed and Straight is that Art, was so thoroughly convinced of the rightness of what he was
doing that he was not very carefull about hiding what he thought. As a result, he had a hard time keeping
friends and neccessary alliances. So The Seed was issued NIDA requirements to acquire consent forms for
experimental and dangerous treatment. Art refused the ultimatum, shut down all but the Ft. Lauderdale
branch. As far as I know, the Seed is no more than a strange little cult that
exists in Down Town Ft. Lauderdale thse days.
See: Articles on The Seed
Straight, on the other hand, was founded by a close knit group of politically and economically powerful men
with no compunction whatever about doing whatever they have to do to make their enterprise a success. To this day,
these people wield extremely heavy influence in many areas of public policy and politics.
Oddly NIDA never made the same requirement of Straight with regard to consent forms. Robert
Dupont, then head of NIDA who directed over a million dollars to The Seed, later became a paid consultant for
Straight.
 Melvin and Betty Sembler - Melvin Sembler - Cofounder of Straight Incorporated, was appointed Ambassador to Australia after donating $100,000 plus political currency to George Bush's successful presidential campaign.
Melvin is currently the Finance Chairman for the Republican party and
has recently founded the Tampa chapter of the Republican Jewish Coalition.
I wonder if these folks understand how Mel defines the term 'successful adolescent drug rehabilitation program call STRAIGHT'
that he brags about in his bio.
- Betty Sembler - was a founding member of Straight, Inc., a non-profit drug treatment
program that successfully[sic] treated more than 12,000 teens and adolescents with drug
addictions. She serves on the national board of directors of PRIDE (Parents' Resource
Institute for Drug Education) and DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) and DARE
International. Mrs. Sembler is the co-founder and president of the Drug Free America Foundation, and the
founder and president of Save Our Society From Drugs (S.O.S.). She also sits on the board of Multijurisdictional Counterdrug Taskforce Training;
the premier law-enforcement militirization project initiated by Buddy Sembler and headed by George Bush during the
Reagan Administration.
Interesting piece on Straight & D.A.R.E from Sumeria
- More on the Semblers - News items from our growing clipping service
 Robert Dupont - former paid consultant (professional testiliar) for Straight, Inc.,
former director of NIDA, granted Art Barker several million for The Seed in Ft. Lauderdale
- Currently, he's president of the Institute of Behavior and Health, Inc. and sits on the
board of Psychemedics, a follicle drug testing company. H. Wayne Huizenga retains controlling interest
in this corporation.
- Psychemedic's SEC filing
- Question: How can a board member provide an 'independent' analysis? So much for the First and Most Impotent Rule
- More on DuPont
 The Reverend (now priest???) Dr. Virgil Miller Newton -
Took over as clinical director of Straight Incorporated in July of `82. In `83, he resigned from Straight
to form found the Kids' chain, starting in Bergen County, NJ. He recently settled a suite
brought by former client, Rebecca Erlich for $4.5 Mil. Currently residing, much to the chagrin of his
neighbors it seems, in Medira Beach, Florida and
teaching courses
in General Psychology and World Religions at the Seminol campus of St. Pete Jr. College. Coincidentally or not,
this is the headquarters for the Multi Jurisdictional Counterdrug Task Force,
who's Advisory Board includes such notables as
Mrs. Betty Sembler - President/Founder, Drug Free America Foundation, Mr. James McDonough - Director, Office Drug Control State of Florida
Executive Office of the Governor.
 Bill Oliver
- In the summer of 1978, the Olivers became a Straight Inc. family. In 1982, Bill became the
National Executive Director of Straight Incorporated. In 1987 he joined forces with
PRIDE and developed the Parent To Parent Parenting for
Safe and Drug Free Youth. The Passage Group, formerly
known as the PRIDE PARENT TRAINING, was created by Bill Oliver
- Joy Margolis Former Straight Inc., spokesperson
currently employed as a Spokesperson for the Lippman Family Center in Oakland Park, FL.
Just an aside, SAFE Marin's Mission Statement says:
"SAFE was established by parents who have dealt with the reality of their children's drug and alcohol abuse. Our mission is to provide support, information, and
resources to parents whose minor children are, or are at risk of substance abuse, because of peer pressure or family predisposition."
But .... California State University, Sacramento says:
"With grants of
approximately $500,000 from the United States Department of Education, the College has produced two television projects: Strategies, Techniques and
Resources in Drug Education (STRIDE), and Substance Abuse: Family Education (SAFE). These projects incorporated substance abuse prevention and
education in the daily activities of school-age children. "
I guess they haven't carried over that first and most impotent rule?
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- Straight spin-offs and predecessors still in operation
- Safe Recovery - AKA Associated Counseling and Education (ACE) founded by
Straight-Orlando's director Michael Scaletta
- Substance Abuse Family Education Marin County California
- Page 5 of Lexington City, NC Schools Online Policy Manual.
Paragraph 5.3.3.8 mandates SAFE for first time posession or use of prohibited substances (remember, in some schools, that inclueds Tylenol!)
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- Kids Helping Kids of Cincinnati, former Straight training director, Dr. George Ross helped found this one.
- Growing Together of Lake Worth Founded by former Straight training director, Dr. George Ross
- Pathway Family Center Incorported June 18, 1993 only 15
miles from the old Straight facility near Detroit. Helen Gowanny, an officer at Pathway, had
been the registered agent for Straight-Detroit.
- Phoenix Institute for Adolescents, Inc Incorporated by Kathleen Cone, the registered agent for
Straight-Atlanta, June 21, 1993 (11 days before the closing of Straight-Atlanta)
- Lippman Family Center Operated by Lutheran Family Services,
bills itself as a halfway-house, however Anthony Dumas was removed from his parents custody on a contrived
criminal charge and court ordered to stay there for the 2 months before he hanged himself. Coincidentally or not,
their spokes-woman is none other than former Straight spokes-woman, Joy Margolis
- The Seed The Genesis of this part of the story, the first Straight location in St. Pete was founded by former Seed parents using former Seed clients as staff.
Amazingly, HRS continues to issue their yearly license without any inspection.
- Outfits using similar treatment modalities
- World Wide Association of Specialty Programs (WWASP) AKA Resource Realizations - Umbrella organization for..
- Life-Line a not-for-profit
adolescent treatment center located in North Salt Lake, Utah
- American Gulag - Alexia Parks was prompted to research
by her family's experience with religion based behavior modification schools. She has written this very moving book
about her experience and continues to research and advocate on the topic.
- FamilyLife! This is a recruiting organization for the outfits
detailed in American Gulag.
- More coming soon...
- There is more, sooo much more to tell. The Brothers Bush have been longstanding family friends of the Semblers and Joseph Zappala (also a cofounder of Straight, also a heavy contributor to the Bush campaign and, coincidentally or not, also appointed an ambassadorship in the early days of the Bush Administration). When they say "Treatment, not incarceration" Just Say No!!!! if you love your children.
I have not stated anything in this page that I can't back up with documentation right now. But I intend to build this site in such a way as to make it convenient for you, dear reader, to find the citations easily. This is a bazarre story for most of you, I know. But it is true, none the less, and needs to be told and needs to be told well. That will take some patient care and time. Check back often.
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