I’ve been reflecting on the standards we set for our conventions. Conventions aren’t NA, this we know and have been told. There’s an uproar recently regarding the registration for the World Convention in D.C., but regarding the price of a convention alone there isn’t a lot of merit for discussing any other tradition besides our Fifth Tradition. As someone who has registered to go, I will say there’s a virtual newcomers’ bucket to donate to.
Last year I went to a convention where the convention committee announced that they struck deals with restaurants and cafés to get a discount, while another convention committee for a separate convention refused a ‘good deal’ because the organization said they could have the convention space for a discounted price if they let them do a presentation for our members about why they should become members of their organization. The second seems like something to obviously refuse, but why not the first? Because it’s saving us money and clearly benefiting our members?
Seeking experience on this subject I was referred to our PR Handbook. The PR Handbook states: “When both parties are benefiting from the cooperative interaction, and are closer to reaching their mutual goals, then both parties involved equally support the relationship. NA is not to be given any special treatment by accepting this volunteer service from a nonmember.” I’d like to compare this to our Sixth Tradition: “An NA group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the NA name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, or prestige divert us from our primary purpose.” To give another line of comparison, I’ll add the dictionary definition of ‘endorse’: “to make a public statement of your approval or support for something or someone.” The other word to look into in that sentence is the word ‘public’, as well. The PR Handbook, in this instance, feels clumsily formulated and unnecessarily open to interpretation. A relationship can be mutually beneficial while in other ways being unhealthy for you, like your job that also stresses you out. We’re not necessarily harming anyone, it’s mutually beneficial, but each member who enters that restaurant with a discount will be representing NA as we live our Eleventh Tradition in our everyday lives. Will our behavior be attractive?
It’s also worth noting that the Sixth Tradition talks specifically about an NA group. But, if we say NA conventions aren’t NA as such and aren’t bound by the traditions, then conventions become a free-for-all. Where do we draw the line? If conventions aren’t NA – only the meetings within them – what standards do we set?
Discussing this with another member, they pointed out that it’s in discussing and thinking about the traditions that they come alive. An old sponsor of mine also once pointed out to me when I was stressing about the outcome of a group conscience meeting that there’s no reason to worry because we always invite God into the room. As a member I can always apply that same trust to the committee meetings, knowing that God is with us all.
Originally Published in 2019 on a website called ‘The Fix’
Narcotics Anonymous grew from the ashes of many failed attempts to find a solution to those who suffered from drug addictions. The first seeds were planted for some members who had experienced relief in Alcoholics Anonymous but most continued to perish. Early NA members adapted the 12 steps and 12 traditions from AA to suit the needs of addicts seeking recovery and started this new Fellowship in 1953. By 1980 after 27 years, there were 1,000 groups, mostly in the United States and many members who believed they had found a solution. Those experiences were gathered in the publication of the Basic Text in the early 80’s which became the primary book of Narcotics Anonymous. By 1987 there were 7,000 groups and an expanding service structure. There was tremendous power struggles and turbulence in a rapidly expanding fellowship. Nowhere was that more evident than with the handling of the literature. the Fellowship approved first edition of the Basic Text was printed in 1983. There were numerous revisions as a result of power struggles and this resulted in a poorly received, heavily edited 4th edition in 1987. Narcotics Anonymous had a rift within the fellowship as a result and that would grow to become a chasm. The majority of those in control of the World Service Office had disagreed with the direction the groups wanted to go with regards to the service structures. Those early groups wanted the service structures to operate as outside enterprises from the Fellowship and groups should not be governed in any way. Some addicts believed it was important to maintain the autonomy of the groups who were responsible for carrying the message of NA. Others saw the service structures as an extension of the Fellowship they were serving and believed that groups would require governance in order to maintain the purity of the message. When the 5th edition of the Basic Text was finally produced in 1988 it ushered in an era of stability as those who had supported governance took control. Early profits allowed the WSO (which would evolve into the Narcotics Anonymous World Service corporation (NAWS) in the 1990’s) to function and grow. Some of those profits were coming from sales of literature to outside organizations like Hazelden. Many members were happy with the results and were excited to move forward with this new entity. There were also those who held onto the past and expressed concerns about this new corporate image. The results are visible in the worldwide Fellowship that exists today. International efforts of individual members and groups continue to grow the fellowship, but North American growth has stagnated. A significant portion of those who attend Narcotics Anonymous meetings in North America today fail to understand the nature of the program because of misinformation.
