For Professionals and Loved Ones

Narcotics Anonymous is a worldwide, multilingual, multicultural, nonprofit fellowship based on complete abstinence from mood or mind-altering drugs, including alcohol. There are nearly 67,000 NA recovery meetings held weekly in 139 countries.1 Membership is open to all drug addicts, regardless of the particular drug or combination of drugs they used.

NA’s Twelve Steps are adapted from those of Alcoholics Anonymous. When adapting AA’s First Step, the word addiction was substituted for alcohol, thus removing drug-specific language and reflecting the “disease concept” of addiction. NA defines addiction as a spiritual, mental, and physical disease. The physical aspect is the compulsion to use drugs and the inability to stop once an addict starts using. Obsession, an overpowering desire to use drugs, regardless of the destructive consequences, is the mental aspect. The spiritual aspect is the total self-centeredness of addicts when they are using.

1 As of May 2016

Narcotics Anonymous links together a recovery process and a peer-support network. One of the keys to NA’s success is the therapeutic value of addicts working with other addicts. Members share their successes and challenges in overcoming active addiction and living productive, drug-free lives through the application of the principles contained in the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of NA. These principles are the core of the Narcotics Anonymous recovery program.

Narcotics Anonymous itself is a nonreligious program of recovery; each member is encouraged to cultivate an individual understanding, religious or not, of NA’s spiritual principles and apply these principles to everyday life.

There are no social, religious, economic, racial, ethnic, national, gender, or class-status membership requirements or restrictions. There are no dues or fees for membership; most members contribute in meetings to help cover the costs incurred in facilitating the meeting and to assist in NA service-delivery efforts both locally and worldwide. Narcotics Anonymous is entirely self-supporting through member contributions and does not accept contributions from nonmembers.

The Coastal Carolina Area of Narcotics Anonymous service committee maintains this website, the collective meeting directory for meetings in the Coastal Carolina area, and serves Burgaw NC, Carolina Beach NC, Hampstead NC, Jacksonville NC, Richlands NC, Salemburg NC, Southport NC, Wilmington NC, Wrightsville Beach NC and surrounding geographic areas. To contact us, please email us.

The Coastal Carolina Area is part of the Carolina Region of Narcotics Anonymous. They provide support to their member areas’ public relations efforts, act as a conduit of communication between the public (people who might think they have a drug problem and those looking for help), professionals in the addiction and medical fields, public health professionals, Departments of Corrections and more. If you would like to contact the Carolina Region, please email Carolina Region PR or Carolina Region NA; they will be glad to offer additional NA information to you.

Some groups use carefully planned open meetings, particularly open speaker meetings, as an opportunity to let members of the community-at-large see for themselves what Narcotics Anonymous is all about and ask questions.

“Open” NA meetings are just that; open to anyone who wants to attend. Please check our meeting directory for which groups hold open meetings. on our schedules, open meetings will have the legend designation “O” somewhere in a group of other designations. There will be some form of legend to explain all the designations within our schedules. Some groups have open meetings occasionally to allow non-addict friends and relatives of NA members to celebrate recovery anniversaries with them. Groups that have open meetings may structure their format in such a way that opportunities for participation by non-addicts is limited only to short anniversary presentations. Such a format allows the meeting to retain its focus on recovery shared one addict to another. It should be made clear during the meeting that NA groups do not accept monetary contributions from non-addicts.

“Closed” NA meetings are only for addicts or those who think they might have a drug problem. Closed meetings provide an atmosphere in which addicts can feel more certain that those attending will not judge them harshly and will be able to identify with them. Newcomers may feel more comfortable at a closed meeting for the same reason. At the beginning of a closed meeting, the leader or chairperson often reads a statement explaining why the meeting is closed and offering to direct non-addicts who may be attending to an open meeting.

If you are attending as a guest, here are some things to keep in mind:

1. Please do not contribute financially to the group, as we do not accept outside contributions.
2. Feel free to introduce yourself as a visitor but please refrain from sharing and ask questions before or after the meeting.
3. Please respect our tradition of anonymity and confidentiality. Refrain from taking photographs, from using members’ last names, or personal details when describing the meeting to others.
4. Please take some free literature and visit the resources below!

Welcome! There is free literature and schedules available for your loved one. Please feel free to ask questions before or after the meeting. Also, keep in mind, there are other 12-step programs for the family and friends of addicts as well.

Welcome! You may be here for yourself, a family member or friend, or just interested in our Fellowship. We do suggest that you not wear a uniform (if possible), to not call attention to yourself, to preserve your anonymity, and to preserve the anonymity of our members. There is free literature available and please feel free to ask questions after the meeting. If your department would like to set up a meeting with our local Public Relations committee please email us.

Welcome! There is free literature available at meetings and at na.org. Please, feel free to ask questions. If your group would like to set up a meeting with our local Public Relations committee please email us.

For More information about Narcotics Anonymous as a whole:

1. Visit NA.org
2. There is also free literature available at open meetings

For More information about NA locally:

1. Carolinas: Visit CRNA.org
2. In Coastal N.C. (Burgaw NC, Carolina Beach NC, Hampstead NC, Jacksonville NC, Richlands NC, Salemburg NC, Southport NC, Wilmington NC, Wrightsville Beach NC and surrounding geographic areas.) Please contact the Coastal Carolina Area NA Public Relations sub-committee by emailing us.
3. Open meetings found on this site

Additional Resources:

• Resources for Professionals
• Welcome to NA
• An Introductory Guide to NA
• NA: A Resource in Your Community
• Introduction to NA Meetings
• How to Find Meetings on this Site
• NA and Persons Receiving Medication-Assisted Treatment
• To gain more in-depth knowledge you can download the Information about N.A. or our Membership Survey pamphlet.