What is a Narcotics Anonymous Group?
I believe that the critical component of the success of a twelve-step program is the message heard in the rooms. The twelve steps, which originated in Alcoholics Anonymous, have been adopted and adapted by Narcotics Anonymous. Twelve step groups usually hold meetings regularly and publicly so new members can find them. The support of group members is the basis of the recovery process. This has improved the lives of millions of people. The messages that have affected me the most were very clear, and I believe I will remember them for the rest of my life. We all carry a message at meetings. Members of a group work together to create the best environment to carry a message. That atmosphere of recovery in a meeting could be the most important message for a newcomer. Sometimes groups come together to create service structures that provide services and literature. The messages members commit to paper are powerful. Even a simple meeting list handed out by a local doctor can transform lives. A Narcotics Anonymous meeting list transformed my life and gave me access to the best of all the experience, strength and hope of a Fellowship. I found a group and supported that group as a part of my recovery. I have always had a group I called my home group. In Narcotics Anonymous I learned that self-obsession is the core of the disease, so working as part of a group, helping other addicts gave me a recovery path to follow. The Twelve Traditions protect each group and provide a simple structure for them to follow.
Service Structures
Both AA and NA are similar in structure since the groups are the top, and all the service bodies are directly responsible to the groups. While it is not a requirement to create service committees, there can be benefits. Tradition 9 in Narcotics Anonymous says “NA, as such, ought never be organized, but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.” Twelve Step Groups apply the Twelve Traditions to their efforts to provide structure and unity to the group. Creating service structures has benefited groups. The funding of services has the potential to create problems as well. At the bottom of the service structures are world service offices. Alcoholics Anonymous is comprised of three corporations, and Narcotics Anonymous has one. Here are some numbers from their respective websites, for comparison.
- Alcoholics Anonymous World Services (2015) 117,248 Groups registered, contributed $7,154,146.
- Narcotics Anonymous World Services (2015) approximately 63,000 Groups contributed $1,038,626.
Iranian NA groups account for approximately 18,000 groups as of 2015. Iran has a huge fellowship that exploded into life in the 1990’s and was not well connected to the rest of the fellowship until after the millennium. Due to sanctions, Iran cannot contribute financially.
To Be Incorporated or Not, that is the Question.
The relationship between spiritual organizations and the service structures created in both AA and NA have been discussed a great deal since the inception of the Twelve Step program. As Alcoholics Anonymous grew, the discussion about incorporating came up. These were the recommendations of an advisory group in 1953.
(CONFERENCE ADVISORY ACTIONS 1953 pg 32)
REPORT of the COMMITTEE on
CONGRESSIONAL INCORPORATION of AA
We have reviewed all of the arguments pro and con on this subject, have discussed it with many members of AA within the Conference and outside of it and have come to these conclusions:
- The evils which caused the question to arise have largely abated.
- It would create by law a power to govern which would be contrary to, and violative of, our Traditions.
- It would implement the spiritual force of AA with a legal power, which we believe would tend to weaken its spiritual strength.
- When we ask for legal rights, enforceable in Courts of Law, we by
the same act subject ourselves to possible legal regulation. - We might well become endlessly entangled in litigation which, together with the incident expense and publicity, could seriously threaten our very existence.
- Incorporation could conceivably become the opening wedge that might
engender politics and a struggle for power within our own ranks. - Continuously since its beginning and today, AA has been a fellowship and not an organization. Incorporation necessarily makes it an organization.
- We believe that “spiritual faith” and a “way of life” cannot be incorporated.
- AA can and will survive so long as it remains a spiritual faith and
a way of life to all men and women who suffer from alcoholism.
Charles Bishop, Jr. full-time Antiquarian Bookseller-Appraiser specializing in the Literature of Alcoholics Anonymous and Alcoholism. He wrote an article on this subject and documented many of the abuses of incorporation over the history of AA. His comments in his article are poignant.
