01x01 - Here Come the Dopefiends

[bunniefuu]

Jady Dederich Montgomery:
You thought that it was

your duty to be a martyr!

That is a lie, because you are
such an affected fool

that you didn't want
anyone in Synanon

to think for a moment
that you were a human being

and could actually
get into a Game

like the rest of us broads

because you are
such a phony bitch!

You are a minimum
daily m*therf*cker!

- That is bullshit!
- That is where it is at!

- That is not... Plain not true!
- I know when you leave the job, you should know...

- You're gonna grow up! You are going...
- I can't do it!

No, you are going to grow up,
you old assh*le!

I wanna talk
to you about something else,

you cheap f*cking
pompous cocksucker!

You f*cking cheap m*therf*cker!
This f*cking guy!

Stop it! Life goes on,
life gets better,

you learn more, you add on,

and that's what it's all about.

I have made so many
mistakes in Synanon,

and maybe it's just
a Pollyanna bunch of bullshit,

but I say there is something
worthwhile in this experience.

What was it?
And it has to be there.

I'd like you to get honest.

I want you to get honest,

and I'm gonna demand
that you get honest.

You wanna live around here?

You wanna live in Synanon?

Start to play the Game!

[static crackles]

["California Dreamin'"
by Bud Shank playing]

♪♪

[all yelling]

[clippers buzzing]

- ♪ Ooh... ♪
- [shutters snapping]

- Fire!
- [g*n sh*ts]

♪ Ooh... ♪

[shutter snaps]

- [music fades]
- [projector whirring]

[dramatic sting]

[projector slows down]

[projector stops]

[helicopter whirring]

Reporter 1: Charles
Dederich, who turned

the alcohol and drug
rehabilitation program Synanon

into a wealthy cult, remains
in custody in Arizona today.

Reporter 2: Synanon founder
Charles "Chuck" Dederich

was arrested and charged with
conspiracy to commit m*rder.

Jady:
My dad,

he was intoxicated
when he got arrested.

He was intoxicated when he got
arrested in Lake Havasu.

He was out.

And then, they took him
to the jail hospital

in Kingman, Arizona.

Connie Chung: A local justice
of the peace went to the hospital

to read Dederich
the m*rder charges against him.

Everett Milam:
His eyes was closed.

He was laying flat on his back.

I do not know if he knew
what was going on or not.

He does have a mental problem,

and I understood that, uh,
alcohol is also a problem.

Excuse us, please. Thank you.
Make way, please.

Jady:
My dad, Chuck's story,

and Synanon's story,

it's a big,
beautiful, tragic story.

Reporter: The judge praised
his early Synanon work.

He then concluded
that he was sorry

the program had degenerated.

Jady:
What happened...

it was terrible, yeah.

It was terrible.

People suffered.
People were hurt.

[indistinct chanting]

And he did bring
Synanon down around him.

But, all of this in Synanon,

he-he couldn't have done it
without us

enabling him.

- [overlapping chatter]
- [shutters snapping]

♪♪

Jady:
A lot of really smart,

talented, educated people...

Please can we get by?
Excuse us!

Jady: ...all did things
we would never do now,

you know?

I mean, how does that happen?

Because that's not
how it started.

[quiet street noise]

Mike Gimbel:
The addict loves their needle.

- [soft music playing]
- [tapping]

When times are rough,

I would take my needle
and scrape it inside,

thinking there was
a little dope in there.

When you're high on heroin,

it's a mixture of being
conscious and unconscious.

It's somewhere in the middle,

which is a very mellow,
warm feeling

that you try to reach.

Lena Lindsey: To wake up
sick, and not have any money,

and having to go out
and turn a trick

so you could get some money,

that wasn't any fun.

But you did it.

'Cause you were looking
forward to that fix.

[belt rattling]

Heroin.

I was using heroin.

I had dropped out of college.

I was living in New York,

working at
an avant-garde theater.

[canopy flapping]

I had dr*gs on me
when I was arrested.

I went to jail.

- [door slams] - Mike: I was
born into a very wonderful family

in Baltimore, Maryland.

[film projector whirring]

In the summer of my junior
year at high school,

I got introduced to heroin

and probably immediately
was hooked.

♪♪

Went to my senior prom,
on heroin.

Eventually, my life
was 24/7 heroin.

- [projector whirring]
- My parents took me to a psychiatrist.

He didn't know what to do.
Took me to a rabbi.

He didn't know what to do.

I remember being
locked in a mental hospital

for four weeks.

You know, no therapy,
just locked in a room.

I wanted out of drug use.

But I didn't know
how to get clean.

Lena Lindsey:
Nothing worked.

And I knew if I didn't clean up,

my kids wouldn't have
a chance, right?

I would raise a prost*tute
and a dope fiend

just like I was.

Bill Goodson: My mother was a
dope fiend. We may have known,

you know, something like,

"Mom is ill. Mom is not well."

At the time,

it was a pretty desperate
situation for dope fiends

because society didn't know
what to do with them.

