From Drug Treatment to Mind Control: Synanon's Experiment (Revisited)
We have been working remotely for weeks, and when we met to collaborate on future articles, we unwittingly edited something we had already published. We, if we may be a little indulgent, like this version quite a bit more and thought we would share it with you. Feel free to mock us.
At its height, Synanon (1958-1991) was a successful experimental drug treatment facility that sought to create a society free of drugs, alcohol, and violence. Near its end, some of its leaders were arrested for attempted murder; they were investigated for child and sexual abuse, and the public described them as a cult. Despite having millions in their reserves, Synanon withered and died. More than twenty five thousand people stayed at Synanon. Rod Janzen, a historian, claimed that the methods and practices developed at Synanon were the “model for thousands of drug-treatment centers throughout the world” (Janzen, p.1, 2001). Among these was the Synanon Game, a kind of confrontational talk therapy, meant to push people to become resilient by confronting their issues.
Other writers claimed (incorrectly in our view) that Synanon inspired the Troubled Teen Industry. Regardless of its role in shaping the troubled teen industry, Synanon promised to cure addicts and turn them into valuable members of a better society. Thus, reducing criminal activity. This simple organization started with two principles: no drugs/alcohol and no violence.
“Today is the first day of the rest of your life” Charles Dederich
We bet that you have heard the phrase, but doubt you knew it was Chrarles “Chuck” Dederich who said it first.
Dederich was born on March 22, 1913. His father died when he was fourteen. Dederich struggled and failed out of University. He was an alcoholic, convinced that Alcoholic Anonymous had saved him. Upon moving to Santa Monica, he sought a group and found none. Thus, he began hosting Alcoholic Anonymous Meetings. Soon thereafter, he was disappointed. He felt that attendees failed to progress because they avoided their issues by lying to their group, or lying to themselves.
Frustrated by others’ failures, Dederich began experimenting with different approaches. He found that calling people out appeared to help. Soon, his groups grew bigger and thus he started Synanon with a “creative and effective approach to drug addiction” (Janzen, p.1, 2001). Dederich's main innovative step was the use of a “unique therapeutic method based on peer group-induced self-awareness and disciplined behavioral change” (Janzen, p.1, 2001).
Synanon rapidly increased in numbers because its intervention appeared to work and offered something different. During this time, other treatment centers used harsh methods such as straightjackets, solitary confinement, and more (Janzen, p.11, 2001). In contrast, Dederich’s program was meant to incubate self-reliance. This message resonated with many who were disappointed by injustices, and thousands of people across America opposed “consumerism, ecological indifferences, and militarism” (Janzen, p.4, 2001).
While Dederich often warned about the problems with hero worship, he was an “egoist who loved the limelight and the power he had attained, and members always found it difficult to disagree with him” (Jazen, p.71, 2001). By the end, Dederich would be stripped of all power at Synanon. He died in February 1997. His legacy, many historians argue, lives on.
Synanon Early History
Dederich started hosting AA meetings in San Diego, but eventually found attendees could allegedly cope out, so he introduced a modified therapeutic approach where peer pressure was used to push people to confront themselves. Other than abstaining from using, refraining from violence, Synanites had to play the Synanon Game, and work.
As Dederich’s group grew, he increased fees, and yet more people joined. Eventually, it would form an organization and grow more and more profitable. Synanon would establish residences in many areas, confusing many as Synanon members were perceived as secular and strange. At the beginning, he rented a storefront where attendees could live. Shortly after, they needed more space, and Synanon moved again. What Dederich started in a living room quickly grew into a series of residences across California and the country.
