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.

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. 

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”

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.

Daily Meditations

Just for Today

April 16, 2025

“Acting as if”

Page 110

Today, we seek solutions, not problems. We try what we have learned on an experimental basis.

Basic Text, p. 58

The first time we heard that we should “act as if,” many of us exclaimed, “But that's not honest! I thought we were always supposed to be honest about our feelings in Narcotics Anonymous.”

Perhaps we can reflect on when we first came into the program. We may not have believed in God, but we prayed anyway. Or maybe we weren't sure the program would work for us, but we kept coming to meetings regardless of what we thought. The same applies as we progress in recovery. We may be terrified of crowds, but if we act confidently and extend our hand, we'll not only feel better about ourselves, we'll find that we are no longer so frightened of large gatherings.

Each action we take in this vein brings us closer to becoming the people we were meant to be. Each positive change we make builds our self-esteem. Through acting differently, we will realize that we are beginning to think differently. We are living ourselves into right thinking by “acting as if.”

Just for Today: I will take the opportunity to act as if I can accept a situation I used to run from.

A Spiritual Principle a Day

April 16, 2025

The Practice of Discipline

Page 110

Discipline is commitment in action, a demonstration of our willingness.

Living Clean, Chapter 6, “Commitment”

Because of its past association with punishment, rigidity, or plain old drudgery, discipline is one of those recovery principles we have to reimagine when we get clean. And when we realign discipline with our newfound values of commitment and willingness–and begin to practice our program of recovery–we experience positive results. Our lives change.

Discipline's relationship with the principle of commitment definitely merits discussion. Our commitment to NA and spiritual growth is crucial to the life we want, but discipline is more internal. It's in our hearts. We can be committed or hold a commitment, but are we disciplined about that commitment? As one member observed, “We say, ‘It works when you work it.' Not ‘It works when you think, believe, or feel it.'”

Discipline gives us the willingness to transform our commitment into action. Sometimes the commitment we're acting on is more on the surface, say, following sponsor direction without knowing why. Other times, it's deeper, more heartfelt. In either case, our commitment is measured by our willingness to act. When we're active in our commitment to the Fellowship–when we are disciplined–our disease of addiction is rendered powerless.

Though we may strive to view discipline in a positive light, it's not always easy. It takes practice. It is practice. Discipline is the drive to move forward regardless of our mood. We say yes to sponsorship. We attend our home group and fulfill our commitments because we said we would. Discipline leads us back to our message again and again.

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I'm willing to transform my commitment to action. Discipline takes practice, and practice starts now.

Do you need help with a drug problem?

“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…” 

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