Newscaster: We face a growing
menace called drug addiction.

Every citizen must be made
to realize that drug addiction

is a very real thr*at.

Lena: "Once a drug addict,
always a drug addict."

And they said it so many times
that drug addicts,

we, uh, believed that ourselves.

And we would never
be anything else.

- [gavel pounding]
- Bill: In the late '50s,

a judge gave my mom
an ultimatum of sorts.

You know, "If I see you
in my court one more time,

I'm sending you to prison."

And then, she heard
about the old man.

That's what we called
Chuck Dederich.

"The old man."

[upbeat energetic music playing]

♪♪

Narrator: It's Jack
Linkletter, "On The Go!"

Come out along, we're going
places, doing things,

and meeting people everywhere
in their search for happiness.

Good morning. Today,
we're in a dilapidated building

along the beachfront
here in, uh, California,

along one of the beach cities.

Actually, this is
an organization called Synanon.

This is a home
for drug addicts...

Lena: One night,
sitting at home, loaded,

some news guy

was talking about a new place

for drug addicts to clean up.

Well, I've been off the habit,

uh, actually since
February the 2nd, 1958.

I've been to Lexington,
Forth Worth,

numerous other hospitals.

It's never worked
to this extent.

When my habit was at its peak,

I robbed and stole,
and I prostituted.

- It's a horrible thing, isn't it.
- It certainly is.

- Well, thank you for talking to me, alright? Thank you.
- You're very welcome.

Lena:
It was so surprising.

I didn't know any drug addict
that had cleaned up.

Jack Linkletter: I think you're
chairman of the board of directors here.

- That's right, Jack.
- Your name?

- Chuck Dederich.
- Now, Chuck, uh, were you an ex dope addict?

No, I was an alcoholic, Jack.

How long have some of your
people been off dope here?

Chuck: Uh, we have people
that have been off dope

ever since the place started,
around 11 months ago,

and then all the way down to...
probably our latest newcomer

was about two
or three weeks ago.

Now, is this unusual,
to be off dope that long?

Uh, it's considered
almost miraculous.

[seagull cawing]

Mike: Before Synanon, there
was no residential program

that dealt with drug addiction
anywhere in the country.

Probably anywhere
in the whole world,

to tell you the truth.

♪♪

Jack Hurst: I asked to become
a resident, and I was accepted.

I found the guy who had managed

to stay clean six months
was a hero.

I had never seen
this happen before.

Terry Hurst:
Jack and I'd met May 31st,

and we got married June 19th.

We were madly in love
right from the beginning.

We were very happy.
For a time.

And then, Jack started
what he called "chipping."

You know, he would go out
and get high,

and it just progressed
and progressed

until he finally got hooked.

So, there was nothing
that could help Jack, certainly,

and-and I also knew
that he was trying very hard

to stop using dr*gs.
He tried everything.

Meanwhile,
we heard about Synanon.

So, we went down
on a Friday night

and met with Chuck Dederich.

[soft chatter]

Terry:
Synanon was in a storefront.

And when an addict came in,
they were put on the couch.

And they were not left alone
until they kicked.

[car horn honks]

The rules were don't get high,

you know, don't use anything,

and no physical v*olence.

No v*olence and no dr*gs.

They were the golden rules
of Synanon.

Chuck Dederich:
Synanon is a coined word.

It doesn't mean
anything actually.

It's one of the guys
who, uh, mixed up

seminar and symposium
and anonymous, and...

- Jack Linkletter: He threw 'em all together...
- Chuck: Threw 'em all together

- and came up with a new word.
- Jack Linkletter: Do you have any help

from doctors and psychiatrists?

The only help we have

is just an occasional donation
from the general public.

- You treat yourselves then?
- That's right.

- Completely alone?
- Completely alone.

[quiet street noise outside]

Mike: Synanon was unlike
any other kind of treatment.

Nobody gave us methadone.

Nobody gave us
any other medicines.

The program was addicts
helping addicts.

That concept was new
and revolutionary.

Jack Hurst: We're not therapists,
and we're not psychiatrists,

but we all know what it's like
to be a drug addict.

We all know what
it's to be a liar.

So, three times a week,
everyone attends

what we call
our Synanon sessions.

Terry: At that time,
we were having sessions.

A group of people would get
together in the evening,

and discuss their problems.

Chuck was a drunk,
and in the beginning,

Chuck thought he was
starting a small AA.

'Cause he had cleaned up on AA.

♪♪

Chuck: I was a real good
serious problem drinker.

I ran around with
a very speedy crowd,

and, uh, the party was
never over for me.

I was a salesman,
a public relations person,

and, uh, I-I couldn't
do that anymore.

I had lost all my friends.

I had lost two wives
and two children, you know.

That was gone.

I stopped drinking in
Alcoholics Anonymous

May 14th, 1956.

And I was two years sober

and very active, doing a lot
of attendance at meetings,

doing a lot of, um, helping
of other drunks,

and all that kind of thing.