Dederich hoped to help those who came to develop self reliance. At first, Dederich instituted zero tolerance for violence. He would tell attendees that they had to “change their behavior first” (Janzen, p.1, 2001). Like many such centers, Synanon had its own terms too. They referred non pejoratively to addicts as “dopefiends” (Janzen, p.1, 2001). Dederich rejected pharmacological treatments and believed people needed supervision, structure, and discipline, thus there were “rules that governed every aspect of their lives” (Janzen, p.20, 2001). Dederich felt that addicts sought “instant gratification” and “needed constant peer support and mentoring” (Janzen, p. 20, 2001). Those who had recently joined got the worst jobs (i.e. cleaning toilets), but could move on to better ones as time elapsed. Despite being weary of addicts' search for gratification, Syanon trusted newcomers and would leave cash boxes unlocked. Those who joined recall feeling empowered, like they really have a say. Such trust also entailed a thorough rejection of drug tests which meant Synanon lost out on thousands of dollars in grant money (Janzen, p.24, 2001).
Synanon For All
Eventually, “Dederich had become convinced that Synanon principles could benefit everyone” (Janzen, p.38, 2001) and decided to let nonaddicts (referred to as squares) join (Janzen, Chapter 3, 2001). Given that squares were not addicts, they had different needs, and Dederich decided that, unlike dopefiends, they did not have to live at Synanon. From the very start, this created tensions between groups. This change made integrating new members even more important, and became key to get “people to do things they would never have done on the outside, from singing in a choir to repairing a motorcycle.” (Janzen, p.57, 2001). By 1967, Synanon claimed to also be interested in the “causes of alienation and delinquency” (as quoted in Janzen p.38, 2001). This change in mission, and allowing non-addicts to join, would raise questions in the US Government regarding Synanon’s tax exempt status.
Synanon had bought property and developed a series of successful businesses. Among these was AdGap which met much success. You can read more about this in Janzen's book.
Synanon’s growth and success attracted the attention of scholars and the public. Abraham Maslow, the famous and well-respected psychologist, would send students to Synanon. Maslow would later play Syanon’s Game at Daytop Village, a treatment center founded by a former Synanite. Maslow praised the game and reflected that it was the most honest people had ever been with him (Janzen, p.62, 2001). Synanon drew praise from specialists and continued to grow. Steven Simon did his doctoral work at Harvard on Synanon’s Game (Janzen, p.63, 2001).
Introduction to Synanon II
From the very beginning Dederich continuously experimented and enacted changes to see whether they would work. He continued to operate in this way and at Synanon he would constantly try new approaches and introduce new rules. The growing success of Syanon demanded further adjustments leading to what has been called Synanon II. These ultimately contributed to the organization’s downfall.
Synanon's growing interest in social reform pushed them to institute practices that transformed the organization. In 1966, as more people joined Synanon, they instituted community parenting. Thus, children were separated from their parents and often transferred to other residences where they would be housed together and raised by the community. These children also started playing Syanon’s Game when they were a mere three years old.
Educating Children & Lawyers
From an early age Synanon kids were given responsibilities and assigned apprenticeships at thirteen. They attended a school specially designed for them. The curriculum was demanding and innovative, mixing Dewey-esque hands-on activities with cooperative learning, strict discipline, and more. Synanon used to refer to part of its philosophy as worms and will which meant that children should be prepared to adapt to change, thus their experience at school was characterized by unexpected modifications. Edward Gould, a researcher, argued that these children had a “great love for new ideas and unpredictable scenarios” (Janzen, p.78, 2001). These children were expected to graduate from secondary school at sixteen, two years earlier than average public school students (Janzen, chapter 5, 2001). Researchers who interviewed Synanon educated children found that those who were there during the 1970s had a better time than those who attended during the 1980s. Perhaps, reflecting other shifts across Synanon.
Synanon also developed their own law school. Like the school, this program used the game and other Synanon approaches to help students learn. The school accepted many former addicts and admitted some students who had not even finished high school. In 1982 graduates achieved exemplary results in the California Bar Exam (Janzen, p.197, 2001). Using bar exam pass rates, they were second in the state, only bested by Stanford law.
However strange Synanon’s education programs seem, it is unquestionable that students graduated early and achieved high pass rates on the bar exam. Whether these tools effectively measure the quality of their education remains an open question.
