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Media Articles - 1990s

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12 January 2003
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Tulsa Psychiatrist Named to Evaluate Narconon Facility

The Oklahoman
December 20, 1990


A state agency barred by a court order from inspecting a Kay County substance abuse center named a Tulsa man Thursday to evaluate the facility.

Dr. John Chelf, a board-certified psychiatrist specializing in addiction, will make the review and report to the State Mental Health Board, said Rosemary Brown, a spokeswoman with the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health.

The Narconon Chilocco New Life Center last month successfully blocked board members from reviewing reports from an earlier inspection. They claimed the documents were biased against the facility because of its ties with the Church of Scientology.

Mental health board members last month talked of naming the agency's advocate general, the person who represents complaining patients of mental health and substance abuse facilities but reconsidered after Narconon objected, Brown said.

An Oklahoma County associate district judge last month ruled the department was biased against Narconon.

The ruling came a day before board members were scheduled to act on certifying the program, which has been questioned because of its emphasis on saunas and vitamins, a method devised by L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology.

Chelf has the freedom to make an evaluation of Narconon by himself or ask help from experts not employed by the mental health department, Brown said.