Narcotics Anonymous
Narcotics Anonymous, founded in 1953, describes itself as a "nonprofit fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs had become a major problem." Narcotics Anonymous uses a 12-step model developed for people with varied substance use disorders and is the second-largest 12-step organization, after 12-step pioneer Alcoholics Anonymous.
As of 2024, there were 77,000 NA meetings in 145 countries each week.
Narcotics Anonymous program
All facts and quotes presented in "The Narcotics Anonymous program" section, unless otherwise sourced, come from the book Narcotics Anonymous .Membership and organization
The third tradition of NA states that the only requirement for membership is "a desire to stop using". NA says its meetings are where members can "meet regularly to help each other stay clean." Membership in NA is free, and there are no dues or fees.The foundation of the Narcotics Anonymous program is the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions. Narcotics Anonymous uses a slight variation of wording in both the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions when compared to other Twelve Step groups.
According to the Basic Text, Narcotics Anonymous "has no opinion on outside issues", including those of politics, science or medicine, and does not endorse any outside organization or institution. The fellowship does not promote itself, but rather attracts new members through public information and outreach. Individuals can also be compelled to attend by courts or rehab programs.
NA groups and areas supply outside organizations with factual information regarding the NA program, and individual members may carry the NA message to hospitals and institutions, such as treatment centers and jails.
The nature of addiction
According to the philosophy of the NA program, most addicts did not realize they had a problem with drugs until they had no other choice besides ending up dead or in jail. Even if other people pointed out they may have a drug problem they were convinced otherwise. But once an addict on his or her own tries to stop and realizes they cannot, they finally see that drugs have been controlling them. Addicts "lived to use and used to live". NA helps show them a different way of life and helps them fight their disease. NA describes addiction as a progressive disease with no known cure, which affects every area of an addict's life: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. NA suggests that the disease of addiction can be arrested, and recovery is possible through the NA twelve-step program. The steps never mention drugs or drug use, rather they refer only to addiction, to indicate that addicts have a disease of which drug use is one symptom. In the NA program, all drugs are considered equal, and alcohol is also a drug. Other symptoms include obsession, compulsion, denial, and self-centeredness.Meetings
Regular meetings, hosted by NA groups, are the basic unit of the NA fellowship. Meetings are held in a variety of places such as church meeting rooms, libraries, hospitals, community centers, parks, or any other place that can accommodate a meeting.Members who attend the same meeting regularly to establish a recovery network and reliable routine understand this to be their "home group". Home-group members can participate in the group's business and play an important role in deciding how the group's meetings should be conducted.
Formats
There are two basic types of meetings: "open" and "closed". Anyone is welcome to attend an open meeting, while closed meetings are limited to addicts and to people who think they may have a problem with drugs.Meeting formats vary, but often include time devoted to the reading aloud of NA literature regarding the issues involved in living life clean which is written by and for members of NA. Many meetings are conducted by the chairperson who chooses the speakers. Other meetings include an "open sharing" component, during which anyone attending has the opportunity to share. There is usually no direct feedback during the "share"; thus only one person ever speaks at any given time during this portion of the meeting. These types of meetings are sometimes described as discussion meetings. Some groups choose to host a single speaker to share for the majority of the meeting time.
Other meeting formats include round-robin, tag meeting, and stick meetings. Some meetings focus on reading, writing, and/or sharing about one of the Twelve Steps or some other portion of NA literature. Some meetings are "common needs" meetings, supporting a particular group of people based on gender, sexual identity, age, language, or another characteristic. These meetings are not exclusionary, as any addict is welcome at any NA meeting. NA communities will often make an effort to have a separate meeting run at the same time for members who do not identify with the common-needs meeting.
During the meeting, some groups allot time for NA-related announcements and many meetings set aside time to recognize clean-time "anniversaries" or "birthdays". Individuals are sometimes allowed to announce their clean time to the group. Key tags and medallions, which denote various amounts of clean time, are distributed to those who have achieved various milestones. In some areas, the addict who is celebrating a "clean-time anniversary" will be able to have support group members read the readings for the meeting and he or she will have a speaker carry the NA message. Then the addict celebrating will have their sponsor or a friend or family member give them a medallion at which time the friend will share some of the celebrating addict's achievements during the last year or from during the entire course of their recovery. Then the addict celebrating can share their experience, strength, and hope with the group on how they did it.
