Narcotics Anonymous (NA)

NA Resources

What is Narcotics Anonymous?

Narcotics Anonymous is a global, community-based organization with a multi-lingual and multicultural membership. NA was founded in 1953, and our membership growth was minimal during our initial twenty years as an organization. Since the publication of our Basic Text in 1983, the number of members and meetings has increased dramatically. Today, NA members hold nearly 67,000 meetings weekly in 139 countries.

We offer recovery from the effects of drug addiction through working a twelve-step program, including regular attendance at group meetings. The group atmosphere provides help from peers and offers an ongoing support network for addicts who wish to pursue and maintain a drug-free lifestyle. Our name, Narcotics Anonymous, is not meant to imply a focus on any particular drug; NA’s approach makes no distinction between drugs including alcohol. Membership is free, and we have no affiliation with any organizations outside of NA including governments, religions, law enforcement groups, or medical and psychiatric associations. Through all of our service efforts and our cooperation with others seeking to help addicts, we strive to reach a day when every addict in the world has an opportunity to experience our message of recovery in his or her own language and culture.

Brief History of Narcotics Anonymous (NA)

In 1953 Narcotics Anonymous, originally called AA/NA, was founded in California by Jimmy Kinnon and others. Differing from its predecessors, NA formed fellowship of mutually supporting groups. Founding members, most of whom were from A.A., debated and established bylaws of the organization. On September 14, 1953, AA authorized NA to use of AA's steps and traditions on the condition that they stopped using the AA name, resulting in the organization simply being called Narcotics Anonymous.

In 1954, the first NA publication was printed, called the "Little Yellow Booklet". It contained the 12 steps, and early drafts of several pieces that would later be included in subsequent literature.

At this time, NA was not yet recognized by society at large as a positive force. The initial group had difficulty finding places that would allow them to meet, and often had to meet in people's homes. One of the most difficult places for NA to become established was in the State of New York. The Rockefeller drug laws there had made it a crime for drug addicts to meet together for any reason, making NA in effect illegal. Addicts would have to cruise around meeting places and check for surveillance, to make sure meetings would not be busted by police. It was many years before NA became recognized as a beneficial organization, although some early press accounts were very positive. In addition, many NA groups were not following the 12 traditions very closely (which were quite new at the time). These groups were at times accepting money from outside entities, conflating AA with NA, or even adding religious elements to the meetings. For a variety of reasons, meetings began to decline in the late 1950s, and there was a 4-month period in 1959 when there were no meetings held anywhere at all.  Spurred into action by this, Jimmy Kinnon and others dedicated themselves to restarting NA, promising to hold to the traditions more closely.

September 14, 1953. The response from A.A. World Services was that yes they were granted use of the steps and no they shouldn't use the A.A./N.A. name. "S.F. Valley AA/NA" changed to "Narcotics Anonymous." They also discussed looking for a facility. The group then wrote a purpose taken in large part from The Key, a newsletter from the hospital at Lexington.

September 21, 1953. The need for public information was seen and an announcement of the first meeting to be held on October 5 at the corner of Cantara & Clybourn in Sun Valley behind Sunland Lumber was made, and posters distributed. First mention of literature and P.I. "Gilda Krouse voted and accepted to print Our Purpose and contact all newspapers. Doris Canahan to contact all heads of Narcotics Div. of the Police Depts. Tommy Moore to have signs made up."

October 5, 1953. Date for first regular N.A. meeting. From flyer, "Starting Monday night Oct. 5, 1953, Each Monday night thereafter at 8:30 P.M., corner of Cantara & Clybourn, Sun Valley, Calif. Directly behind the Sunland Lumber Company." Seventeen people sign in. This meeting was held at the Salvation Army`s Dads Club. Once again the Salvation Army was one of the very few places willing to take a chance on addicts. Little is known about these first meetings.

In 1959, there was a week or two when no known meetings took place. This is actually one of the most significant things in our entire history because it triggered basic change. No more could anyone say it would work out on its own. A few members took personal responsibility and the results have been continuous NA meetings since then. Personal responsibility, sharing our experience in recovering from our disease and the willingness to do our part to help make it better for others are probably the three big building blocks for our entire Fellowship.

After a month, four members gathered to once again dedicate themselves to the carrying of the message. These have so far been identified as Jimmy, Sylvia W, Scott C, and Peggy K, all who became incredible NA circuit speakers.  They agreed that if over the next two years at least one addict could be reached, then their efforts would have been worthwhile.

