Sedona Arizona sweat lodge deaths--Are Americans too docile?

[Helen Reyes]

But Ray's self-help empire was thrown into turmoil when two of his followers died after collapsing in the makeshift sweat lodge near Sedona and 19 others were hospitalized. A homicide investigation that followed has cast a critical spotlight on Ray's company.

Dianetics has been described as the first modern American self-help book. Its later incarnation the Church of Scientology does something very similar to sweat lodges to treat drug addiction under its Narconon front organization (not Narcotics Anonymous, see http://www.crackpots.org/). Patients/inmates are told to sweat out their toxins in saunas and are administered massive doses of nicotianamide or niacin, which causes hives.

I almost think it woud be more beneficial for most of these people to spend a weekend outside in Yellow Knife with a bottle of Night Train and a pack of Camels. Even with travel expenses it would come in under 9K for most of them. Why don't these modern shamans ever teach the Hobo Tao, lead excusrions under a bridge to chug a gallon bottle of wine and shoot the bull all night?