Addiction: Buying the Cure at Passages Malibu

Sometimes, Merrill answers questions I haven’t asked. At one point, she blurts out, “I don’t think Passages is ripping people off.”

I ask if she ever feels bad or wants to alter her mood.

Kevin Scanlon

Kevin Scanlon

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More About

• Chris Prentiss
• Alcoholics Anonymous
• Jason Giles
• Mental Health
• Addiction and Recovery

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“No, never!” she replies quickly. “I am normal now.”

Why can’t she drink and use like normal people?

“Because then I won’t want to stop,” she says.

When I point out that that is not normal, she sounds befuddled. What does she do now that is more fun than slamming china white on a cool summer night?

“I have fun with other things. We go watch scary movies!”

In my last conversation with Prentiss, he not only recommended I speak to Bufe and Merrill, but he also had a few choice words regarding his critics — and former employees — doctors Emory and Giles. Responding to Emory’s comments that Prentiss is not qualified to say he knows the cause of addiction, Prentiss says, “Okay, that’s his story. My side of the story was that we actually forbid him to work here because he overmedicated people. He believed, and he said — and this is why I let him go — he said that every person who comes to Passages should be medicated. Forever!”

Told of these claims, Emory responds, “I don’t medicate people unless I see abnormalities. And I find it fascinating to be debating a person who has no education and just a real estate licence.”

As for Giles, Prentiss seems stunned that I even mention his name. He gathers his thoughts and then brings the noise: “Giles is a very sweet guy. A very sweet guy who turned out to be a skunk!” Prentiss stammers. “I was Jason’s mentor for more than 20 years. When I met Jason, he was a high school dropout. He came to work for me in my seminars. Then he went to work for me as a real estate agent. He got his doctor’s license, got into anesthesiology and was discovered to be using drugs. I gave him this very cushy job here, where he was making over $1 million a year.” Prentiss makes other charges that appear to be unfounded, including one that Giles kept fees that should have gone to Passages.

Dr. Giles’ response is swift and adamant: “It is true we met when I was 16. It is true that I dropped out of high school. It is true that I had problems with drugs and alcohol. I never had a job at Passages. What is true is that I had direct relationships with each of the patients. What is true is that [the Prentisses] wanted money that they’re not eligible for. It wasn’t enough that they’re charging $60,000 a month. They wanted my professional fees for interpreting complex lab tests and everything else they could get their hands on. It’s against the law.

“I’m one of the few people who have intimate, factual knowledge of how Passages runs its practice,” Giles says. “Therefore, I must be destroyed by Prentiss. He can say anything he wants to. What reputation does he have? He’s just a real estate salesman. It makes me sad and angry. It’s just awful.”

And so it goes at Passages Malibu, where, according to Chris Prentiss, the universe is perfect, and everything happens for a reason — a good reason.

Also read Going Undercover at Impact House and  Rehab or Bust: A Guide to L.A.'s Drug and Alcohol Treatment Centers by Mark Groubert