But it just, it wasn't
deep enough.

It's around this time
that I put together

an experimental type of meeting.

♪♪

My dad wasn't the kind of guy
that was gonna, like,

go through all
the steps and then,

you know, do that for
the rest of his life.

There was a truth
that he wanted,

a kind of confrontation
that he wanted.

And he said, you know,

"I have this lifetime
of bottled-up rage."

And he just started talking
to everybody in the room

like they were horrible.

You know, telling 'em, you know,
whatever kind of assh*le

he thought they were,
you know. And they loved it.

[indistinct chatter]

Chuck: We met three
or four times a week.

We were yelling and cursing

and, you know, really
getting our feelings out.

I think, um, you know, some
people got some valuable insights,

and it was a great experience.

[chatter continues]

Lena:
Shortly after they started,

a couple of dope fiends came in,

and they stayed clean.

And Chuck took notice of that.

♪♪

At that time, nobody wanted
to be around drug addicts.

Terrible stigma.

And why he was not
turned off by people

that were very different
from him in every way,

I don't know.

Maybe it was his face,

his disfigurement
from meningitis.

He was the outcast.

The person who had been
a failure his whole life.

A person who was broken and lost

and found his way

in connection with other people.

Chuck: These meetings
were the group process

which later became known
as the Synanon Game.

That was Synanon. [laughs]

The Game was Synanon, really.

[overlapping yelling]

You're not a man!
Your mouth don't make you a man!

Could you take an order?
You couldn't even do it!

- You're not even a [indistinct]!
- [indistinct yelling]

Jady: The Game was
a verbal street fight.

It was a way to have a free,

unencumbered, uninhibited,

no-holds-barred encounter
with another person.

- Oh, you don't believe that anymore?
- I said yeah!

- Nobody agrees with you! Fine!
- [tense music playing]

[indistinct yelling]

Lena:
The Synanon Game taught us

to look at our own truth.

- All your tiles are coming up!
- This your way of giving me help? Hello!

Lena: A lot of things
that were thrown at us

from the other participants
in the Game

were to get us
to express a feeling

because most of us had... uh!

Pushed our feelings down.

[indistinct]

Some of the things
that we were said,

they hurt a lot, you know.

But, it helped me
to question myself.

[overlapping yelling]

Jack Hurst: We give vent
to our pent-up emotions

of hostilities
and fears and resentments.

We're able to let go
emotionally,

and see what it looks like,
see what it sounds like,

see how your
peer group takes it.

In the Game,
you could say what you want.

Don't tell me now!
I put my blood in that thing!

Mike: You save all that anger
up, and you do it in the Game.

[indistinct yelling]

And you can say anything you
want to anybody in that group,

but you can't hit 'em and you
can't thr*aten to hurt 'em.

No v*olence.

He's a liar!
He don't do nothing!

Why don't you
help him out, dammit?!

- Why don't you help him?!
- I do wanna help him out!

Lena: The games,
they were scary.

[indistinct]

But some of us loved it, right?

To get at each other.

What have you learned?
Nothing!

You can't even,
even relax with yourself.

The Game was
this pressure valve.

- [overlapping yelling]
- [curious music playing]

But when you go to bed
at night, you'll think about it

over and over and over again.

This led to change
and accountability.

The meetings provide
an emotional catharsis,

an emotional release
which can result in

insights into the problem

because the answer
to the person's problem

is within himself.

[muffled chatter]

Lena:
You never get over having

that addictive personality.

- Do you see what I mean? Do you understand?
- I know it. Yeah.

Lena:
In the Game, you learn

how to deal with
that feeling differently.

Constructively,

instead of destructively.

[overlapping chatter]

Mike: After trying to kick
the heroin habit several times,

I don't know what happened.

Something happened to me
at that point...

[gentle music playing]

...and it just, somehow,
it just felt right.

I wouldn't be sitting here!

[laughs]

I would not be sitting here

if there had not been
a Synanon Game.

Terry:
Synanon does work.

It's worked for us.
It's brought my family together,

and I see all kinds of people
building new lives again

with the help of the people
here at Synanon.

["Beach Baby" by
The First Class playing]

♪ Ah-ah, ah-ah ♪

♪ Ah-ah, ah... ♪

♪ Do you remember
back in old LA, oh oh oh ♪

♪ When everybody drove
a Chevrolet, oh oh oh ♪

♪ Whatever happened
to the boy next door? ♪

♪ Suntanned, crew cut,
all-American male ♪

♪ Remember... ♪

Mike:
Chuck first opened Synanon

in this little building in town,

and it grew, and it grew.

And it wasn't big enough
for all these people.

And he thought, "Hey,
I need to get a bigger place."

♪♪

♪ Beach baby, beach baby,
there on the sand ♪

♪ From July to
the end of September ♪

♪ Surfing is fun,
we'd be out in the sun ♪

♪ Every day ♪

We moved to
the "smart" part of town

to the Armory.

