Flyout Menu

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.

Learn More
Find NA Near You

Resource of the Month

tooltip2
PSA Overlay

“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:

Need help for family or a friend?

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. 

Find NA Near You

Subscribe to NAWS Emails

Sign up to receive Just for Today and SPAD daily meditation emails, as well as NAWS News, NAWS Updates, and more.

Click Here

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”

Recovery Quicklinks:

Service Quicklinks:

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

Learn More about NA

Daily Meditations

Just for Today

July 22, 2026

Spiritual death
Page 212
“For us, to use is to die, often in more ways than one.“
Basic Text, p. 82
As newcomers, many of us came to our first meeting with only a small spark of life remaining. That spark, our spirit, wants to survive. Narcotics Anonymous nurtures that spirit. The love of the fellowship quickly fans that spark into a flame. With the Twelve Steps and the love of other recovering addicts, we begin to blossom into that whole, vital human being our Higher Power intended us to be. We begin to enjoy life, finding purpose in our existence. Each day we choose to stay clean, our spirit is revitalized and our relationship with our God grows. Our spirit becomes stronger each day we choose life by staying clean.

Despite the fact that our new life in recovery is rewarding, the urge to use can sometimes be overwhelming. When everything in our lives seems to go wrong, a return to using can seem like the only way out. But we know what the consequence will be if we use–the loss of our carefully nurtured spirituality. We have traveled too far along the spiritual path to dishonor our spirit by using. Snuffing the spiritual flame we have worked so hard to restore in our recovery is too dear a price to pay for getting high.

Just for Today: I am grateful that my spirit is strong and vital. Today, I will honor that spirit by staying clean.

A Spiritual Principle a Day

July 22, 2026

Extending a Thoughtful Welcome
Page 210
“It may be helpful to remember what made us feel welcome, and what made us feel uneasy or alienated, when we first came to meetings.“
Guiding Principles, Tradition One, “For Groups”
We often reaffirm that “the newcomer is the most important person at any meeting, because we can only keep what we have by giving it away.” Reading the words is fairly simple; putting them into action can be a little trickier at times. One member wrote, “My compassion for others, especially newcomers, is a huge indicator of my progress in recovery.” In our groups, that compassion shows in the actions we take to consider the newcomer’s needs. By keeping our focus on the still-suffering addict, we also keep our common welfare first. The questions implied by the quotation above are a great place to start.

When we discuss what it means to feel welcomed, we are often pleasantly reminded that our group is doing many of those things well already. Much of it is hardwired into our NA culture. One member shared memories of being a newcomer: “Before the meeting, I was approached and welcomed by someone, and I was a little skeptical of the warmth. Soon someone else welcomed me, and they did the same with other addicts entering the room. I saw a pattern here of how they embraced people, and I felt like I was in the right place. I didn’t feel like an undesirable, the way I did most of my life.”

Plenty of us feel uneasy or alienated in the beginning. Helping new members resist the impulse to bolt out the door and go pick up takes some thoughtfulness on the part of NA groups and members. Although we can’t eliminate every possible excuse a newcomer might use to leave, we can consider our actions and our groups’ atmosphere of recovery through the newcomer’s eyes. Some thoughtful reflection helps us identify what made us feel welcome and how we might do the same for others.
———     ———     ———     ———     ———
The simplest gesture can have the most power. I will practice thoughtfulness to make sure the newcomer is always welcomed.

Do you need help with a drug problem?

Find NA Near You

“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

Subscribe to NAWS Emails

Sign up to receive NAWS Updates and NAWS News emails as well as Just for Today and SPAD daily emails. 

Subscribe