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Welcome to Narcotics Anonymous

What is our message? The message is that an addict, any addict, can stop using drugs, lose the desire to use, and find a new way to live. Our message is hope and the promise of freedom.

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“When new members come to meetings, our sole interest is in their desire for freedom from active addiction and how we can be of help.”

It Works: How and Why, “Third Tradition”

Is NA for me?

This is a question every potential member must answer for themselves. Here are some recommended resources that may be helpful:

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NA meetings are run by and for addicts. If you're looking for help for a loved one, you can contact Narcotics Anonymous near you. 

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Never before have so many clean addicts, of their own choice and in free society, been able to meet where they please, to maintain their recovery in complete creative freedom.

Basic Text, “We Do Recover”

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Narcotics Anonymous sprang from the Alcoholics Anonymous Program of the late 1940s, with meetings first emerging in the Los Angeles area of California, USA, in the early Fifties. The NA program started as a small US movement that has grown into one of the world's oldest and largest organizations of its type.

Today, Narcotics Anonymous is well established throughout much of the Americas, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Newly formed groups and NA communities are now scattered throughout the Indian subcontinent, Africa, East Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. Narcotics Anonymous books and information pamphlets are currently available in 49 languages.

Information About NA

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Daily Meditations

Just for Today

December 21, 2025

Acceptance and Change
Page 371
“Freedom to change seems to come after acceptance of ourselves.“
Basic Text, p. 58
Fear and denial are the opposites of acceptance. None of us are perfect, even in our own eyes; all of us have certain traits that, given the chance, we would like to change. We sometimes become overwhelmed when contemplating how far short we fall of our ideals, so overwhelmed that we fear there\'s no chance of becoming the people we\'d like to be. That\'s when our defense mechanism of denial kicks in, taking us to the opposite extreme: nothing about ourselves needs changing, we tell ourselves, so why worry? Neither extreme gives us the freedom to change. Whether we are longtime NA members or new to recovery, the freedom to change is acquired by working the Twelve Steps. When we admit our powerlessness and the unmanageability of our lives, we counteract the lie that says we don\'t have to change. In coming to believe that a Power greater than we are can help us, we lose our fear that we are damaged beyond repair; we come to believe we can change. We turn ourselves over to the care of the God of our understanding and tap the strength we need to make a thorough, honest examination of ourselves. We admit to God, to ourselves, and to another human being what we\'ve found. We accept the good and the bad in ourselves; with this acceptance, we become free to change.
Just for Today: I want to change. By working the steps, I will counter fear and denial and find the acceptance needed to change.

A Spiritual Principle a Day

December 21, 2025

Honesty, Clarity, and Tradition Ten
Page 367
“As our thinking becomes clearer, our ability to be honest increases.“
Guiding Principles, Tradition Ten, Opening Reflection
We think an awful lot when we're newly clean, and many of those thoughts are indeed awful. The idea that we'd give voice to what's going on in our heads is frightening for many of us. What will people think? Better to say what we believe others will want to hear–doesn't matter if it's true. Others of us have no filter and we spew whatever opinion we have at the moment–doesn't matter if we really believe it. Clarity in thought, word, and deed is generally not the place we're operating from. When our connection to reality isn't exactly strong, dishonesty comes naturally. Thankfully, we've come to the right place to get some clarity.

We are better able to be honest once we gain a better understanding of what's true. The Steps help us sort out what we did versus who we are. They give us valuable perspectives on our experience, so we're better able to understand it and articulate it. Our story changes because our relationship to the truth changes. We lie less because we understand more. We speak as ourselves, not for other addicts and not for NA. Some begin their share with “I'm not here representing NA. The program is in the book. This is my experience, including how I work the program in the book.”

A clearer understanding of the outside issues referred to in Tradition Ten helps us stick to sharing more clearly. Although stirring controversy may be quite appealing to many of us, we try to put our common welfare first. When we're honest with ourselves, we can discern what's relevant, how to navigate choppy waters, and what may not be recovery material. The clarity we gain in NA includes the fact that as individuals we can (and do) have plenty of opinions about outside issues–and we may need to share about how they affect our recovery. We also come to understand that NA doesn't share our opinions on outside issues because, unlike us, it doesn't have any.
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I'm willing to be more honest today than I was yesterday. That starts with gaining clarity about what's actually true for me and deciding what part of that is helpful to share.

Do you need help with a drug problem?

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“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…” 

An Introduction to NA Meetings

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