What is NA?
Narcotics Anonymous is a non-profit fellowship
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.
Membership is open to anyone irrespective of age, sex, religion, lack
of religion, race, creed or class. The only requirement for membership
is a desire to stop using drugs.
The newcomer is the most important person at any meeting because, we can only keep what we have by giving it away.
The Narcotics Anonymous Program
Narcotics Anonymous is a completely voluntary organization. Membership
is open to anyone with a drug problem seeking help, regardless of what
drug or combination of drugs have been used or are using.
No membership attendance records are kept. Anonymity is one of NA's most important traditions.
There are no dues or fees for membership. Narcotics Anonymous is
entirely self-supporting and accepts no financial contributions from
non-members. Most members regularly contribute small sums of money at
group meetings to help cover expenses such as rent, literature, tea and
coffee.Contributions are not mandatory and we ask newcombers and those
not finacially rehabilitated not to contribute.
The core of the Narcotics Anonymous program is a series of twelve
steps, adapted from the recovery program of Alcoholic Anonymous. These
steps include admitting to a drug problem; seeking help;
self-appraisal; confidential self-disclosure; making amends when
possible, where harm has been done; achieving a spiritual awakening and
supporting other drug addicts who want to recover.
Narcotics Anonymous is a non-religious fellowship, encouraging each
member to cultivate an individual understanding, religious or not, of a
'spiritual awakening'.
Narcotics Anonymous believes one of the cornerstones of its success is
the therapeutic value of addicts working with each other to achieve
recovery. In meetings members regularly share their personal
experiences with each otherNnot as professionals but as ordinary people
who have discovered that sharing brings about solutions to their
problems.
Narcotics Anonymous has no professional therapists, no residential
facilities and no clinics. NA provides no vocational, legal, financial,
psychiatric or medical services. The closest thing to an NA counselor
is the sponsor, someone who has been free from active drug use for a
number of years who gives informal support and assistance to newcomers
and those with less experience of the program.
The primary service provided by Narcotics Anonymous is the local weekly
meeting. Each group is autonomous, organizing itself according to a
series of 12 principles common to the entire organization. Meetings,
which take place in rooms rented from public, religious or other
organizations, may be 'open', meaning anyone can attend or 'closed',
meaning only for people who want to address their own drug problems.
Meetings are facilitated by NA members. Other members may take part by
talking in turn about their experiences of addiction and the recovery,
strength and hope they've discovered through NA.
Narcotics Anonymous has no hierarchy or authority structure.
The Narcotics Anonymous program uses a simple, experience-oriented
concept of addiction by defining it as a disease from which recovery is
possible. Narcotics Anonymous does not qualify its use of the term
'disease' in any medical or therapeutic sense, nor does NA attempt to
persuade others of the correctness of its views or that recovering
addicts can be cured. The NA fellowship simply asserts that its members
have found that an acceptance of addiction as a disease is an effective
way of helping them come to terms with their condition - and finding
recovery.
Narcotics Anonymous encourages its members to abstain completely from
all drugs including alcohol because NA members have discovered that
complete and continuous abstinence provides the best foundation for
recovery and personal growth. Narcotics Anonymous however, takes no
stand on the use of caffeine, nicotine, or sugar. Similarly the use of
prescribed medication for the treatment of specific medical or
psychiatric conditions is neither encouraged nor prohibited by NA.
While recognizing numerous questions in these areas, Narcotics
Anonymous feels they are matters of personal choice and encourages its
members to consult their own experience, the experience of other
members, and the opinions of qualified health professionals to help
them make up their minds about these subjects.
Narcotics Anonymous also recognizes it is one of many organizations
addressing drug addiction and does not claim its program will work for
all addicts under all circumstances or that its therapeutic views
should be universally adopted.