Narcotics Anonymous sprang from the Alcoholics Anonymous program of the late 1940s, with NA meetings first emerging in the Los Angeles area of California, USA, in the early 1950s. The NA program started as a small US organization that has grown into one of the world’s oldest and largest international organizations of its type. For many years, NA grew very slowly, spreading from Los Angeles to other major North American cities and Australia in the early 1970s. Within a few years, groups had formed in Brazil, Colombia, Germany, India, the Irish Republic, Japan, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. In 1983, Narcotics Anonymous published its self-titled Basic Text book, which contributed to NA’s tremendous growth; by year’s end, NA had grown to have a presence in more than a dozen countries and had 2,966 meetings worldwide
“Today our fellowship holds more than 61,800 weekly meetings in 129 countries”
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Today, Narcotics Anonymous is well established throughout much of North and South America, Western Europe, Australia, the Middle East, New Zealand, and Eastern Europe. Newly formed groups and NA communities can be found scattered throughout the Indian subcontinent, Africa, and East Asia. Today the organization is truly a worldwide multilingual multicultural fellowship with more than 61,800 weekly meetings in 129 countries. Narcotics Anonymous books and information pamphlets are currently available in 49 languages.
For more information about our program, we invite you to review some of the items listed below:
Membership survey: contains the results of a biennial survey of approximately 28,495 NA members.
Information about NA: Includes facts about the history of NA, organizational philosophy, and membership demographics.
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.
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.
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 when members come together to discuss this issue.
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.
By Young Addicts, For Young Addicts: This pamphlet was developed by young members of Narcotics Anonymous to illustrate the fact that young addicts around the world, speaking many different languages, are getting and staying clean in NA.
Narcotics Anonymous and Persons receiving Medication-Assisted Treatment: This pamphlet is intended for professionals who prescribe medication to treat drug addiction.
Should you have any questions or would like more information please contact our Public Relations Subcommittee at: [email protected]