Rehab center faces scrutiny over undetermined deaths
The death of 20-year-old cheerleader Stay Murphy last month at the Narconon Arrowhead rehab facility in Oklahoma faces increased scrutiny after NBC exposed that 7 people have died there since 2005.
Narconon is a non-profit rehabilitation facility supported by leading entertainment industry figures including Tom Cruise, Kirstie Allie and John Travolta. It's headquarters are based in Los Angeles, but there are many centres around the world. It was established in 1966 by a former Arizona State Prison inmate but became an organization in 1972 thanks to sponsorship from L. Ron Hubbard, the Founder of Scientology.
Treatments for drug addiction at the centre include daily saunas where people spend up to 5 hours a day for periods of one month. In addition, patients are given high doses of the vitamin, Niacin, which is thought to "flush out" addiction to drugs, stored in body fat tissue. It is unclear whether this method provides guaranteed benefits as the organization has yet to provide data regarding the treatment's success rate.
NBC will air the full report later today at 10pm/9c. The CEO of the Narconon Arrowhead facility in Oklahoma has refused to provide comments specifically regarding the deaths, however he did issue this statement:
Gary Smith: "Our prayers are with the families of the deceased."
The state district attorney is now launching a bigger police investigation into the incident the Daily Mail reports.
