Inside Narconon Arrowhead: The Kiamichi Tech Nursing Tour
Nine nurses in training, their instructor, Krystal West, who teaches a Practical Nursing Program at Kiamichi Tech in Stigler, Oklahoma and her assistant came to Narconon Arrowhead on January 14, 2026 to tour the center. This has been a popular tour for Kiamichi Tech nursing students for a decade or more.
The visitors were first given an overview of the serious drug problem in the society by Deputy Executive Director for Production. The following drug facts from the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics were gone over:
- 51.2% – Over half of people 12 and older have used illicit drugs at least once.
- 100k+ Over 105,000 people die from drug overdoses in a year.
- Opioids are a factor in over 7 out of every 10 overdose deaths.
In addition, from the Oklahoma State Department of Health, they were told: methamphetamine is the most common substance involved in drug overdose deaths in Oklahoma.
Then they were briefed on how Narconon centers handle the drug problem in society through drug education in their local communities and through the Narconon alcohol and drug rehabilitation program.
The Drug Problem and the Narconon Program
Drug addiction is a global problem. Narconon Arrowhead opened in 2001 to make all aspects of the Narconon program widely available. It is the flagship drug rehabilitation and international training center. As the international training center, Narconon Arrowhead provides comprehensive training to professionals and organizations seeking workable drug rehabilitation and prevention solutions.
Narconon’s mission is to provide an effective path for rehabilitation from drug abuse and to assist society in preventing the scourge of drugs worldwide. Using the evidence-based, drug-free approach to rehabilitation developed by author and humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard, Narconon centers help those enslaved by drugs and alcohol to build new lives filled with purpose and productivity. Our graduates return to their families and to their communities drug-free and in control of their lives, which is the goal of the program.
The Narconon program is a precise, step-by-step regimen that addresses all aspects of addiction to assist individuals to overcome its adverse effects for themselves and those around them. Overcoming drug addiction can seem daunting. It takes time and commitment. Students progress through the Narconon program at their own pace, taking an average of 12 weeks. This gives students the time and support they need to rebuild new lives from the ground up and with strong foundations, to replace the lives destroyed by drugs or alcohol.
NARCONON’S MISSION is to provide an effective path for rehabilitation from drug abuse and to assist society in preventing the scourge of drugs worldwide.
Drug-Free Withdrawal
The first stop on the tour was Drug-Free Withdrawal where the Introduction to Narconon and the New Life Detoxification films were shown. These are part of a series of instructional films that are presented to students during the program, demonstrating visually the theory and procedure of each aspect of the technology that underlies the components of the program and how they work together to lead the individual out of addiction to a new drug-free state. The visitors all showed great interest in these films from start to finish.
The Narconon program begins with a drug-free, nonmedical withdrawal process designed to assist the individual to come off drugs as rapidly and comfortably as possible. During this step, Narconon withdrawal specialists are on hand and available to help individuals through the difficult time of coming off drugs through the program. Narconon staff monitor sleep, food, fluid intake and general progress through the process. They also administer gentle physical techniques known as assists to help calm spasms and lessen aches and pains.
Through procedures called objectives, staff help to reorient students to the present, directing their attention off themselves and their bodies and onto the environment around them. Objectives also help to relieve mental and emotional discomfort of looking inward at negative thoughts or dwelling on the past.
Finally, nutrition plays a vital role in withdrawal. To function properly, the body requires vitamins and minerals; drugs and alcohol burn up vitamins and minerals and mask the painful signs that the body is failing. When the person stops taking drugs, the pain and discomfort are manifested in withdrawal.
The next stop on the tour was the dining area and then they were taken through the remaining program delivery areas.
New Life Detoxification
The New Life Detoxification is another unique aspect of the Narconon program. It is based on the discovery by L. Ron Hubbard that drug residues apparently remain trapped in the body’s fatty tissues and may be reactivated even years after the individual has ceased taking drugs. The harmful mental and physical effects of taking drugs do not end even when the person stops taking drugs. Therefore, a vital step is to get drugs out of the body and end their mental and physical effects on an individual’s life.
This phase of the Narconon program was designed to eliminate toxic substances from the body while decreasing physical cravings related to drugs and alcohol. The elements of the New Life Detoxification consist of running to stimulate circulation; extensive periods of time sweating in a specially ventilated, low-heat, dry sauna to sweat out accumulated drugs and toxins; nutrition, including specific vitamins, minerals and oils taken in exact quantities; and a properly ordered personal schedule that allows for adequate sleep. Students take adequate amounts of salt, potassium and water to remain properly hydrated during the process.
The purpose of New Life Detoxification is to rid the body of drug residues and eliminate their negative effects, including drug cravings.
Course Room
Our goal is long-term success for each individual. After Withdrawal and New Life Detox, students report feeling remarkably better and so are ready for the final program elements.
The Objectives
Following drug-free withdrawal and New Life Detoxification, the Narconon student moves on to the Objectives. Drugs dull a person’s awareness and throws him out of communication with his environment. Objectives help bring the student into communication with others and with the present environment, extroverting the student’s attention from disturbing memories associated with drug use and enabling the student to achieve a wider perspective that is less subjective and more objective. He is able to view the world around him clearly, often for the first time in years.
During various stages of the program, Objectives are done each day to help keep the student’s attention off the past and on the present. On the Objectives, students also learn skills they can use to help them comfortably face life and resolve problems through communication.
Life Skills Courses
Effective practice and learning leads to stability, self-respect and return of personal values. Just like physical skills, life skills can be learned. The final component of the program consists of a series of Life Skills Courses. These courses give the individual the tools he needs to remain drug-free.
Overcoming Ups and Downs in Life Course
To avoid situations that might lead to drug use in the future, students must be able to identify true friends and the positive people in their lives and, to isolate those likely to lead them back into trouble. On this course, students can learn how poor decisions regarding friends and acquaintances damaged their lives in the past and how to make better choices in the future.
Personal Values Course
On the Personal Values Course, students learn how personal values are lost and how to restore them. They come to recognize their actual obligations. They learn a procedure that enables them to take full responsibility for their past misdeeds and thereby gain relief from the associated trauma and guilt connected with them. By the end of this course, students can leave the past behind and move forward into a positive future.
Changing Conditions in Life Course
Because drug and alcohol use often stems from an inability to deal with challenging situations, it is vital that former addicts learn constructive problem-solving skills that assist them to lead drug-free lives. This course further educates students in procedures that can be followed to correct anything in the past so it is no longer a problem in the present, learning precise steps to move their lives forward.
After Program Graduation
Once the person is completed with their program and goes on with the business of living their life, they may run into situations which they may not be able to easily handle, or which create upset and turmoil. Graduates are regularly contacted by the Narconon Graduates Officer who assists them to handle any situations they may need help with in order to gain increased control of his or her life.
Continuing on the Tour
Moving along on the tour, many questions were answered along the way. The nursing students were captivated by the Narconon Arrowhead graduate success story posted on the student notice board, and all wanted to read it.
After the program delivery areas, the tour was taken to the gym and student lounge where more questions were asked and answered, indicating they had been paying close attention and were genuinely interested.
Success Story
At the end of the tour Withdrawal Specialist and long-time staff member, Kris Neeland, shared his story as a Narconon Arrowhead student who graduated from the program more than 20 years ago and has been clean since.
All who attended expressed their appreciation for the tour and left with informational portfolios and a standee filled with our brochures for the school. We hope to see the new nursing students next year!
Sources:
- drugabusestatistics.org
- oklahoma.gov
