{"id":343,"date":"2026-04-18T12:58:56","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T12:58:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nabahrain.org\/?page_id=343"},"modified":"2026-07-27T09:30:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T06:30:16","slug":"about-na","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/nabahrain.org\/en\/about-na\/","title":{"rendered":"About NA"},"content":{"rendered":"
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About NA<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Evolution:<\/u><\/strong>
Narcotics Anonymous (NA) grew out of the program of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), which first emerged in the late 1940s. The first NA meetings were held in Los Angeles, California, USA, in the early 1950s. What began as a small American movement has since grown into one of the oldest and largest organizations of its kind in the world.\nFor many years, Narcotics Anonymous grew slowly, expanding from Los Angeles to major cities across North America and Australia in the early 1970s. In the years that followed, NA groups were established in Brazil, Colombia, Germany, India, the Republic of Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.\nIn 1983, Narcotics Anonymous published its Basic Text, which bears the fellowship's name. The publication of this book contributed significantly to the rapid growth and remarkable expansion of the NA program.\nToday, Narcotics Anonymous is highly active throughout most of the Americas, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. At the same time, newly established NA groups and communities continue to grow across the Indian subcontinent, Africa, East Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe.\nToday, Narcotics Anonymous is truly a multilingual, worldwide fellowship, holding more than 70,000 meetings each week in 144 countries. 

The Program:<\/u><\/strong>
The first publication produced by Narcotics Anonymous bore the Fellowship's name and is commonly known among members as the \"White Book<\/u><\/a>\" Narcotics Anonymous is a nonprofit 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. It does not matter what or how much you used, but only what you want to do about your problem and how we can help.\"\n\nMembership is open to all drug addicts, regardless of the specific drug or combination of drugs used. When adapting the First Step from Alcoholics Anonymous, the word \"alcohol\" was replaced with \"addiction,\" removing references to any particular substance and reflecting the understanding of addiction as a disease rather than focusing on a specific drug.\n\nThere are no restrictions on membership based on social or economic status, race, ethnicity, gender, or social standing. There are no dues or fees for membership. However, most members voluntarily make small contributions to help cover the costs of meetings. These contributions are entirely voluntary.\n\nNarcotics Anonymous offers an approach to recovery supported by a strong network of members who stay connected with one another. One of the keys to the Fellowship's success is the therapeutic value of addicts helping other addicts. Members share both their successes and their struggles in overcoming active addiction, and demonstrate that it is possible to live productive, drug-free lives by practicing the principles embodied in the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Narcotics Anonymous. These principles form the foundation of the NA recovery program.\n\nNarcotics Anonymous is not a religious fellowship. Instead, it encourages each member to develop a personal understanding of a spiritual awakening, whether religious or non-religious.\n\nNA is not affiliated with any other organization, including other Twelve Step programs, treatment centers, correctional institutions, or rehabilitation facilities. As an organization, Narcotics Anonymous does not employ professional counselors or therapists, nor does it provide residential facilities or clinics. The Fellowship also does not offer professional, legal, financial, psychological, or medical services.\n\nNA has one primary purpose: to provide an environment in which addicts can help one another stop using drugs and discover a new way of life.\n\nNarcotics Anonymous encourages its members to practice complete abstinence from all drugs, including alcohol. The experience of NA members has shown that continuous, complete abstinence provides the strongest foundation for recovery and personal growth.\n\nNarcotics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues, including prescribed medications. The use of psychiatric medications or any other medication prescribed by a qualified physician and taken under appropriate medical supervision is not considered a threat to a person's recovery in Narcotics Anonymous. 