NA states in the fifth tradition that "each group has but one primary purposeto carry the message to the addict who still suffers." Therefore, the newcomer is considered to be the most important person in any meeting. Our message is hope and the promise is freedom. The NA message, as quoted in the Basic Text, states, "an addict, any addict, can stop using drugs, lose the desire to use, and find a new way to live". "NA offers one promise: freedom from active addiction". According to the Narcotics Anonymous Basic Text, the "Twelve Steps" are the source of this hope and freedom when worked to the best of one's ability.
Service
NA literature suggests that service work is an essential part of a program of recovery. Service is "doing the right thing for the right reason", and is the best example of "goodwill", which is the basis for the freedom only from active addiction by the NA program. Service work is usually chairing a meeting, but may be as simple as cleaning up after the meeting, putting away chairs, or answering a phone. Additionally, there are basic, formalized service positions at the group level to help the group perform its function, such as treasurer, secretary, and Group Service Representative, who represents the group in the larger service structure.The NA service structure operates at the area, regional, and world levels. These levels of service exist to serve the groups and are directly responsible to those groups; they do not govern. World services are accountable to its member regions, who are in turn responsible to member areas. Area service committees directly support member groups and often put on special events, such as dances and picnics. Area service committees also provide special subcommittees to serve the needs of members who may be confined in jails and institutions, and will also provide a public interface to the fellowship.
Literature
- The Basic Text called Narcotics Anonymous is divided into two books. Book one discusses the basics of the NA program and the twelve steps and traditions. Book two is composed of many personal stories.
- It Works: How and Why offers detailed discussion of the twelve steps and traditions. and is often called the "green and gold" after its cover.
- The Step Working Guides is a workbook with questions on each step and is often called the "Flat Book".
- Just For Today is a book of daily meditations with quotes from the Basic Text and other NA-approved literature including the "Information Pamphlets".
- Sponsorship is an in-depth discussion of the role of sponsorship in NA, including the personal experiences of members.
- Miracles Happen describes the early years of the NA organization. This book contains many photographs of early literature and meeting places.
- Living Clean: The Journey Continues was approved by the World Service Conference in May 2012. It contains members' experiences of staying clean and in recovery as they go through challenges in life such as illness, death, parenthood, spiritual paths, and employment.
- Guiding Principles; The Spirit of Our Traditions was approved by the World Service Conference in May 2016. The book explores the principles found in the 12 Traditions of NA and is a resource for members of NA to learn what the essence of the Traditions are, as well as understanding their application for NA groups, members, and service committees.
Spirituality
NA calls itself a spiritual program of recovery from the disease of addiction. The NA program places importance on developing a working relationship with a "higher power". The literature suggests that members formulate their own personal understanding of a higher power. The only suggested guidelines are that this power is "loving, caring, and greater than one's self and more powerful than the disease of addiction".Members are given absolute freedom in coming to an understanding of a higher power that works for them. Individuals from various spiritual and religious backgrounds, as well as many atheists and agnostics, have developed a relationship with their own higher power. NA also makes frequent use of the word "God" and some members who have difficulty with this term substitute "higher power" or read it as an acronym for "Good Orderly Direction". Narcotics Anonymous is a spiritual, not religious program.
The twelve steps of the NA program are based upon spiritual principles, three of which are honesty, open-mindedness, and willingness, embodied in the first three steps. These three are hardly exhaustive. The Basic Text of NA says, in Chapter Four, about all twelve steps, "These are the principles which made our recovery possible". According to NA members these principles, when followed to the best of one's ability, allow for a new way of life.
NA meetings usually close with a circle of the participants, a group hug, and a prayer of some sort. Prayers used to close meetings today include the "we" version of the "Serenity Prayer" ; the Third Step Prayer or the "Gratitude Prayer"