Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has proposed building a national system of “wellness farms” for addiction treatment, citing an Italian rural community as a model. During his 2024 presidential campaign, Kennedy spoke repeatedly about San Patrignano, located east of Florence, which houses roughly 850 people in recovery. He described it as “a beautiful model” and promised to build farm camps in rural areas across the U.S. to help people recovering from alcohol and drug addiction.
The San Patrignano Model
San Patrignano was established in 1978 during Italy’s heroin epidemic and sits on 700 acres with its own school, workshops, dormitories, vineyard, and working farm. The philosophy is simple: people come to live and work in the community while slowly rebuilding their lives, often over years. Residents follow tightly regimented schedules, learning responsibility through hard work and peer-to-peer counseling. Like most residents, participants don’t undergo traditional therapy and receive no medications.
However, even many of San Patrignano’s leaders have expressed confusion about Kennedy’s vision for scaling up their model. Dr. Antonio Boschini, the community’s medical director, told NPR it would be “impossible” to safely expand their program to a national scale. “You cannot have another San Patrignano,” Boschini said, noting that when the community attempted expansion in the 1990s it resulted in scandals that nearly destroyed the program.
The Medication Controversy
San Patrignano’s most controversial aspect is that the program rejects all use of medications, including methadone and buprenorphine—the gold standard for treating opioid addiction. San Patrignano’s spokesperson stated “No drugs can cure drugs” and described personal responsibility as the only path to recovery. This view is widely rejected by medical researchers and public health officials.
Dr. Robert Heimer at Yale University’s School of Public Health said research shows that “abstinence-based programs fail over and over, often very quickly.” When people addicted to opioids attempt to stop without medications, they typically relapse within a short time. Heimer stated: “Once their tolerance goes down, and they relapse, they are at enormous risk of overdose and death. The treatment is worse than the disease.”
Historical Concerns
NPR could find no record of Kennedy publicly addressing scandals at San Patrignano portrayed in a Netflix documentary series in 2020. A founder was convicted of helping to cover up the murder of one resident who had fled. Residents were held against their will when trying to leave, and two people committed suicide, according to San Patrignano’s current leaders. The community says it has implemented sweeping reforms since then.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.npr.org/2026/04/29/nx-s1-5798733/rfk-jr-addiction-treatment-centers