Services of the Fellowship:<\/u><\/strong>
The primary service provided by Narcotics Anonymous is the recovery meetings held by NA groups. Each group is self-governing and manages its own affairs according to the shared principles of the NA service structure, all of which are described in the Fellowship's literature.\n\nMost groups rent meeting space in facilities operated by public, religious, or community organizations. Recovery meetings are led by NA members, while other members share their personal experience of recovering from drug addiction. Group members also participate in the various responsibilities involved in organizing and conducting meetings.\n\nIn countries where Narcotics Anonymous is still relatively new, the Fellowship may exist only at the individual group level. As more NA groups become established and stable, they elect representatives who form Area Service Committees (ASCs). These local committees typically provide a range of services, including the distribution of Narcotics Anonymous literature, telephone helpline and information services, public information presentations for treatment professionals, community organizations, government agencies, and schools, Hospital and Institution (H&I) presentations that introduce the NA program to residents of treatment centers and correctional facilities, and the preparation and distribution of meeting directories to help individuals locate meetings and assist groups and organizations requesting NA services.\n\nIn larger countries, or where Narcotics Anonymous is well established, several Area Service Committees may come together to form Regional Service Committees (RSCs). These regional committees coordinate services across a broader geographical area, while local or area committees continue to provide services within their respective communities.\n\nAt the international level, an elected body known as the World Service Conference (WSC) provides guidance on matters affecting the Fellowship as a whole. One of the highest priorities of NA World Services is to support emerging groups and fellowships around the world and to translate Narcotics Anonymous literature into additional languages, helping make the message of recovery accessible to addicts regardless of their language or location. 

Philosophy of the Fellowship:<\/u><\/strong>
To preserve its primary purpose, Narcotics Anonymous has adopted a tradition of remaining uninvolved in, and taking no position on, matters outside the scope of its mission. The Fellowship does not express opinions\u2014either for or against\u2014on civil, social, medical, legal, or religious issues. Likewise, NA does not take positions on matters related to addiction, such as criminalization, law enforcement, drug legalization, sentencing policies, prostitution, HIV\/AIDS, or hepatitis.\n\nNarcotics Anonymous is entirely self-supporting through the voluntary contributions of its members and does not accept financial donations from non-members. In keeping with this principle, NA groups and service committees are managed by NA members for the benefit of the Fellowship and its members.\n\nNarcotics Anonymous neither endorses nor opposes the philosophies, methods, or activities of any other organization. Its primary function is to provide a safe and supportive environment in which people with drug addiction can share their experience, strength, and hope with one another and support each other in recovery. This does not imply that NA believes other organizations lack value or effectiveness; rather, in order to avoid controversy and remain focused on its mission, the Fellowship devotes all of its efforts to carrying its primary message of recovery to those who seek freedom from active addiction. 

Cooperation with Narcotics Anonymous:<\/u><\/strong>
While the Traditions of Narcotics Anonymous define the Fellowship's relationship with outside organizations, NA welcomes cooperation with government agencies, members of the clergy, addiction treatment professionals, and private voluntary organizations. Throughout its history, many non-addict friends of Narcotics Anonymous have played an important role in supporting the Fellowship and contributing to its growth and development.\n\nThe Fellowship is committed to working cooperatively with those interested in the NA program by providing contact information, NA literature, and information about recovery through Narcotics Anonymous. In addition, NA members are often available to deliver public information presentations at treatment centers and correctional facilities, and to share the message of recovery with addicts who are unable to attend regular NA meetings, ensuring that the opportunity for recovery is available to as many people as possible. 

Membership Statistics:<\/u><\/strong>
To provide a general, informal picture of the nature of NA membership and the impact of the program, we believe the following observations are reasonably accurate.\n\nThe socioeconomic backgrounds represented within Narcotics Anonymous vary from one country to another. In many countries, NA is initially established by members from a particular social or economic background. As the Fellowship grows and its message reaches a wider population, membership gradually becomes more representative of all socioeconomic groups.\n\nPeople of all races, cultures, and religions are represented in Narcotics Anonymous. As the Fellowship matures within a country, its membership generally comes to reflect the diversity and character of that nation's population.\n\nMembership in Narcotics Anonymous is entirely voluntary. No attendance records are kept, either for the Fellowship's use or for any outside purpose. As a result, it is often difficult to provide complete and precise membership data. Nevertheless, some objective statistical information has been gathered through surveys completed by members attending NA World Conventions.\n\nThe diversity of the respondents\u2014particularly with regard to ethnicity\u2014generally reflects the geographic location where the survey was conducted. The following statistics are drawn from the 2015 Membership Survey, which was conducted during and following the NA World Convention held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Approximately 23,000 members participated in the survey.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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