The Synanon organization, initially a drug rehabilitation program, was founded by Charles E. “

TheSynanonorganization, initially a drug rehabilitation program, was founded by Charles E. “Chuck” Dederich, Sr., (1913–1997) in 1958 in Santa Monica, California, United States. By the early 1960s, Synanon had also become an alternative community, attracting people with its emphasis on living a self-examined life, as aided by group truth-telling sessions that came to be known as the “Synanon Game”. Synanon ultimately became the Church of Synanon in the 1970s, and disbanded permanently in 1989 due to many alleged criminal activities, including attempted murder, and civil legal problems, including Federal tax-evasion problems with the Internal Revenue Service.