“I have been drug-free for 40 years.”

Gordy Wienand, Graduate of First Narconon Program

Gordy Weinand is graduate number 4 of the Narconon program.

I grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota, in a working class family. My dad worked in the military and then became a truck driver. My mother was a stay-at-home mom. I was an excellent baseball player and such a good pitcher that I had dreams of being a major league player. Unfortunately that dream was cut short in 1955 when I got into trouble as a juvenile.

At age fifteen I was working for a neighbor cutting wood and doing general chores. When he refused to pay me, I became angry, threw a stick at him, then jumped in his car and took off. I drove the car into the little town where I went to high school. The cops were waiting for me. The charges were stealing a car and aggravated assault.

Prior to this, I had never been in trouble. This teenage prank had a profound influence on my life. The court sentenced me to thirty years in the St. Cloud Reformatory.

After seven years, I finally found an attorney who could help me. He found that I had been prosecuted and convicted as an adult at the age of fifteen. The Minnesota Supreme Court overturned the conviction and I was a free man.

Though I was free from prison, I had learned many bad habits there. Essentially I was still imprisoned by ignorance and unhappiness. I had lost all respect for the law and myself. My drug habit started in this reformatory. Drugs were easy to get, and I even learned to sell them. I was now a full fledged rebel on the loose.

Dealing Heroin

In 1966 I had moved to Arizona to try and start a new life. The first person I hooked up with was a big time heroin dealer. I tried heroin a few times and then met some other people who used speed. I got into speed very heavily. I would get high on speed and drink straight whiskey. I would sometimes stay awake
for two or three days at a time. However, I still somehow managed to work for a sign painting company.

One day a friend came by and told me he had been kicked out of his apartment. He asked if he could leave some things at my apartment and left. The next morning I was arrested for third degree burglary and eventually was sentenced to the Arizona State Prison. Believe it or not, this is when my life started changing for the better.

Gordy Meets Willie

My first job assignment in prison was working in the cannery. One day I was on a smoke break and I met Willie [William] Benitez. He was in prison for his third conviction for possession of heroin. Willie had been a heroin addict for 18 years. During the course of our conversation he asked me if I had ever been on drugs. When I told him my history, he asked me if I would be interested in participating in a program that he had just started. The name of the program was Narconon and its purpose was to help people get off of drugs. He explained that I would have to attend a meeting one night a week. I agreed, thinking that it was one way to get out of my cell during the week.

There were about 20 guys there the first time I went to a meeting. Willie was explaining what the program was all about and about the training drills. The guys were facing each other in chairs. I did the training drill, thinking it was a bit stupid, and then listened to the lecture that Willie gave which centered on information that he had learned from a book. He had realized that drug addicts are not powerless but actually do have power to overcome addiction.

After the third session, I began to change my outlook. I felt better about myself. I felt confident and started to get rid of frustrations and hatreds that I had been carrying around since I was a child. I realized that I was not a stupid juvenile as I had been told, but that I had abilities and I could take control. This was truly the beginning of life for me.

New Life Begins

After I had been in prison for about six months, Paramount Studios came to film the movie Riot in the prison. I was fortunate enough to get a part and to earn $4000 which I left prison with.

I immediately got a job and also worked to help expand Narconon. Willie continued to give lectures at his house and we started to promote the Narconon program at various events.

Within 6 months, in 1971, Willie decided to start the Narconon program in Los Angeles. We worked together installing carpet in order to earn money to keep Narconon going. Since then, I am proud to say that Narconon is now in 44 countries with over 120 centers and groups around the world.

I later went on to open a retail store. I am married and have raised 3 children. In 2001 two of my daughters moved to Atlanta and then talked my wife and me into moving there. Interestingly enough, that was the same year that Narconon started in Georgia, though I was not aware of it.

Lifetime Dream Comes True

Through some contacts in Los Angeles, the Executive Director of Narconon of Georgia discovered that I lived in Atlanta. She was eager to meet me and offered me a position. My lifetime dream had come true! Since 2003 I have worked full time as a Narconon staff member.

It is a great feeling to be able to be there when someone reaches out and to be able to give back what had been given to me. Many families who have someone on drugs ask me for advice. My first advice is to find out if the addict really wants help. If they do, I would encourage them to call me personally. I will say to them “The Narconon program works. I have been drug-free for 40 years. I am devoted to helping others have the success I have had.”

Gordy Weinand