Definition: Narcotics Anonymous is the Arabic pronunciation of the program's English name. Narcotics Anonymous
The literal translation of the program's name: Narcotics Anonymous
Evolution
Narcotics Anonymous emerged from Alcoholics Anonymous, which originated in the late 1940s. Its first meetings were held in Los Angeles, California, in the early 1950s. What began as a small American movement has grown into one of the oldest and largest organizations of its kind in the world. For many years, Narcotics Anonymous grew slowly, expanding from Los Angeles to major cities in North America and Australia in the early 1970s. In the following years, groups were formed in Brazil, Colombia, Germany, India, the Republic of Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. In 1983, Narcotics Anonymous published its foundational textbook, which contributed to the program's explosive growth and widespread adoption. Today, Narcotics Anonymous is very active throughout much of the Americas, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, and newly formed groups and communities are now emerging in various parts of the Indian subcontinent, Africa, East Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. Today, Narcotics Anonymous is truly a global, multilingual organization holding over 79,000 meetings per week in 144 countries. Fellowship books and informational brochures are now available in 61 languages and are being translated into 16 more.
The program
The first publication of Narcotics Anonymous, known among members as the "White Booklet," describes the organization as follows: "Narcotics Anonymous is a non-profit society of men and women for whom drugs have become a major problem. We are recovering addicts who meet regularly to help each other stay sober. It doesn't matter what type or amount of drugs you have been using." But we only care about what you want to do about your problem and how we can help you. Membership is open to all drug addicts, regardless of the drug or drug combination used. When the first step of Alcoholics Anonymous was modified, the word "alcohol" was replaced with "addiction," thus eliminating words that specified the type of drug and reversing the "disease concept" of addiction. There are no restrictions on membership based on social, economic, racial, ethnic, gender, or social status. We have no membership fees or dues, but most members contribute small amounts to help cover the costs of meetings, and these contributions are not mandatory. The fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous offers an approach to recovery and supports a strong network of members connected to one another. One of the keys to the success of the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous is the therapeutic value of addicts working with other addicts. Members share their successes and difficulties in overcoming active addiction and living productive, drug-free lives by applying the principles contained in the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous. These principles are at the heart of the recovery program of Alcoholics Anonymous and the Twelve Steps. Narcotics Anonymous (NA) is not a religious fellowship and encourages each member to develop their own understanding—whether religious or not—of this "spiritual awakening." NA is not affiliated with any other organization, including other Twelve-Step programs, treatment centers, or correctional facilities. NA does not employ counselors or therapists, nor does it provide housing or clinics. Furthermore, NA does not offer professional, legal, financial, psychological, or medical services. NA's sole mission is to provide an environment where addicts can help one another to abstain from drugs and find a new way of life. NA urges its members to commit to complete abstinence from all drugs, including alcohol, and the experiences of NA members have demonstrated that complete and sustained abstinence provides the best foundation for recovery and personal growth. NA has no opinion on external issues, including prescription medications, the use of psychotropic drugs, and any other drugs prescribed by a physician and taken under medical supervision that are not considered a threat. For someone's recovery in Narcotics Anonymous
Services
The core service provided by Narcotics Anonymous is recovery meetings for fellowship groups. Each group is self-governing, operating according to shared principles of service structure, all of which are outlined in Narcotics Anonymous literature. Most groups rent space for their weekly meetings in buildings managed by public, religious, or civic institutions. Recovery meetings are led by fellowship members, with other members sharing their experiences of recovering from drug addiction. Group members also participate in activities related to managing the meetings. In countries where Narcotics Anonymous is a relatively new phenomenon, the fellowship exists only at the group level. In places where a number of Narcotics Anonymous groups have had the opportunity to develop and become established, these groups have elected delegates who form local area service committees. These local committees typically offer a number of services, including: distributing Narcotics Anonymous literature; providing telephone information services; offering general information sessions to treatment teams, civic organizations, government agencies, and schools; providing information sessions to introduce inmates of treatment or correctional facilities to the Narcotics Anonymous program; and creating a meeting directory for individuals and for scheduling visits by groups interested in the fellowship's services. In larger countries or where Narcotics Anonymous is well-known, several area committees come together to form regional committees. These regional committees provide services within their wider geographic boundaries, while local or area committees provide local services. An elected international council known as the World Service Conference provides guidance on matters of concern to the fellowship as a whole. A primary focus of Narcotics Anonymous's global services is supporting emerging groups and fellowships and translating Narcotics Anonymous literature.
Organizational Philosophy
To maintain its focus, Narcotics Anonymous has established a tradition of non-interference and non-intervention in matters outside its defined scope of activity. Narcotics Anonymous does not express an opinion—either for or against—on civil, social, medical, legal, or religious matters. Furthermore, it does not take sides on issues related to addiction, such as criminalization, law enforcement, drug regulation and penalties, prostitution, HIV/AIDS, or hepatitis C. Narcotics Anonymous is entirely self-supporting and does not accept donations from non-members. Based on the same principle, its service groups and committees are run by and for members of Narcotics Anonymous. Narcotics Anonymous does not endorse or oppose the ideas or methods of any other organization. Its primary function is to provide a healthy environment that enables drug addicts to share their recovery and experiences with each other. This does not mean that Narcotics Anonymous does not believe in the existence of other good or valuable organizations, but in order not to get involved in controversy, Narcotics Anonymous devotes all its energies to its primary goal.
Collaboration with Narcotics Anonymous
Although traditions govern relationships with other organizations, Narcotics Anonymous welcomes collaboration with government agencies, religious leaders, addiction treatment professionals, and private voluntary organizations. Friends of Narcotics Anonymous who are not addicts have long been instrumental in the organization's growth and development. The organization actively seeks to collaborate with those interested in the Narcotics Anonymous program by providing contact information, literature, and information about recovery through Narcotics Anonymous. Members are often willing to give public informational presentations at treatment centers and correctional facilities and to share the Narcotics Anonymous program with other addicts who cannot attend regular meetings.
Membership statistics
To give an informal overview of the nature of membership and the program's impact, we believe the following observations are reasonably accurate. The socioeconomic levels represented in Narcotics Anonymous vary from country to country. Members from a specific socioeconomic class initiate most of the NA activities in their own countries, and as their activities reach others, membership becomes more representative of all socioeconomic levels. All races and religions are represented in NA, and as the NA matures in a country, its membership generally reflects the diversity and harmony of its culture. NA membership is voluntary; there is no attendance register for NA use or other purposes. For this reason, it is sometimes difficult to provide those interested in the NA with comprehensive and accurate information about membership. However, some objective statistics have been compiled based on data collected by members who attended one of our international conferences, and the diversity in our membership—particularly in terms of race—appears to reflect the geographic location of the survey. The following statistical information is revealed by a survey conducted in 2015 during and after the Narcotics Anonymous World Congress held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Approximately 23,000 members responded to the survey:
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Gender: 55% men, 45% women
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Job status after recovery and joining the fellowship
Growth of Narcotics Anonymous from 1953 to 2026
Meetings growth and key events
Community map
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Languages spoken by Narcotics Anonymous
Booklet number one is printed in 61 languages and speaks 105 languages.
