Health Care Professionals

  • What is NA? Narcotics Anonymous is a global, community-based organization with a multi-lingual and multicultural membership. NA was founded in 1953, and our membership growth was minimal during our initial twenty years as an organization. Since the publication of our Basic Text in 1983, the number of members and meetings has increased dramatically. Today*, NA members hold more than 58,000 meetings weekly in 131 countries. We offer recovery from the effects of addiction through working a twelve-step program, including regular attendance at group meetings. The group atmosphere provides help from peers and offers an ongoing support network for addicts who wish to pursue and maintain a drug-free lifestyle. Our name, Narcotics Anonymous, is not meant to imply a focus on any particular drug; NA’s approach makes no distinction between drugs including alcohol. Membership is free, and we have no affiliation with any organizations outside of NA including governments, religions, law enforcement groups, or medical and psychiatric associations. Through all of our service efforts and our cooperation with others seeking to help addicts, we strive to reach a day when every addict in the world has an opportunity to experience our message of recovery in his or her own language and culture.

*As of May 2010.

NA is a non-profit fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs had become a major problem. We are recovering addicts who meet regularly to help each other stay clean. This is a program of complete abstinence from all drugs. There is only one requirement for membership, the desire to stop using. Our program is a set of principles written so simply we can follow them in our daily lives. The most important thing is that they work. There are no strings attached to NA. We are not affiliated with any other organisations. We have no initiation fees or dues, no pledges to sign, no promises to make to anyone. We are not connected with any political, religious, or law enforcement groups, and are under no surveillance at any time. Anyone may join us regardless of age, race, sexual identity, creed, religion or lack of religion. We have learned from our group experience that those who keep coming to our meetings regularly stay clean. NA is a program of total abstinence; this has provided the foundation for recovery from drug use and for further personal growth. Narcotics Anonymous has only one membership requirement: a desire to stop using drugs. Drug addicts who are participating in drug replacement therapies are welcome in NA meetings.

To find your nearest NA meeting Open meetings are open to anyone who has an interest in Narcotics Anonymous. Health Professionals are welcome to attend any of those meetings. Closed meetings are only for addicts or those who think they may have a problem. Check the meeting list legend for more details on which meeting are open or closed.

  • NA: A Resource in Your Community: This pamphlet provides information about local NA services that may be available such as public service announcements, phonelines, literature sales, and NA presentations for health fairs, schools and professional conferences.
  • For clients who have left or are about to leave a facility
  • In times of Illness. This relied-upon booklet was recently revised to reflect members’ experiences with challenges such as mental health issues, chronic illness and pain, and supporting members with illnesses. It includes section summaries in the table of contents.
  • NA groups and medication. Our Twelve Traditions remind us that medication use is a member’s personal decision, and is an outside issue for NA groups. This piece is intended for groups as they consider this issue. It does not address members’ personal decisions, nor does it try to change members’ opinions about medication. Groups are often better able to carry the message and welcome everyone when members come together to discuss this issue.
  • Information about NA Includes facts about the history of NA, organizational philosophy, and membership demographics.
  • NA membership survey. Contains the results of a biennial survey of approximately 17,492 NA members. The 2009 NAWS Membership Survey suggests that nearly 50 percent of our members found NA meetings through the encouragement of addiction treatment providers. Many of our members have found NA because of a recommendation made by a medical professional.
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  • For those in treatment In this pamphlet, we offer some suggestions and a basic plan of action to help recovering addicts in the transition from treatment, to continuing recovery in Narcotics Anonymous.