• In 1960, there was 1 N.A. meeting in the world.
• In 1978, there were fewer than 200 registered groups in three countries.
• In 1983, more than a dozen countries had 2,966 meetings.
• In 1993, 60 countries had over 13,000 groups holding over 19,000 meetings.
• In 2002, 108 countries had 20,000 groups holding over 30,000 meetings.
• In 2005, 116 countries had over 21,500 groups holding over 33,500 weekly meetings.
• In 2007, there were over 25,065 groups holding over 43,900 weekly meetings in 127 countries.
• In 2019, there were over 67,000 weekly meetings in 139 countries.

"When you look at another, or look at yourself, look on their strength with pride and their weakness with compassion." ~ Jimmy K.

"What I have to remember, personally, is that I'm here, and possibly all of you are here, because of people who'll never be here. The newcomer is the life blood of this organization, always has been, always will be." ~ Jimmy K.

The Twelve Steps of Narcotics Anonymous (NA)

1. We admitted that we were powerless over our addiction, that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. We humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. We made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. We made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

© 1989, 1990, 1991 by NA World Services

The Twelve Traditions of Narcotics Anonymous (NA)

1. Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends on NA unity.
2. For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority a—loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants, they do not govern.
3. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop using.
4. Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or NA as a whole.
5. Each group has but one primary purpose—to carry the message to the addict who still suffers.
6. An NA group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the NA name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property or prestige divert us from our primary purpose.
7. Every NA group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.
8. Narcotics Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers.
9. NA, as such, ought never be organized, but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.
10. Narcotics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the NA name ought never be drawn into public controversy.
11. Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films.
12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.

© 1989, 1990, 1991 by NA World Services

The Twelve Concepts for NA Service

1. To fulfill our fellowship's primary purpose, the NA groups have joined together to create a structure which develops, coordinates, and maintains services on behalf of NA as a whole.
2. The final responsibility and authority for NA services rests with the NA groups.
3. The NA groups delegate to the service structure the authority necessary to fulfill the responsibilities assigned to it.
4. Effective leadership is highly valued in Narcotics Anonymous. Leadership qualities should be carefully considered when selecting trusted servants.
5. For each responsibility assigned to the service structure, a single point of decision and accountability should be clearly defined.
6. Group conscience is the spiritual means by which we invite a loving God to influence our decisions.
7. All members of a service body bear substantial responsibility for that body's decisions and should be allowed to fully participate in its decision-making processes.
8. Our service structure depends on the integrity and effectiveness of our communications.
9. All elements of our service structure have the responsibility to carefully consider all viewpoints in their decisionmaking processes.
10. Any member of a service body can petition that body for the redress of a personal grievance, without fear of reprisal.
11. NA funds are to be used to further our primary purpose, and must be managed responsibly.
12. In keeping with the spiritual nature of Narcotics Anonymous, our structure should always be one of service, never of government.

© 1989, 1990, 1991 by NA World Services

How NA Operates

1. NA operates from the ground up. There are no leaders and every member, no matter how long they have being attending meetings, has an equal say in the fellowship. Each group is autonomous and decides for itself how it conducts meetings within the NA Traditions.
2. All groups must be self-supporting and a voluntary collection is held at the end of meetings to pay for rent, coffee, etc. Group decisions are made by holding a business meeting called a ‘group conscience’ on a regular basis.
3. Each member has a say at the conscience and can ask for a conscience to be held at any time but they are normally held once a month. Issues such as who sets up the meeting (secretary) and how the rent is paid are normally dealt with at these meetings.
4. If there are a large number of groups in an area a committee is often formed called an Area Service Committee. This committee is made up of representatives from each group and its main functions are to provide a service to groups and to find out how best to carry the NA message to addicts who still suffer.
5. The area is funded by groups who donate money from their collections to help pay for the maintaince of the phoneline and other duties carried out by the area. In turn Areas may form Regional committees but groups are not answerable to either committees as long as they operate within NA Traditions
6. NA has phonelines in operation in all areas.

What Happens at NA Meetings?

"If you’re new to NA or planning to go to a Narcotics Anonymous meeting for the first time, it might be nice to know a little bit about what happens in our meetings. The information here is meant to give you an understanding of what we do when we come together to share recovery. The words we use and the way we act might be unfamiliar to you at first, but hopefully this information can help you get the most out of your first NA meeting or help you feel more comfortable as you keep coming back. Showing up early, meeting other NA members, picking up NA Literature, helping out, staying late, and asking lots of questions before and after meetings will help you get the most out of every meeting you attend....

...People have all sorts of reasons for attending NA meetings, but the purpose of each meeting is to give NA members a place to share recovery with other addicts. If you are not an addict, look for an open meeting, which welcomes non-addicts. If you’re an addict or think you might have a drug problem, we suggest a meeting every day for at least 90 days to get to know NA members and our program...."