Narconon Records Could Prove Oklahoma Employee Misconduct

An Oklahoma drug rehab facility is being forced to hand over records that could possibly disclose that some employees are trading drugs in exchange for sex with patients.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court denied Narconon Arrowhead's request to keep those documents protected.

The documents will soon be released to the attorney representing the family of a young woman who overdosed after being released from the facility in 2008.

That attorney said the facility considers employee records confidential, because many are former patients, so releasing them would violate Narconon's physician-patient privilege.

The attorney will not be able to disclose the details within those documents with the public, at this time, but he said they may contain evidence of employee misconduct.

7/22/2012 Related Story: Father Calls Daughter's Death At McAlester Rehab Facility Preventable

It's been more than four years since Heather Landmeier went from a bubbly, free-spirited 20-something to a woman, in a vegetative state, fully dependent on another's care.

"We're definitely blessed to have her still here, but it's definitely exhausting and it's such a challenge every day," said Heather's sister, Hilary Landmeier.

Heather was a drug addict. Hilary said Heather got hooked on heroine after high school.

It was something her family never would have imagined.

"[She was] the popular girl, just loved by everybody, and you could never think that she could have anything going wrong in her life. It was her little kept secret that she didn't tell anybody about," Hilary said.

Heather went to Narconon Arrowhead to get help.

It's a drug and alcohol rehab center near McAlester that treats with teachings inspired by the Church of Scientology.

Heather tried treatment at Narconon three separate times.

During her third stint at the facility, her family claims she fell back into the grip of addiction—this time at the hands of Narconon employees.

"It got to the point where she had relapsed and was being provided drugs by these two different full-time staff members in exchange for sex," said the Landmeiers' attorney, Donnie Smolen, II.

8/25/2012 Related Story: Narconon CEO Talks About Allegations As Protesters Gather

Smolen said when Heather tested positive for drugs and she was kicked out of the program on March 5, 2008, no one in her family was called.

Within hours of her release, Heather had overdosed in a Tulsa hotel room. She's now in a persistent vegetative state.

"The facility knows how much drugs is going through that place, how much sex is going on, and they allow it to keep occurring," Smolen said.

Heather's family has filed a civil lawsuit against Narconon Arrowhead.

Smolen said he believes there are more cases like Heather's, but they have been swept under the rug, hidden in employee records.