Those 9 points above are a wonderful spiritual precedent. They stand in stark contrast to the current New York office service corporations and their legal actions…
It is important to remember the General Service Conference of A.A. is unincorporated, a service body and not a government for A.A. The Charter is a voluntary compact and also unincorporated. It is not a grant from a state or other jurisdiction. Nor is it a legal contract document. The World Service Meeting also is unincorporated.
The following are all CORPORATIONS: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.; the General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous, Inc.; and the Alcoholics Anonymous Grapevine, Inc. They are NOT Alcoholics Anonymous. They are service organizations and corporations whose purpose and existence is to serve the Fellowship. In effect, they are temporary, albeit long-lived, committees that could all be thrown away and Alcoholics Anonymous would still exist.
Charles Bishop, “Spiritualty Versus Legalism in Alcoholics Anonymous”
You can read his article here where he documents some significant abuses of power by the corporations of AA.
Narcotics Anonymous members had arrived at the same conclusions when creating the Narcotics Anonymous Basic Text. The first Basic Text included the following phrases.
Tradition 4 “Narcotics Anonymous is a Fellowship of men and women, addicts, meeting together in groups, and using a given set of spiritual principles to find freedom from addiction and a new way to live. All else is not N.A.”
Tradition 9 “This is the basis of our service structure, but keep in mind that although these entities are created to serve our Fellowship they are not, in fact, a part of Narcotics Anonymous.”
This was the language included in the Basic Text, and Fellowship Approved in 1981. Unfortunately, the Leadership felt differently and amended the text before publication. The phrases were inserted again after protest and were removed again. The World Service Conference and the World Service Office (eventually becoming the NAWS Corporation) never recovered the support of the fellowship. This is seen in the dismally low contributions from groups that exist today when compared to AA. NAWS Corporation is supported by heavily marking up the literature and producing a steady stream of new literature for consumption by a small loyal following of members. As both the AA and NA Corporations grow, so will the need to control literature production and profits. A significant difference between the AA Corporations and NAWS Corporation is that AA Groups are listed as members of the Corporations, but NA Groups are not listed in Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc (NAWS Inc) Articles of Incorporation.
Abuses of Power
Section Mexicana was created by 2000 AA Groups in Mexico in the 1980’s. This service structure was independently tasked to produce and distribute literature at a low cost. Alcoholics Anonymous World Services quietly modified Article II of the Conference Charter, which then allowed them to control publishing rights and assigning publishing to the Central Mexican Service Structure. They raided the offices of Section Mexicana, seized literature, and jailed an organizer.
The NAWS Corporation has introduced changes to the Fellowship Intellectual Property Trust which will tighten their control on the production of profitable literature. These changes will be approved by a very weak World Service Conference that represents a small segment of the existing Narcotics Anonymous Groups.
A Solution
The NAWS Corporation has been plagued by independent service structures that ignore the corporation. These independent organizations are largely unrecognized by the NAWS Corporation. The Basic Meeting List Toolbox (BMLT) is an independent organization of volunteers who provide a method of registering and providing access to meetings worldwide. Virtual NA provides information on virtual meetings for over a decade and saved countless addicts during the recent COVID pandemic. Neither service structure is part of the larger Corporate structure and both organizations are accountable to the groups they serve. Independent action is critical to the success of healthy AA and NA Groups.
The Gideon’s is a Christian fellowship of three hundred thousand people worldwide (according to their website). They are dedicated to putting their literature into the hands of people in need of salvation, and every hotel room in the world seems to have a bible because of them. Their annual budget is about one hundred and fifteen million dollars, of which one hundred million is for literature that they give away. The cost works out to about $400 annually to each member.
Personally, I have spent a tremendous amount of money and time printing and distributing meeting lists. I’m not looking for a pat on the back or acknowledgement of any sort. I am happy to work independently of diseased service structures. Taking responsibility for my recovery and Tradition One (‘Personal Recovery depends on NA Unity) drives my passion for meeting list distribution. Often the worst examples of the Narcotics Anonymous Fellowship become parasites feeding on the manipulation and control that service structures seem to create. Power and corruption seem to walk hand in hand so my efforts to be a part of continue but so does my independent spirit. I am a member of Narcotics Anonymous and you will not silence me.