Narcotics Anonymous, Today
Narcotics Anonymous is estimated to have at least 30,000 groups worldwide today that hold over 60,000 support meetings regularly (daily, weekly or other). The existing service structure of Narcotics Anonymous has each group assigning a group service representative or GSR. GSR’s often choose to come together to form an Area Service Committee (ASC) that assists those groups by providing services like meeting list distribution and help lines. ASC’s often elect a representative to attend a Regional Service Body, and each of the Regions can send a representative to a World Service Conference (WSC). The WSC was responsible for directing the actions of the World Service Office (WSO/NAWS). It is unclear how much support NAWS or the WSC has today from members and groups. Of the approximately 130+ regions that attend the WSC, only 37 claim to be 85% (or more) supported financially by the groups they serve but those regions account for half the groups in the world, and 60% of the meetings. This strong minority has little influence over the majority which will skew results of decisions. NAWS itself have been promoting Consensus Based Decision Making (CBDM) as a mechanism for making decisions. CBDM has a major flaw in what experts call ‘group think’ where dissension is lost as members always seek solutions. Service bodies only reflect the will of those who participate when CBDM is utilized. Groups have always sought direction by forming a conscience at the local level which is lost in CBDM. The original Basic Text written and approved by the groups in 1983 referred to service bodies as outside issues because those bodies could not create a group conscience and make decisions. The accountability to groups has been lost and members abdicate their responsibilities away to service structures.
Estimated Groups and Meetings from WSC Regional ReportsRegions That do not rely on literature profits or Conventions and the number of Groups reported
Only 27% of Regions report they are self supporting from Group/Area contributions but they account for 60% of meetings.
Literature Wars and the FIPT
In the 1980’s the demands from the growing fellowship created enormous opportunity for literature sales and governance. Certain members who remain true to NAWS have become highlighted speakers at events and actively promote NAWS. The WSO/NAWS who were reliant on literature sales to this expanding fellowship fueled the production of new literature. One annual report produced by the WSO/NAWS in the early 1990’s credits two major writing projects, the ‘Just For Today’, and ‘It Works, How and Why’ for saving the corporation financially. Both publications were never approved by groups and substantially written and approved by professionals and a select group of special workers. Another professional written publication was the 12 Concepts of Service. NAWS introduced the 12 Concepts of Service to help govern the efforts of the service bodies. Today, the Guide to World Services implicitly states that the 12 Concepts can only be modified by a tally vote of all the known groups in the world even though the groups never adopted the 12 Concepts. Clearly this is an act of governance which groups wanted to avoid in the original literature. The WSO/NAWS also created the Fellowship Intellectual Property Trust (FIPT) in 1991 to secure control of the copywrites on all current and future literature. Many believe this prompted the publication of the 6th edition of the Basic Text.
Growth is another interesting source of misinformation. Taking figures from WSO/NAWS reports, we find that in 1986 we showed a total of 8380 meetings with all but 452 located in North America. In 1995, the total number of meetings registered with WSO/NAWS had climbed to about 18,500 in North America, and another 3,000 internationally. The number of meetings in North America has remained unchanged since then but it is difficult to get accurate numbers as some groups and areas no longer participate in North American regional and world services. Growth internationally has been nothing short of phenomenal and entirely developed by locals. No where is this more evident than in Iran. NAWS became aware of the Iranian fellowship in early 2000. NAWS representatives travelled to Iran in 2003 and found almost 4,000 groups with 18,000 meetings. Iran had translated literature, setup production and distribution without any direction from NAWS. NAWS touts the success story of Iran for Narcotics Anonymous but the irrelevance of NAWS in that success is not advertised. This story is repeated in many geographical areas of the world where local efforts to grow the fellowship and translate literature are often curtailed at some point by NAWS demands to control the intellectual property rights, the profits of sales and governance of the corporate image. By insisting that the service structures are a part of NA and not an outside enterprise, NAWS can include itself in the successes of a Fellowship that they had no part in creating. This promotes the NAWS corporate image but does little to promote unity and fellowship.
Baby Blues
Control of the copywrites has been a primary concern for NAWS for decades now. With so much controversy over the literature during the 1980’s and early 90’s, many individuals, groups and areas ignored NAWS and concerned themselves with local matters and started producing literature independently, including a Basic Text. Big Lou and Grateful Dave were two well-known trusted servants who were assigned by service structures to assist with printing and distributing a version of the Basic Text that became known as the ‘baby blue’. Baby blues are still printed and distributed all over the world. NAWS believed the literature was illegal and tried to put a stop to it by suing Dave. Dave won his case but was not able to enforce the settlement with NAWS before he passed away. NAWS failed to follow thru on the agreement reached with Dave in court. The main speaker at a world convention expressed gratitude that members had vandalized Big Lou’s car, he hurled insults at Lou from the podium, and falsely accused him of profiting from sales of the Baby Blue. Lou relapsed and died of an overdose shortly afterwards because Narcotics Anonymous was no longer a safe place for him to attend. These behaviors of misleading and targeting members who are outspoken against NAWS continue to this day. The Lower Desert Area in Palm Desert California created a video explaining the new Service System (called the SSP) proposed by NAWS. The system was designed by a professional firm and was intended to replace the existing service structure. By many accounts the area committee did an excellent job explaining the new system. Some NA members expressed concerns after viewing the video that the new system was overly complicated and violated the 12 traditions. NAWS heard of those concerns and responded by discrediting the individual who voiced the video. The chairman of the World Board issued a response that mislead the fellowship about the origins of the project by indicating it was a solo effort and not a service body’s creation.