- [seagulls cawing]
- [song fades out]

Our front door was the beach.

We had this big picture window
that looked out at the ocean,

and everybody was sitting around

talking
and hanging out together.

[soft saxophone playing]

Jady: The Armory's
rent was $500 a month.

$500 a month,

and nobody knew where the money
was gonna come from.

[indistinct chatter]

But nobody went hungry.

They never went without food.

Like oxtail stew,

day-old bread,

lots of big salads with lots
of Thousand Island dressing

because the lettuce
was a little wilty.

[chatter continues]

Terry:
Chuck founded a miracle.

But he knew that he had
a money problem.

So, he started to develop ideas.

His first idea was
we're a business.

We're in the business
of curing drug addicts.

And then,
he became the executive

running the corporation.

Ron Cook:
Chuck always said,

"I run Synanon like a business
like Gulf Oil

'cause that's where
I got my training."

Chuck used to refer to me
as the g*dd*mn bookkeeper.

[laughs]

I wasn't a drug addict.

I was a CPA, and I was
Chief Financial Officer

- for Synanon.
- [phone ringing]

- [typewriters clicking]
- [office chatter]

Chuck established Synanon

as a 501[c][3]
nonprofit organization.

It had all the tax benefits

that any nonprofit
organization had.

[office chatter]

There was a board of directors.

Mostly, it was drug addicts
who were instrumental

in the start of Synanon.

And they got the love,

the attention, the respect

that maybe in
a lot of organizations,

they wouldn't get.

- [quiet chatter]
- Terry: At that point,

there were about 60 people
living in Synanon.

There was a community there,

and you were part of that,

and you were part
of the growth of that.

Synanon was free.

Synanon was free.

[quiet chatter]

But they had to feed everybody

and take care of everybody.

So, Chuck created
the hustling business.

["Tighten Up Pt.1"
by Archie Bell & The Drells playing]

[plastic crinkling]

They hustled all
the goods and services.

And these were people
who literally just went out

and asked for things.

♪♪

Nobody is a bigger con artist
than an addict! [laughs]

I mean, you go into a company.

"Hey, look, you know...

I'm a recovering addict.
Synanon saved my life."

Who's gonna say no to that?

Donations came pouring in
like you would not believe.

- Yo, Al!
- Al: Yeah?

Mike: And people
gave us everything!

We hustled Christmas trees,

sheepskin,

soap, cowboy boots,

a Cadillac convertible,
live fish,




People would donate cotton!

People would donate cattle!

We had a whole department
that just did nothing

but cut up all the beef,
you know? I mean,

it was crazy!

- Eventually, Synanon had gas stations.
- [bell ringing]

They owned all these apartments,

and we were painting
every day and working.

And this was part of
Chuck's dream of how to do it.

No one got paid for the work.

You got to stay in Synanon.

- You were happy.
- [laughter]

[indistinct chatter]

- [song fades out]
- [seagulls cawing]

Lena:
Betty Coleman.

She was like
my sister in Synanon.

We were dope fiends, and we knew
each other on the street.

Very smart woman.
Very smart.

She and Chuck became
girlfriend-boyfriend.

[gentle music playing]

Chuck and Betty got married.

- [seagulls cawing]
- [waves splashing]

Everybody came to the wedding.

Officiant: Charles, will you
have Betty to be your wife?

- Chuck: I will.
- Betty Coleman: I, Betty, take thee, Charles.

Officiant:
To be my wedded husband.

Betty:
To be my wedded husband.

[shutter snaps]

Chuck had two kids.

His son, Chuck Jr.,

we called him Dede.

And Jady was Chuck's daughter
from his second marriage.

Jady:
This is Betty and me.

So this was right
after I moved in.

We here at Synanon House...

Jady:
Betty was gentle,

and she could connect
and touch people.

But always with a kind
of grace and dignity.

You know,
she was ballast for Dad.

She was like a mediator,
I think.

You know, it took me

a while to fully accept her.

You know, partly because
I felt like

I was betraying my own mother,

who had just d*ed.

And then, it was, you know,

learning how to be out
in the world

with an integrated family.

At that time,
an interracial couple was rare.

Frowned upon.

In some places,
probably illegal.

But, in Synanon,
there was a bigger calling.

Chuck and Betty decided to
take on this mission together.

That did not go without thought.
The guy wasn't,

"I'm so in love,
I'm gonna marry." No.

There's a lot of thought
put into that.

Because the implications of it

were really...

pretty strong.

Synanon was born
in Santa Monica.

[waves splashing]

Santa Monica
is super-duper white.

I mean, sterile white.

If you were anything
other than white,

there was a place marked off
for you at the beach.

Along comes this guy

who integrates living facilities

in Santa Monica.

Unheard of!

But even worse,
on the beach! [laughs]

Right?
On the beach of Santa Monica!

That's a definite no-no.

[upbeat music playing]

[indistinct chatter, cheering]

Jack Linkletter: I must say that
now that you're in a new building,

this is 1,000% improvement,
if not more.

