Synanon
n. a residential drug treatment program that utilized confrontation and peer pressure to encourage its members to deal with their addiction. Founded in California in 1958 by Charles Dederich (1914–1997), himself a recovering alcoholic, Synanon was the first major drug treatment program in the United States, and its tough love approach to overcoming addiction was widely publicized as innovative and effective. It evolved into an experimental commune that Dederich proclaimed as a religion in the mid-1970s. Thereafter, amid accusations of authoritarian practices within the community and Dederich’s no-contest plea to charges of attempted murder, Synanon declined in prominence and was eventually disbanded in 1991.