NAWS Delinquency
In researching this article, I discovered that the California Registration of Charities requires that tax forms be filed regularly. You can extend the deadline by only a few months. the year end of the NAWS corporation is June 30th so the latest the tax forms can be filed is May 15th of the following year with the state of California. The 2003, 2005 and 2008 tax returns for NAWS were not filed in a timely manner. On Sept 24th, 2009 a delinquency letter was issued that was ignored. A 2nd delinquency letter was issued in June of 2010. The correct paperwork was finally filed at the end of June of 2010. I contacted NAWS who insisted that an extension was granted but the Department of Justice for California indicated that an extension was neither requested nor granted. Failing to file the paperwork correctly jeopardizes an organization’s charitable status and could have resulted in serious consequences such as a loss of charitable status for a corporation that controls the copywrites to the literature.
More than 80% of NAWS revenue continues to come from sales of literature. The bulk of the profits come from North America where prices have risen dramatically. Information Pamphlets (IP’s), Basic Texts and a small book originally created in the 1960’s called the Little White book are examples of Literature sold by NAWS;
1989
1995
2016
# Items sold;
IP’s (millions)
5.8
4.2
5.2
Basic Texts
363,089
275,000
272,124
White Books
447,610
400,000
450,000
$Dollars
Cost of Goods
$1,676,900
$1,533,478
$1,701,988
salaries
1,050,809
1,668,117
2,959,260
travel
176,880
141,000
26,957
Revenue
$4,033,759
$4,284,802
$10,835,519
#Staff
43
44
75
Sales have been relatively flat for 30 years despite the Fellowship doubling in size. NAWS reliance on literature profits has caused a dramatic increase in markups as the years have gone by and a stagnant North American Fellowship bears the burden as wages, staffing and travel has increased. Today, there are far more trips both domestically and internationally but travel costs are now buried in other headings like ‘Fellowship Development’, ‘Conferences’ and ‘Workshops’ so the true total is likely over a million dollars but only 26,957 is reported on tax forms and annual reports. The increased staffing and travel allow NAWS, special workers and world board members to promote the brand that they took control of when they secured the intellectual property rights. There is little support financial from the international community of Narcotics Anonymous in sales or donations. Travel costs are largely concerned with maintaining and selling the brand at fellowship events and to the literature buying community. The South Florida Region recently requested an audit of NAWS and was granted a limited view of the books. The misinformation, the lack of accountability and lack of transparency will continue to affect NAWS. More and more, the groups that make up Narcotics Anonymous have turned away to alternative service structures or operate independently. Rumors persist that NAWS will seek to close that audit loophole and tighten control of the FIPT at the next WSC while never addressing the declining unity in North America.
Help Others
Narcotics Anonymous formed from a desire by early members to help others who struggled with drug addictions. The spiritual nature of the program relies on the generosity of members who attend regularly. The program says the core of the disease of addiction is self-obsession so the solution must be in altruism. The ‘weak majority’ of regions often complain of a lack of support from the Fellowship in regional summaries produced for the WSC. The Fellowship who understand and are the source of the strength of the program are growing increasingly disillusioned and misinformed. This will continue to weaken the North American fellowship and forces NAWS to seek profits elsewhere by expanding the brand internationally. Literature profits will continue to drive the growth of NAWS, where as the Fellowship of Narcotics Anonymous will grow based on those members who work to create unity, regardless of personal interests.
In about 2016 I had hit a low point in my recovery. I realized I had replaced drugs with lifestyle. A using addict attracts addicts who are using. It was a very subtle transition over years of trying to ‘be a part of’ and ‘fit in’ with the Fellowship. I found myself alone, shunned from service and abandoned by fake friends. I was suicidal and it felt like I was hitting bottom again. The difference was I knew that Narcotics Anonymous works. I had seen it happen to me and to many people around me. I understood that I had earned a seat, even if the entire room felt like it was against me. I have often found myself in uncomfortable places, so this was not a new feeling. I suppose some people would have walked away, but I really believed in NA and wanted to understand what had happened.
