No one joins a cult; everyone joins a good thing, but once you’re in too deep, it can be impossible to tell the difference.

In 1958, Charles E. Dietrich Sr set out to do a good thing: create a drug rehabilitation center that was more inclusive, unlike AA which he found to be limiting. What started out as a new-wave addiction treatment movement turned into a violent and dangerous cult that was existing in plain sight and operating very differently on the inside than was being shown to the outside world.

Headed by a troubled dictator, Synanon eventually became known as "one of most dangerous and violent cults America had ever seen".  Forced abortions and taking violent revenge on anyone who fought against them (especially lawyer Paul Morantz) are just some of the sinister details outlined in our discussion.

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Music (pre-theme) by LiteSaturation on Pixabay.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

"The Man who Fought Cults and Won" by Matt Novak. Published September 27, 2014.
https://gizmodo.com/the-man-who-fought-cults-and-won-1634267961

"The Story of This Drug Rehab-Turned-Violent Cult Is Wild, Wild Country-Caliber Bizarre" by Hillel Aron. LA Magazine. Published April 23, 2018.
https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/synanon-cult/

"Synanon's Sober Utopia: How a Drug Rehab Program Became a Violent Cult" by Matt Novak. Published April 15, 2014.
https://gizmodo.com/synanons-sober-utopia-how-a-drug-rehab-program-became-1562665776

"Synanon". Deadly Cults. (Season 2, Episode 8). Oxygen Network.
https://www.oxygen.com/deadly-cults/season-2/episode-8/synanon

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