- Are your problems over?
- Chuck: No, indeed.

One of our biggest problems
today is public acceptance.

We feel that we don't have
any addicts in this building

because no narcotics
are used here.

Every place where we move in,

the neighbors all storm
the city council and say,

"Here come the dope fiends!
They're gonna sack the city!"

There is a member of,
or a segment of our society,

the lunatic fringe, the bigots,

that have been devoting
their time and energies

to running us out of town.

And now, they're up
to this kind of stuff.

Hanging, uh, Synanon
residents in effigy.

[quiet chatter]

Bill:
Whether it be drug addicts,

whether it be interracial
communal living,

there was so much to not like,
you know, at that time.

Lena:
The people in Santa Monica

wanted to get rid of us.

They hated us.

- [microfiche clicks]
- [somber music playing]

Chuck "Dede" Dederich Jr.:
I used to go with my dad.

They had these big
town hall meetings.

All these neighbors
would get in and scream

and holler at the microphone

and say that we were
in the wrong place,

and that you can't have drug
addicts in the neighborhood,

and who are we, blah blah...
I mean on and on.

And then, the newspapers,
of course, would pick it up.

And they would exaggerate more,

so that was a real experience
to me to see

what prejudice is.

Jady: We always said
that race was a big part of it.

- Dede: Right.
- Jady: You know, we were still living

- in that apartheid kind of climate on the beach.
- Dede: Yeah.

Phil Bourdette: When I was
in the Public Defender's Office,

I started referring
clients to Synanon,

and I felt like I was doing
something to help somebody,

which is what I wanted to do
when I went to law school.

The City of Santa Monica didn't
want Synanon in their city.

Santa Monica residents
put enough pressure

on the Santa Monica government

to bring charges
of operating a hospital

without a license,
which it was not a hospital.

We didn't have doctors there.

It was not
a medical thing at all,

but the judge told Chuck
he would put him on probation

but while he was on probation,

he had to stay away
from Synanon.

And Chuck said, "No.

"What I'm doing here
is the right thing to do,

"dealing with drug addiction

"in a way that wasn't done
before Synanon,

and I'll go to jail for it
if that's what I have to do."

And the judge says,
"Alright, you're going to jail."

So Chuck went to jail.

There aren't many people
that go to jail

for zoning violations.

Jady: Synanon was in
a fight for its life.

And Betty, she stepped up
to hold the community together,

and kept the place going.

[drumming]

[indistinct chatter]

[chatter continues]

Terry: What we talked about
inside of Synanon was

we were the victims.

There was a common enemy,

and it enforced our strength
inside of Synanon.

It was us or them.

[distant chatter]

- [music fades out]
- [car drives by]

Narrator:
A visitor is arriving.

A former member of Synanon.
He is high on heroin,

and desperate.

There he is. Look at him.
He's damn near dead.

He's now strung out
on narcotics,

smashed.

Miriam Bourdette:
I didn't know

whether I would be
one of those people

who would revert to drug use

if I left Synanon
'cause so many did.

And I was a little afraid

that that might happen.

There has not
been one single person

who split from Synanon.
Not one.

There hasn't been one
stayed clean, baby. Not one!

I believe because I have
faith in myself, you know?

[overlapping yelling]

[yelling fades]

Lena:
When I went into Synanon,

it was a year program.

My next commitment
was three years.

Then Chuck started saying

a dope fiend had
to stay in Synanon

because if they left,
they would never make it.

♪♪

Mike:
Chuck's position was,

"This is where you need to be,

and if you leave,
you're gonna die."

That was what went
in our heads constantly.

If you leave, you're gonna die.

[indistinct chatter]

Lena:
He told us

Synanon was a lifetime thing.

We would be there forever.

My mother was taking care
of the kids for me.

But she would get
on the phone. [laughs]

"Aren't you ready
to come home yet?"

Tears would be coming
outta my eyes

'cause I knew that I needed
to be in Synanon.

Bill: I think that Chuck
didn't want my mom

just having that kind of stress

of not knowing what to do
with her kids

that finally one day,
he just said, "Go get them."

♪♪

I was 3. My sister was 7.

That's when my memory started,

when I arrived in Synanon.

There were other kids
that had moved in.

We bonded immediately

and became like brothers
and sisters.

- [waves splashing]
- The Armory was absolute heaven

because the beach was ours.

[indistinct chatter]

The day was spent
running around,

getting into any kind of
mischief and mayhem

- that we could.
- [kids giggling]

[wheels squeaking]

And being exposed to people
kicking on couches,

to everything.

I remember emptying puke buckets

and getting cold rags.

It was completely normal,
completely natural.

It was our living room.

It was communal parenting.

[baby babbling]

There was a group of mothers
that ruled the nest,

so if my mom wasn't there,

Terry Hurst was there,
or somebody's mom was there.

Synanon was an experiment,

and I don't think Chuck Dederich

or anybody else really knew
what they were doing.