I used to travel a short distance for work and participated in a local Fellowship, but the loss of my job forced me to start fresh in a nearby Fellowship. I was unemployed and had nothing but free time. At that time the local Fellowship was experiencing a flood of activity and interest in NA. Our service committees were full, newcomers arrived regularly, and meetings were magical experiences. I sometimes felt like God had provided a special place for me to heal. This lasted for more than two years before it died out. I felt a renewed sense of purpose during that time.
I started writing and started to rebuild my life on a foundation of surrender. I had a few addicts who still talked to me and found refuge with newcomers who made me feel welcome. Many newcomers went out of their way to make me feel a part of. One resource was members and former members I would run into who had similar experiences. I was starting to understand why so few were of service. Many addicts grow disillusioned and drift away. I started to understand the lack of support for services and the stagnation that exists in North American NA Fellowships. I wrote about my opinions and feelings. I became a voice for other addicts.
Complete Recovery and Acceptance with Society
I joined a local non-profit board involved in mental health and addictions. I found a new place to practice these principles and experienced what it was like to be a part of society. I found relationships that had never existed for me in the NA Fellowship. People liked me and welcomed my company. I received phone calls, visitors, and friendship. There is a line in Chapter 7 of the Basic Text that kept coming back to me; “Yet there are others, completely abstinent, whose dishonesties and self-deceits still prevent them from enjoying complete recovery and acceptance within society.” Narcotics Anonymous is a Fellowship of sick people. I am surprised today that I expected to be treated well.
Non-profit boards consist of volunteer board members, a paid Executive Director and sometimes a paid administrative assistant. The board is responsible to the members of the non-profit society they serve. Sometimes board members are elected at an annual general meeting. Often board members are voted in by the other board members. The ED reports to the board and follows the direction of the board. The administrative assistant, and all the other staff of the society report to the ED. My boss was the society. I was an unpaid volunteer. The whole board discussed and voted to guide the actions of the ED. It seemed like a simple formula and not much different than what I had learned being of service in Narcotics Anonymous.
I went to my first board meeting. I was nervous and sweating but the other people made me feel welcome. I had read the reports. I was eager to participate. After the ED reviewed their report, I asked a question but the ED’s assistant shut me down. This person questioned my right to ask the question I was raising. I was shocked. It felt like the familiar sting of trauma I had left behind in service to NA months ago. I remember thinking ‘here we go again.’ Was I the problem? To my surprise, the others jumped to my defense and the question was allowed. The rest of the board meeting went well.
The second board meeting was uneventful but the third was a repeat of the first. I was shocked be shut down again by the same assistant. Again, the other board members came to my defense and this time a formal apology was written addressed to me. I met with the person, and we talked about our conflict. I let them know I appreciated the apology. This was not Narcotics Anonymous service, and these people were healthy. We resolved our differences and eventually became friends. I felt like I had found a home outside of NA and a place to serve. Being of service is critical to my recovery but it does not mean that I must be of service in NA. There are lots of places where I find addicts in service.
Being of Service
I noticed that healthy non-profit societies had fewer problems with membership and volunteers. Conversations with people are easy today. I grew in my ability to be a part of. I found friends. I joined other boards and found new places to volunteer. I lost all feeling of anxiety that had plagued me my whole life.
I still attend NA meetings regularly. I try to be honest and open in my dealings with the people in my life today. I enjoy complete recovery and acceptance in society. I know it is important that I am vigilant. The phrase ‘being in recovery’ means something different for me today. I have developed a good sense of who I am. I continue to develop the skills required to apply spiritual principles in my life. There is a third factor that could be the most critical aspect of being in recovery and that is the people I surround myself with. We meet regularly to help each other. NA is not a self-help program.
I no longer rely on sick people. I do not believe you can surround yourself with sick people and stay healthy. Part of the solution was coming to the realization that all addicts are sick people. I’m a sick person too. I thought about the solution for a long time. I have an answer that works for me today and I found it by hiking.
Hiking groups are like the Groups you find in Narcotics Anonymous. Some are full of sick people. I hike with people who have a desire to hike. I try not to make people hike but encourage anyone to try hiking. I like hiking groups, but I do not have to like all hiking groups. I try and hike with people as part of a group. I like to make sure that everyone makes it to the top and back out. It is important to me to be inclusive. If a hike is advertised as a ‘no dogs allowed’, and someone shows up with a dog, I have no problem speaking up. A hiking group might have sick people, but a strong, diverse group has lots of voices. I feel comfortable having a voice then. All the spiritual principles I have learned can be applied to a hiking group. The same holds true for Narcotics Anonymous. I support two NA home groups. I don’t even know some home group members by name. Hopefully we all have a voice. I show up with an attitude of gratitude and a willingness to be of service. I avoid the self-seekers and the sick members full of dishonesty and self-deception.
