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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 is 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:

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. 

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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

March 10, 2025

Our own recovery
Page 72
“The steps are our solution. They are our survival kit. They are our defense against addiction, a deadly disease. Our steps are the principles that make our recovery possible.“
Basic Text, p. 19
There's lots to like in Narcotics Anonymous. The meetings, for one, are great. We get to see our friends, hear some inspiring stories, share some practical experience, maybe even hook up with our sponsor. The campouts, the conventions, the dances are all wonderful, clean fun in the company of other recovering addicts. But the heart of our recovery program is the Twelve Steps–in fact, they are the program!

We've heard it said that we can't stay clean by osmosis–in other words, we can't just attend meetings, no matter how many, and expect to breathe recovery in through the pores of our skin. Recovery, as another saying goes, is an inside job. And the tools we use in working that “inside job” are the Twelve Steps. Hearing endlessly about acceptance is one thing; working the First Step for ourselves is something very different. Stories about making amends may be inspiring, yet nothing will give us the freedom from remorse that taking the Ninth Step ourselves will give. The same applies to all Twelve Steps.

There's much to appreciate about NA, but to get the most from our recovery we must work the Twelve Steps for ourselves.
Just for Today: I want everything my personal program has to offer. I will work the steps for myself.

A Spiritual Principle a Day

March 10, 2025

Finding Accountability in Others' Insights
Page 72
“We choose [our] mirrors carefully, seeking those we can trust to be honest, helpful, and kind.“
Living Clean, Chapter 6, “Anonymity”
There are loads of reasons to keep coming back to NA. The fact that we can't do this alone tops the list for many of us. We need each other. As our Basic Text puts it, “We are each other's eyes and ears.” When we share with others in NA, we get to learn from their valuable experience and get their perspective on ours. Their take helps us better understand the past and gives us a new vantage point on what we're doing now. Objectivity is an acquired skill. When we share honestly with our fellow recovering addicts, we can see our behavior more clearly in their reflections. We begin to gain some accountability.

Asking for such insights can make us feel quite vulnerable. One member wrote, “My outsides were suiting up and showing up while my insides remained aloof. ‘Undercover isolation' became a way of life. I couldn't find my way out on my own.” We find people we can trust and choose to confide in them, returning again and again to those who offer the insights we're seeking. It's what we mean when we tell newcomers to “stick with the winners!” Beyond simple abstinence, we need people who are real with us–and help us get real, too.

When we surround ourselves with people who are living the program, our lives improve. One member shared, “I developed a support system, and that system of support developed me!” We need people to tell us the truth when we can't see it ourselves. Sometimes the clarity starts the minute we begin to open our mouths. “It sounded good in my head,” one addict shared, “but before I could even say it out loud to my sponsor, I realized it was total BS!”
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To stay clean, I need a clear reflection. Who are my most trustworthy mirrors today?

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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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