The thought of children was
the last thing on their mind.

[hallway chatter]

They were just trying
to keep saving lives.

♪♪

Mike:
Synanon started open houses,

Saturday night parties
for the community

to come in, learn about Synanon.

Bill:
There were a lot of celebrities

that used to hang out
at Synanon.

Esther Phillips,
the jazz singer.

Lucille Ball.

- Mike: Jane Fonda.
- Terry: Ricardo Montalbán.

All kinds of people
came to visit us

and see what we were all about.

Isn't it arrogant of Synanon

to think it can succeed
where orthodox organizations

haven't really been able
to make much difference?

I feel every right
to be arrogant.

If that's the word,
it's a good one.

Oh, I was a publicist. Jesus.

I made more g*dd*mn noise

with my little raggedy-ass
band of people.

- [interviewer laughs]
- National television, everything.

It's been some time since
I recommended a book.

I recommend this one,
unreservedly.

To quote Senator Thomas Dodd
of Connecticut,

"The Synanon method is
the first hopeful method

of curing drug addicts
that has ever been devised."

Newscaster: "The President
wishes Synanon continued success."

Lawrence O'Brien for
President John F. Kennedy.

"Of one thing I feel quite
sure, and that is that

Synanon house is working."
Richard M. Nixon.

"Synanon may be doing more good

than all the rehabilitation
centers in the world."

Edmond G. Brown, governor,
state of California.

The population grew.

And we opened facilities
all over the country.

Reporter: These are the
residents of the new Synanon house

in Connecticut.
They have a motto.

"Hang tough."

And then,
they made a movie about us.

That movie was a big deal.

And it was like a real movie,
you know, about Chuck,

with Edmond O'Brien
and, uh, Eartha Kitt.

You need him
like you need a fix.

Mike:
That really got the word out.

Singer: ♪ Hey man, lemme
tell you what's happenin' ♪

- ♪ Down at Synanon ♪
- ♪ Tell me about it, baby ♪

♪ Well, everybody's doing it,
blow your mind! ♪

[upbeat music continues]

[muffled crowd chatter]

There were a lot of musicians

that came into Synanon for help.

♪♪

Joe Pass,

probably the best jazz
guitar player in the world.

Art Pepper was there.

They would play, and everybody
would get up and dance.

We had our own Synanon dance
called the Hoop La.

Singer:
♪ The Hoop La ♪

♪ It's a dance
where you're not confined ♪

♪ You can be 8 to 80,
bow-legged, crippled, or blind ♪

[crowd cheering]

♪ Ah yeah, woo! ♪

I mean, the comradery
was unbelievable.

[song continues]

And in Synanon,
you really loved everybody.

I didn't like everybody,

but I really had a feeling
of love for everybody.

- [song fades out]
- [birds chirping]

Chuck: I personally
am in closer touch

with the people around me.

In Synanon,

I think that there is
a-a deeper level

or a higher level

of communication between people.

Mike:
All across the country,

people were starting to deal
with their mental health.

A lot more than they did
probably before.

Now, as Synanon was growing,

the Synanon Game became

the right therapy
at the right time. [laughs]

Ron: There were some very
brilliant people in their fields

who would come through
and study the Synanon Game.

We were successful,

and the Synanon Game
is what enabled it.

Mike:
Professors, psychologists,

they knew something
was going on here.

Chuck Dederich took in
a bunch of junkies,

and he was keeping 'em clean.

Speaker: In effect, Synanon
is performing mass analysis,

the changing of
an entire group of people.

This has been called
the greatest breakthrough

in psychiatry since Freud.

♪♪

Mike: Chuck started
Synanon Game Clubs.

They were in all the facilities.

In New York, in Detroit,

in San Francisco.

And the Game clubs
would be for the people

out in the community
who weren't addicts,

but they understood
the power of what was going on.


to our Synanon club,

so they don't live here.
People from all walks of life.

Newsmen,
housewives, bricklayers,

doctors, lawyers,
and all peoples get together

within the Synanon
environment and talk.

Your wife is
one of your hang-ups.

Hell, your wife is
one of the best things

you got going for ya.

Why don't you talk about you?

- What do you wanna know about me?
- I... Look!

I'm not gonna pull your covers! You
wanna play the Game, play the Game.

That's not true. I...

Terry: People that
weren't addicts,

people that just heard
about Synanon.

You know, they came down
and played the Game,

and they started to
just enjoy the community.

[laughter]

Buddy Jones: My wife and I
went to a Synanon Game club.

It was like an awakening.

It was totally integrated.

♪♪

John Madden had recruited me
to play football

at San Diego State.

Some friends said, "Listen,
when you get down to San Diego

and you feel the pressure,
go to Synanon."

We walked into the building,
and boom!

I never used dr*gs,
I was not a dope fiend.

But I began to play the Game.

It was a lifesaver for me
in a certain way

'cause every time I had
a good catharsis in the Game,

I felt a little lighter.

