Explore the rise and fall of the Synanon organization — through the eyes of the members who lived it — from its early days as a groundbreaking drug rehabilitation program to its later descent into what many consider a cult.
Recovering alcoholic Chuck Dederich opens a storefront drug rehabilitation program that gains a following through its confrontational talk-therapy approach. As the program attract…
By the 1970s, Synanon boasts its own farm, a school, and multiple businesses, but Chuck’s utopian vision begins to crack. As members face more extreme edicts, including mandates t…
Chuck’s behavior becomes more belligerent and abusive. He forms a military-like boot camp for delinquent children where corporal punishment abounds. He mandates vasectomies and ab…
In 1977, the Los Angeles Times reports on the nine-day abduction of Frances Winn by Synanon. Lawyer Paul Morantz wins a settlement case in her favor. With media focus heating up, …
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