Synanon for Life
At its founding Synanon sought to help addicts overcome their problems so they could graduate from the program and return to society. By 1968, Dederich changed his mind and ended Synanon’s graduation policy, thus addicts, which were non-pejoratively called dopefiends, would never be considered to be ready to leave (Janzen, p.52, 2001). Synanon used the fact that many addicts had stayed there a long time, and were doing well, to argue that recovery was possible, while at the same time emphasising the importance of structured environments which the outside world lacked. Dederich insisted that, if dopefiends left Synanon, they would die.
Dederich was more convinced than ever that his program would also help non-addicts. These squares (non-addicts in Synanon’s parlance) had been participating in Synanon for some time, and would also experience changes. In 1968, Synanon began encouraging lifestylers to donate all their property to Synanon. The following year, Dederich commanded long time squares to become residents (Janzen, p.44, 2001). Thus, Synanon residences grew bigger and mixed addicts with non-addicts. Everyone had to abide by structures and systems originally developed for dopefiends (Janzen, p.46, 2001).
One of the few founding principles of Synanon was that no one could use drugs or alcohol; although it did allow cigarette smoking. In May 1970, smoking was banned, which would gravely affect dopefiends who smoked to help them overcome other addictions (Janzen, p.53, 2001). This move allowed the organization to cut costs and increase profits (Janzen, p.54, 2001). Others celebrated the ban, and Syanon students began shaving their heads to show their support. Around this time, Dederich’s third wife, Betty, was diagnosed with diabetes and as a result, Dederich banned sugar from all residences, which would return in 1982 (Janzen, p.54, 2001).
Dederich also changed the role of Synanon Games in daily life. The Synanon Game was a therapeutic approach developed by Dederich which we described in our previous post. At the beginning, the game was clearly separated from other aspects of life and what happened within games stayed there. Later, Synanon encouraged leaders to blur the lines. Residents were now allowed to discuss and circulate game content, even if it was false. The game became a show, something that was not only therapeutic but also entertainment (Janzen, p.64, 2001).
If Synanon II already seems weird to you, you have no idea what's coming.
Downfall: Coerced Vasectomies & Abortions
During its later years, Synanon transformed drastically, thus cementing its downfall. After Betty’s death “no one had the power to temper Chuck Dederich’s behavior and ideas” (Janzen, p.145, 2001). For example, shaved heads, which had become a fashion, were now mandatory (Janzen, p.126, 2001). They accepted people commissioned by the state for profit. They abandoned one of their founding principles of no violence and embraced controlled violence to discipline some of their members. They forced members to change sexual partners, and eventually mandated abortions and vasectomies. Synanon also created squads to target those who criticized the organization. They even tried murdering one of their critics.
Synanon started to accept wayward young adults that were compelled by the state to join. Unlike others, these groups had not willingly walked in through the door. The so-called punks were committed by the State and much more resistant than anyone at Synanon had expected. Dederich and other leaders decided that violence under “controlled situations” was needed (Janzen, p.113, 2001). Leaders now were doling out violent punishments. Soon thereafter, Synanon obtained gun licenses for all its members, (Janzen, p.114, 2001) and quickly became one of the largest purchasers of guns in California.
Sometime in February of 1976, Synanon decided that its members should bear no more children. They strongly encouraged all men to get vasectomies and women, who became pregnant, to have abortions (Janzen, chapter 9, 2001). The following year, Synanon moved to require “all males who were over the age of eighteen and who had been members of the foundation for at least five years to have vasectomies” (Janzen, p.142, 2001). Some 250 operations were carried out. Dederich also decided to break marriages and relationships and introduced a new system. The organization would pair members for a three year marriage after which they would be resorted.
Synanon members tried to kill Paul Morantz, a lawyer, by placing a venomous snake on his mailbox. He required 18 vials of antivenom to survive and endured permanent damage to his arm (Janzen, p.135, 2001). Morantz had helped a former Synanite recover custody over their children, causing Dederich and others at Synanon to worry. During a game, Dederich imagined Morantz being punished. His defenders claim he was merely venting during the game and members misconstrued his words (Janzen, p.184, 2001). Others claim he knew and coordinated the attack. In another instance, Phil Ritter, a former member, was beaten because he was trying to regain custody over his child (Janzen, p.133, 2001). By 1980, two Synanon members did not contest a charge of conspiracy to murder Morantz (Janzen, p.182, 2001).