[overlapping chatter]

Lynn Ritter: The Synanon Game
was great. It was right up my alley.

It was, it was just...
I felt like I'd come home.

You could say
what you wanted to say.

I wanted to jump right into it.

You don't know how to verbalize
yourself in here, and with me.

This is what goes on!

- I met Phil there.
- [weak laugh]

And he was kind of
a cool glass of water.

- Good-looking guy.
- [both laugh]

I kind of, uh, was
a little full of myself.

I got ganged up on

by a couple of very
experienced Game players

and got my feelings
terribly hurt.

- [laughs] - Lynn: I just
wish I'd been there!

- You should've been in that
game with me! [laughs] - Oh, man!

- Excuse me. Go... Go ahead.
- It would've saved you a lot of trouble down the road!

[both laugh]

Norm Johnson: When the Game
Club opened up to nonresidents,

Squares, as we were called.

I was probably
one of the early participants.

I played the Game in Los Angeles

and up in San Francisco.

I went through a divorce,
and I did have

a reoccurring struggle
with depression.

Playing the Synanon Game
helped me.

The intimacy of the Game,
I think,

moved me to a place where
I felt I had nothing to hide

and it just seemed to-to create

a level of communication
that was delicious.

[game chatter]

Lena:
The Squares would volunteer

and donate their time and money.

[indistinct]

We had something good going on,

and they wanted to be
a part of it, right?

[kids chattering]

Terry: This couple came
in, Nina and Al Bauman,

and they more or less
started the school.

It was in a house they rented
down the beach from the club.

Aha. I love this picture.

This is in front of the school.

That's myself,

um, then we've got Charlene,
who was my first girlfriend.

We actually
moved into the school.

And now suddenly, we were
thrown into this new situation.

I was probably around 12.

That's when we all first
started playing the Game.

Patty: We're out there. You
had to write a note and tell me

it's time for school,
you little assh*le!

What do you think you are?!

[kids yelling]

[sighs]

That Game, it hurts my heart.

- [kids yelling]
- Charlene is being gamed.

The Game for kids
was no different

than the Game for adults.

Patty:
You little buttface!

I know you are, Patty!

Patty: And you sneak
in the back and you smoke!

- Oh yeah?! [indistinct]
- [all yelling]

Patty: Don't lie,
Charlene! [indistinct]

You were doing it also!

Bill:
You can see so much pain

in her young heart, which
she carried through her life.

[yelling continues]

Bill: I learned
how to play the Game

and did everything I could
to not have it turn on me.

I think the painful part for me

was some of my best friends,

they didn't know
how to play the Game.

They were afraid of it.

You know,
I wanted to protect them.

[indistinct]

But, it's kind of hard because
as soon as you open that door,

then suddenly, you know,
it's like, vroom.

The focus becomes on you,

and why are you
trying to protect,

you know, uh, your classmate
or your brother or your sister.

[yelling continues]

A lot of my young friends

couldn't figure out
how to play by the rules

of a place that
didn't have any rules

or rules that
changed all the time.

[kids yelling]

Imagine a situation

where the vultures
can pick you apart

unless you fight back.

Some kids couldn't fight back.

You know, there was,

for sure,
some collateral damage.

[curious music playing]

As kids,

we didn't understand
all of the ins and outs of it.

But we knew that
there was this whole movement.

- [indistinct]
- [kids screaming]

And to some degree,
I think that it was

- a sign of the times.
- [laughter]

["Alone Again Or"
by Love playing]

Buddy: You have to think
in terms of not just Synanon.

You have to think about
what was happening in the '60s.

Synanon was just like a part of
all the other social movements.

I mean, the whole culture
was exploding.

♪ Yes ♪

♪ Said it's alright ♪

♪ I won't forget ♪

- Jesse Jackson [chants]: I am!
- Crowd [chants]: I am!

- Jesse: Somebody!
- Crowd: Somebody!

- Jesse: I am!
- Crowd: I am!

- Black!
- Crowd: Black!

- Jesse: Beautiful!
- Crowd: Beautiful!

- Proud!
- Crowd: Proud!

I must be respected!

Crowd:
I must be respected!

♪ And I will be alone
again tonight, my dear ♪

- [gentle splashing]
- Buddy: In 1968,

Synanon moved
to the Del Mar Club.

[seagulls cawing]

By that time,
there were a lot of people

who were beginning to look
at the difference

between their own lifestyle
and the Synanon lifestyle.

- [song fades out]
- [quiet chatter]

Terry: I think that there were
a lot of people that felt alone.

In Synanon, you just
connected in a special way.

[quiet chatter]

You ate all your meals together.

You had a job
that wasn't too difficult.

Your evenings were
all taken up with games

and Saturday night parties.

You never were lonely,

you were totally taken care of,

and a lot of people
wanted to become a part of it.

- [leaves rustling]
- [soft music playing]

Elena Broslovsky:
I dropped out of college

and I ended up in San Francisco

during the Summer of Love.

