Synanon, originally known as Tender Loving Care, was a new religious movement founded in 1958 by Charles E. "Chuck" Dederich Sr. in Santa Monica, California, United States.

[5][6] Described as one of the "most dangerous and violent cults America had ever seen",[7][8] Synanon disbanded in 1991 after several members were convicted of offenses including financial misdeeds, evidence tampering, terrorism, and attempted murder.

[3] At the time of Synanon's founding, those suffering from drug addiction were not always welcomed into AA because their issues were considered significantly different from those of alcoholics.

"[10][11] After his small group, called "Tender Loving Care", gained a significant following, Dederich incorporated the organization into the Synanon Foundation in 1958.

The word syndicate also means "an association of people or firms formed to promote a common interest or carry out a business enterprise".

[14][3] Synanon began as a two-year residential program, but Dederich soon concluded that its members could never graduate, because a full recovery was impossible.

In 1967, Synanon purchased the Club Casa del Mar, a large beachside hotel in Santa Monica, as its headquarters and a dormitory for those undergoing treatment for drug addiction.

He later founded AREBA, the oldest surviving private addiction treatment center in the United States, as well as Daytop Village, one of the world's largest therapeutic communities.

[25] The Game served not only as Synanon's most prominent form of therapy and personal change, but also worked as a way for leaders to collect the opinions of community members.

[7] Over time, Dederich's vision of Synanon evolved, and he began to envision the group's potential to promote social progress.

The concept of "lifetime rehabilitation" did not agree with therapeutic norms, and it was alleged in 1961 by the City of Santa Monica that Synanon was "operating a hospital in a residential zone".

Children who had been assigned to Synanon began running away, and an "underground railroad" had been created in the area that sought to help them return to their parents.

[7] A state Grand Jury in Marin County issued a scathing report in 1978 that attacked Synanon for the very strong evidence of its child abuse, and also for the monetary profits that flowed to Dederich.

The Grand Jury report also rebuked the governmental authorities involved for their lack of oversight, although it stopped short of directly interceding in the Synanon situation.

Much of the violence by Synanon was carried out by an internal group called the "Imperial Marines"[30] Over 80 violent acts were committed, including mass beatings that hospitalized teenagers, and ranchers who were beaten in front of their families.

[31] People who left Synanon risked physical violence for being a "splittee"; one ex-member, Phil Ritter, was beaten so severely that his skull was fractured and he subsequently fell into a coma with a near-fatal case of bacterial meningitis.

Following the broadcast, several NBC executives, including the network's chairman, allegedly received hundreds of threats from Synanon supporters.

The newspaper was domiciled in a tiny town ten miles south of Marshall, where Synanon's main facility was located.

[42][43][44] Mel Wasserman, influenced by his Synanon experience, founded CEDU Educational Services, a company in the troubled teen industry that owned and operated several schools.

Father William B. O'Brien, the founder of New York's Daytop Village, included Synanon's group encounters and confrontational approach in his research into addiction treatment methods.

[46] The author, journalist, and activist Maia Szalavitz claims to chart the influence of Synanon in other programs including Phoenix House, Straight, Incorporated, and Boot Camps in addition to those mentioned above.