About Narcotics Anonymous
Narcotics Anonymous is an international, community-based association of recovering drug addicts with more than 28,000 weekly meetings in 113 countries.
Development
Narcotics Anonymous sprang from the Alcoholics Anonymous movement in the late 1940s, with
meetings first sprouting up in the Los Angeles area of California, USA, in the early
fifties. After formally adapting the AA model in 1953, Narcotics Anonymous started as a
small US movement that today has grown into one of the world's oldest and largest
organizations of its type. For many years, the society grew very slowly, spreading from
Los Angeles to other major North American cities and Australia in the early 1970s. In
1983, Narcotics Anonymous published its self-titled Basic Text, spurring tremendous
growth, with groups forming rapidly in Brazil, Colombia, Germany, India, the Irish
Republic, Japan, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
Today, Narcotics Anonymous is fairly well established throughout
much of the Americas, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, with newly formed groups
and NA communities scattered through the Indian subcontinent, Africa, East Asia, the
Middle East, and Eastern Europe. Narcotics Anonymous books and information pamphlets are
currently available in 22 languages, with translations in process for 9 languages.
Program
NA's earliest self-titled pamphlet, known among members as "the White Booklet,"
describes Narcotics Anonymous as "a nonprofit fellowship or society of men and women
for whom drugs had become a major problem . . . who meet regularly to help each other stay
clean… We are not interested in what or how much you used…but only in what you
want to do about your problem and how we can help." Membership is open to any drug
addict, regardless of the particular drug or combination of drugs used. When adapting AA's
First Step, the word "addiction" was substituted for "alcohol," thus
removing drug-specific language and reflecting the disease concept of addiction.
There are no social, religious, economic, racial, ethnic,
national, gender, or class-status membership restrictions. There are no dues or fees for
membership; while most members regularly contribute small sums to help cover expenses,
such contributions are not mandatory.
Narcotics Anonymous provides a recovery process and support network inextricably linked together. Narcotics Anonymous states that one of the keys to its success is the "therapeutic value" of addicts working with other addicts. Members share their successes and challenges in overcoming active addiction and living drug-free productive lives through application of the principles contained within the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of NA. The core of the Narcotics Anonymous recovery program is the Twelve Steps, which include admitting there is a problem, seeking help, engaging in a thorough self-examination, confidential self-disclosure, making amends for harm done, and helping drug addicts who want to recover. Central to the program is an emphasis on what is referred to as a "spiritual awakening," emphasizing its practical value, not its philosophical or metaphysical import. Narcotics Anonymous itself is non-religious and encourages each member to cultivate an individual understanding, religious or not, of this "spiritual awakening." Narcotics Anonymous is not affiliated with other organizations, including other Twelve Step programs, treatment centres, or correctional facilities. As an organization, NA does not employ professional counsellors or therapists. Narcotics Anonymous has no residential facilities or clinics, and does not provide vocational, legal, financial, psychiatric, or medical services. NA has only one mission: to provide an environment in which addicts can help one another stop using drugs and find a new way to live.
Narcotics Anonymous encourages its members to observe complete abstinence from all drugs, including alcohol. It has been the experience of NA members that complete and continuous abstinence provides the best foundation for recovery and personal growth. Use of psychiatric medication and other medically indicated drugs prescribed by a physician and taken under medical supervision, is not seen as compromising a person's "clean time." Regarding such use, members are encouraged to consult their own experience, the experience of other members, and qualified health professionals.
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