I was hitchhiking
down Oak Street.

Guy picked me up
on his motorcycle

and said he was going
to the Synanon Street Fair.

And I went,
"Oh, my God! That rehab."

[quiet street noise]

They're wearing love beads,
they have rock bands.

Um, this is great.

I wasn't a drug addict,

but I wanted to join.

♪♪

[inaudible]

Rod Mullen:
I think, for a lot of people,

Synanon was an opportunity
to live in a way

that was consistent
with your principles.

I really saw the organization

as a vital approach
to civil rights.

[gentle music playing]

[crowd chatter]

[cars honking]

Elena: One of the things
that made me wanna move in

were the three assassinations
that happened.

♪♪

That put a lot of people

in absolute despair
about our country.

[crowd cheering]

When the news about
Martin's assassination came,

I saw Chuck on the stage.

And he talked about a community
and forming a community.

We had a view.
Synanon is a social movement.

Any kind of a divide

that people had
between each other,

we believed could be talked out,

could be healed,
could be confronted.

Rod: Chuck really believed
that community itself

was healing.

[crowd singing]

And that community was not
only good for addicts.

Anyone in society could benefit
from living communally

and working together
and participating

in the Synanon Game.

[clapping]

And I think Chuck thought
this is bigger than...

just cleaning up drug addicts.

["Les Fleurs" by
Minnie Riperton playing]

♪ Ring all the bells, sing, and
tell the people everywhere ♪

♪ That the flower has come ♪

♪ Light up the sky with
your prayers of gladness ♪

♪ And rejoice for
the darkness is gone ♪

♪ Throw off your fears,
let your heart b*at freely ♪

♪ At the sign that
a new time is born ♪

Elena:
So, we started moving in.

We weren't drug addicts.

- We were called Lifestylers.
- [song fades out]

We came to change the world.
We thought we could.

Rod: A doorway opened,
and it was quite a change.

And some of the change
was in terms of

the economics of Synanon.

[quiet chatter]

Not only did Lifestylers provide

a lot of
well-educated professionals,

many of the Lifestylers
worked outside of Synanon

and contributed their salaries.

When my dad d*ed,
I had inherited some money.

So I donated that money
to Synanon.

It was about $55,000.

And I had a house
full of furniture and stuff,

and I donated that
to Synanon as well.

Jady:
I was one of the directors,

and we would collect the money
from the Lifestylers.

It was like a whole ritual
that I would do once a week.

I was 23 years old. I'd get
dressed nicely, you know.

It was like an acknowledgment
of it. It was a ceremony.

You know,
donating most of your money.

- [phone ringing]
- [typing]

Mike: A gentleman gave
an entire real estate business!

A woman whose family
were the founders

of Chico-San rice cakes,
[laughs]

she gave all her wealth!

We had doctors in Beverly Hills.

You're talking millions
and millions of dollars.

[curious music playing]

Elena: AdGap stood for
advertising, gifts, and premiums.

It was a company that
grew out of a donation

- by a Lifestyler.
- [phone ringing]

Rod:
AdGap turned out to be

very, very lucrative.

Selling, you know,
a pencil or a pen

with a company's imprint on it,

or hats, uh, jackets.

Ron: The advertising gifts
business brought in a lot of money.

And we were still getting a
tremendous amount of donations.

[forklift rumbling]

All our food was donated.

We had doctors and dentists
who donated their time.

We got a building donated
to us in San Francisco.

It was one city block.

[office chatter]

Mike: We were growing
very, very, very quickly

because we were making
so much money.

Old-timers were not
real happy about it.

♪♪

Lena: Chuck turned
all of his attention

to the Lifestylers.

Not that we didn't like them,

but we could see him, um...

slowly drifting away
from the dope fiends.

[indistinct chatter]

We were resentful

because they were
taking up our spaces...

[chatter continues]

...and because of the things
that we had gone through

to help Chuck get to that point.

Addicts started feeling demoted.

Like that they weren't
important anymore.

They just became non-entities.

- [seagulls cawing]
- Bill: In the late '60s,

there was a Game
in Santa Monica.

- [gentle splashing]
- [leaves rustling]

It was called
the Dirty Double Dozen.

In it were all of
the old-timers.

But, this-this time,

there was something different.

There was something
mean-spirited about it.

- [foreboding music playing]
- [gentle splashing]

♪♪

It hurt, right?

'Cause we had worked hard

not just to get
our lives together,

but just to build
this foundation.

I was the first one of
the old-timers

that left, right?

- [gentle splashing outside]
- [somber music playing]

Rod: These elders had an
important role to play in Synanon.

[seagulls cawing]

They knew a lot.

The addicts knew Chuck
when he was just Chuck.

A guy they admired, but did
not think that he walked on water.

[indistinct]

And in some ways,
it was k*lling the witnesses.

[tense music playing]

Because the Lifestylers

started to see Chuck as a god.

[dramatic crescendo]

[solemn music playing]

♪♪

[music fades out]