Narconon Louisiana-New Life Retreat plans to open a drug rehabilitation center on a 12-acre site in Denham Springs.
Narconon paid $750,000 to Claude and Janice Penn Jr. at 35059 Bend Road, according to Livingston Parish Clerk of Court records.
The rehabilitation center is expected to open at the beginning of March, said Cathy Davis, a spokeswoman for the center.
Narconon is a nonprofit that tries to eliminate drug abuse and addiction through drug prevention, education and rehabilitation, Davis said. The secular rehabilitation program is based on the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology.
Narconon International was founded by William Benitez, a drug addict who set up the program in 1966 while serving time in Arizona State Penitentiary.
The Narconon network consists of more than 100 centers worldwide, according to Narconon International
The key to the program is that the individual is responsible for his own condition and that anyone can improve his condition if he is given a workable way to do so, according to Narconon International. Treatment is based on improved understanding of people�s fundamental nature: they are basically good and it is pain, suffering and loss that lead them astray.