|
|
| PROGRAM
|
 |
| NA's
earliest self-titled pamphlet, known among members as "the
White Booklet," describes Narcotics Anonymous as "a
nonprofit fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs
had become a major problem . . . recovering addicts who meet
regularly to help each other stay clean." Membership is
open to any drug addict, regardless of the particular drug or
combination of drugs used. There are no social, religious, economic,
racial, ethnic, national, gender, or class-status membership
restrictions. Narcotics Anonymous membership is completely voluntary;
no membership rolls or attendance records are kept, either for
NA or anyone else. Members live in the community and attend
meetings on their own time. There are no dues or fees for membership;
most members regularly contribute small sums to help cover expenses
at group meetings, but contributions are not mandatory. |
| The
core of the Narcotics Anonymous recovery program is a series
of personal activities known as the Twelve
Steps, adapted from Alcoholics Anonymous. These "steps"
include admitting there is a problem, seeking help, self-appraisal,
confidential self-disclosure, making amends where harm has been
done, and working with other drug addicts who want to recover.
Central to the program is an emphasis on what is referred to
as a "spiritual awakening," emphasizing its practical
value, not its philosophical or metaphysical import, which has
posed very little difficulty in translating the program across
cultural boundaries. Narcotics Anonymous itself is nonreligious
and encourages each member to cultivate an individual understanding,
religious or not, of this "spiritual awakening." |
| Narcotics
Anonymous believes that one of the keys to its success is the
therapeutic value of addicts working with other addicts. In
meetings, each member shares personal experience with others
seeking help, not as professionals but simply as people who
have been there themselves and have found a solution. 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, an experienced member who gives
informal assistance to a newer member. |
| The
primary service provided by Narcotics Anonymous is the NA group
meeting. Each group runs itself on the basis of principles common
to the entire organization, principles laid out in the movement's
literature. There is no hierarchical authority structure in
Narcotics Anonymous. Most groups have no permanent facilities
of their own, instead renting space for their weekly meetings
in buildings run by public, religious, or civic organizations.
Meetings may be "open," meaning anyone may attend,
or "closed," meaning only people who are there to
address their own drug problem may attend. Meetings are led
by NA members; other members take part by talking in turn about
their experiences in recovering from drug addiction. |
| The
Narcotics Anonymous program uses a very simple, experience-oriented
disease concept of addiction. Narcotics Anonymous does not qualify
its use of the term "disease" in any medical or specialized
therapeutic sense, nor does NA make any attempt to persuade
others of the correctness of its view. The NA movement asserts
only that its members have found acceptance of addiction as
a disease to be effective in helping them come to terms with
their condition. |
| Narcotics
Anonymous encourages its members to observe complete abstinence
from all drugs, including alcohol, even substances other than
the individual's drug of choice, though NA's only stated membership
requirement is "a desire to stop using" drugs. It
has been the NA members' experience that complete and continuous
abstinence provides the best foundation for recovery and personal
growth. However, Narcotics Anonymous takes no absolute stand
as a society 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 that they are matters of personal
decision and encourages its members to consult their own experience,
the experience of other members, and qualified health professionals
in making up their minds about these subjects. |
| One
more thing needs to be said about the Narcotics Anonymous program.
Its members recognize that NA is but one organization among
many addressing the problem of drug addiction. Members feel
they have had significant success in addressing their own addiction
problems, but Narcotics Anonymous does not claim to have a program
that will work for all addicts under all circumstances or that
its therapeutic views should be universally adopted. If Narcotics
Anonymous can be useful to addicts in your care or in your community,
it stands ready to be of service. |
|
|
|
|
|