Shockingly, in 1978, Synanon opened a bar in its residences. After Betty’s death, Dederich started drinking again. He also changed his stipend. In 1975, Dederich went from getting 100 dollars per month to making a salary of 125 thousand per year or about ten thousand per month (Janzen, p.169, 2001). In 2025 dollars, that is equivalent to around sixty thousand monthly.
More Wacky Changes
During the summer of 1987, Dederich behaved more erratically. After pushing journalists away, he decided to give an interview. Shirtless, and with a half empty bottle of vodka by his side, he babbled. Two weeks later he invoked a general meeting which had not been done in years.
He stood and asked the “entire membership fantasize with him about what the act of rape really meant” (Janzen, p.188, 2001). He then asked them to disrobe and play games by the pool. Many Synanites say that this was the moment they started to see him as a lunatic (Janzen, p.188, 2001).
Synanon faced other problems as its population grew older and childless. Many Synanites said that the absence of children “destroyed the life and spirit of the place” (Janzen, p. 199, 2001). The ones who had been born there, were also growing and unlike their parents, they had not chosen to join. A mass exodus followed. Synanon’s attempts to avoid paying taxes failed, and the IRS demanded what was owed.
Why Synanon?
Reading about some of these changes may leave you wondering, why did people stay? The fact is that, from its very beginning, Synanon had high defection rates, and as you would expect, many people defected after each of these changes (Janzen, p.55, 2001). Beverly Ferderber, a former resident, reflected that Synanon convinced people that they offered a “superior way to live, that it is the only way to live, and that causes people to do anything the organization wants them to do. I think that is dangerous.”
Synanon started as an experimental treatment program for addicts and grew into communities that sought to create a utopian society. Throughout its history, the organization instituted a series of changes to see whether they would work, and sometimes, walked changes back. Even more than ever, Synanon II demanded a kind of loyalty to order and the organization (Janzen, p.56, 2001). By the time Synanon collapsed, some people had spent over thirty years there (Janzen, p. 214, 2001). Janzen concluded that Synanon “was an honest, evolving social experiment designed to maximize human potential in a chaotic postmodern world” even if at times “things did get a bit crazy and many injustices were committed” (Janzen, p.2, 2001).
According to Janzen, Synanon collapsed because they introduced changes to their core values and practices. The structure of the game changed, and governance was weakened. Dederich introduced new rules like vasectomies, abortions, and shaved heads which repelled some members. Their effort to avoid taxes and become a religion, also made it easier for the public to be critical and describe them as a cult.
Synanon’s Legacy
Janzen and other historians argued that Synanon continues to affect therapeutic communities (Janzen, p.2, 2001). We certainly agree that Synanon inspired and engendered other treatment centers. These centers would also try to treat addicts, and other problematic people. However, we agree with Chatfield that these kinds of interventions have a much deeper history.
Is this too charitable of a view?
Synanon is thus an example of our collective willingness to embrace simple solutions to sophisticated social problems. It is also a cautionary tale about how good intentioned men and projects can quickly turn dark and dangerous.
The fact that Synanon persisted for three decades and that addicts and nonaddicts arguably lived together in harmony is impressive. The institution’s success and its ability to recruit members from different social classes suggests that in some ways it was able to fulfill needs that society at large had not. This warrants further examination and could perhaps inspire everyone to think more deeply about interventions that can enrich our lives and improve our communities. It is also important to note that Synanon had high defection rates throughout its history.
Make no mistake, we do not think Synanon is a model upon which to build societies. There is much about Synanon that scares us. We abhor the totalitarian turn this organization took, and denounce the fact it embraced violence, coercion, and more. We remain skeptical about efforts to play social engineer and the harm that this can cause.