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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 18, 2025

The message of our meetings
Page 368
“The fact that we, each and every group, focus on carrying the message provides consistency; addicts can count on us.“
Basic Text, p. 68
Tales of our antics in active addiction may be funny. Stories of our old bizarre reactions to life when using may be interesting. But they tend to carry the mess more than the message. Philosophical arguments on the nature of God are fascinating. Discussions of current controversies have their place–however, it's not at an NA meeting.

Those times when we grow disgusted with meetings and find ourselves complaining that “they don't know how to share” or “it was another whining session” are probably indications that we need to take a good, hard look at how we share.

What we share about how we got into recovery and how we stayed here through practicing the Twelve Steps is the real message of recovery. That's what we are all looking for when we go to a meeting. Our primary purpose is to carry the message to the still-suffering addict, and what we share at meetings can either contribute significantly to this effort or detract greatly. The choice, and the responsibility, is ours.
Just for Today: I will share my recovery at an NA meeting.

A Spiritual Principle a Day

December 18, 2025

The Courage to Hope
Page 364
“When we can separate hope from wishing or expectation, it stops feeling like such a setup.“
Living Clean, Chapter 7, “Living Our Principles”
In the final weekend of the football season, it's common to hear fans utter a familiar refrain: “It's the hope that kills you.” Maybe it's smart to restrain our optimism if winning the championship has been elusive year after year. Football fans know that a bad decision, a lousy play, or rotten luck will crush hopes.

In life, as in football, it might seem that we dare to dream at our peril. Few of us get through life without enduring a heartbreak or two. There may be times when we swear off hope, effectively putting the kibosh on our aspirations. But that's no way to live. A broken heart has loved, after all.

Yes, hope can lead to disappointment, but it can also usher us to new heights. “Hope is what gets me going in the right direction. It gives me a sense that I can do something to realize my dreams,” one member wrote. “Hope motivates me to persevere, to put in the effort. Hoping but not doing the work? That's just making a wish.”

Of course, we can move in the right direction and still get caught offside. Our projections about what it takes to achieve a dream aren't always accurate. Sometimes we get what we'd worked and prayed for only to discover that we were left wanting. Recovery can help us through all of that. We learn to survive our expectations and the emotions attached to them, not do without them. We allow ourselves to feel hope and also to tolerate disappointment or redirection.

Hope is daring to dream, doing the footwork, and landing on our feet. No matter how it pans out, we are stronger, more resilient, even more hopeful for having taken those risks.
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Recovery gives me the courage to hope. I can take action and exert influence on the world around me. If things don't work out as I'd hoped–and if my team loses again–I will cope.

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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