Synanon; a Brief History

The aspect of Synanon in which I have found most fascinating is how it evolved and adapted throughout its history. From a junkie rehab center in Santa Monica to fighting a legal battle in order to list their group as a bona fide religion, Synanon has been an agent of change within its own circumstances. Ultimately, the entire entity began with a man named Charles Dederich. After the loss of both his brother and father at an early age, Dederich became rebellious and found salvation at the bottom of a bottle, spiraling into an on and off alcohol binge. Dederich began attending AA meetings and became one of the top speakers. He would take a religious perspective with a heavily evangelical tone, damning the immoral actions of such an addiction. A significant shift occurred in his philosophy towards rehabilitation when he partook in a clinical trials regarding LSD. After these tests, Dederich parted from his previous approach in AA meetings, leaning away from a religious prerogative, and towards a philosophy of self-development and a commitment to community. He also began to promote the idea that addicts are equal in terms of what they are using. In other words, he wanted to incorporate dope fiends with alcoholics, and AA did not agree with this. This ultimately pushed Dederich to create his own therapeutic society, called the Tender Loving Care Club, which would soon become the grassroots of Synanon.

The TLC Club began in 1958 in Santa Monica as Dederich’s initial attempt to create an environment whose primary purpose was rehabilitate addicts across the board. Dederich’s message for those joining was, “today is the first day of the rest of your life,” promoting the ideology of a new start and an opportunity to cultivate one’s sense of independent self.  The TLC Club had their members go cold turkey, meaning members could have absolutely no access to the substance they were addicted to or any other substance, other than cigarettes and coffee. This was the basis of a ladder of self responsibility. As each member continued to improve, the more freedoms they were given. The interesting about this phase of Synanon is the government support it garnered. The U.S. Senate even called it a “man made miracle on the beach of Santa monica.” As it grew in popularity, non-addicts, also called “squares,” began to garner interest, and in 1966, it opened its doors to said squares to join in game-clubs. This was a way for the squares to experience “the game,” which was a session of complete and brutal honesty, saying what is on one’s mind to address the behaviors of another member in order to promote humility and personal accountability in terms of how one’s actions affects a group or personal dynamic. As the group grew in popularity, Dederich saw an opportunity to expand and he took it, changing Synanon from a therapeutic organization targeting rehabilitation to an alternative society, or a commune.

This switch derived from two drastic decisions that would change Synanon forever. The first is to close “graduation” ceremonies, meaning once you join the community, you are expected to stay within the community. The second of which was to allow the squares who were in game-clubs to integrate into the community for a hefty fee. These folks were called “lifestylers.” This was only the began of what some would soon call a “hustling operation,” where Dederich and members would campaign and lobby for donations from individuals to corporations. Once the capital was arranged, Synanon began investing in real estate in Oakland, San Francisco, and Badger, California. The group relocated in 1968 from Santa Monica to Marshall, moving to Northern California. The group’s practices began to come into question from the local community as they became more world denying than world affirming. As paranoia grew, Synanon installed their own armed security, and stories began to circulate of their use of violence within their organization and the outside community. Now, during this time period as an alternate society, an odd occurrence transpired that seemed to have been an oversight. Since Synanon was keeping its reformed addicts and no longer were accepting new addicts, their effectiveness turned to be their downfall. Seeing as rehabilitation took the back seat to the society they were creating, they ultimately began to face the issue of losing their tax-exempt status as a rehabilitation clinic. The next step? The formation of a state-recognized religion.

Beginning in the mid 70’s, Synanon only increased their radical ideas, adding mandatory partner swapping, communal child-care, and vasectomies for long-time male members, in an attempt to create a more organized and doctrinal society. In 1975, Synanon stated that as an update to its society, one of the primary purposes would be to operate a church, and in 1979, Synanon amended this statement by clarifying the main reason for the group was a religious one. Ultimately, despite their newfound religious convictions, Synanon could not fight off the poor press they had been receiving due to some of the member’s public antics, assumptions made by the general public, or a combination of the two. After facing legal trouble and health issues, Charles Dederich was forced to step down from his involvement in the organization. Combine the loss of their leader, a more than poor public image, and the IRS rejecting their tax exempt status, it is amazing to see the slow climb of an alternative community, and the factors that lead to its quick demise.