History of Narcotics Anonymous

As many of you know, Jimmy K. founded Narcotics Anonymous after finding A.A. "insufficient" for addicts who needed "identification deeper level of emotions or feelings", rather than "identification at the level of apparent symptoms" common in the A.A. fellowship and philosophy (quotes from Basic Text "We Do Recover" written by Jimmy). But this was more than a feeling, and more like a "near death experience" that prompted Jimmy to this realization. In a tape of his talk at our 20th year convention, Jimmy spoke freely of the night when he had over 15 years "sober" and decided to wait until his wife and children went to sleep in order that he could shoot them and himself in the head and end all his misery. It was a vision of 12 Golden Steps that awoke him to the "different" process necessary for addicts to recover that became the basis for Narcotics Anonymous forming. (For a copy of the tape of this talk, mail a blank cassette to NA Foundation Group, 483 Moreland Avenue NE #6, Atlanta, GA 30307. Be sure to include your return address and postage.) Jimmy soon found he was not alone. Many of the former A.A. members who joined him in founding Narcotics Anonymous also found their way to this realization through "near death experiences". Vito is a popular speaker back east who talks freely of the night he strung himself up with a rope at 18 years sober, only to be rescued at the last minute. When I first met him, the rope burns on his neck were still visible. Vito became a driving force in the early beginnings of east coast Narcotics Anonymous in the 1960's after hearing that "something different" was being formed. Believe it or not, even Bill Wilson agreed with our early founders that "something different" was needed in order to recover from the spiritual aspects of the disease of addiction. In the history of A.A. "Not God", along with various other history documents available through A.A.'s General Office, it's common knowledge that Bill Wilson not only started experimenting with LSD, Niacin Therapy, and speed in his sobriety, but experienced deep, profound depression into years of sobriety, (see the story of how Bill Wilson met Father Martin). It was after 20 years of sobriety in the fellowship that he created, that he too realized "something different was needed". Bill dubbed this the "ism" of alcoholism, and started speaking out in the fellowship about this problem. However, his own fellowship dubbed this an "outside issue", and soon many members of his own service structure started phasing him out of world level service because of what they felt was his "confusion of the issue". (Bill Wilson made a videotape available through the General Office that speaks about how the fellowship and him parted philosophical ways about 20 years into the formation of A.A. You can also email me for a dub if you wish). Jimmy wrote a pamphlet called "Problems Other Than Alcohol" about just this issue that was available for a while (before A.A. rewrote it and changed his concepts) in A.A. meetings. Greg P. used to have a copy of this version of the pamphlet, you might want to check it out to see why it stirred up such controversy, that Jimmy speaks on some of his tapes about how he became quite an "unwelcome troublemaker" at some of the A.A. meetings he regularly attended at that time because of what it said. When he defended the pamphlet, many oldtimers told him "why don't you start your own fellowship", to which one day he replied "I think I will". I'm not an expert in history, so please forgive me if I get a few things messed up here, but it was then that he started looking for a meeting. A probation officer at the prison suggested they come there. I think about ten members joined him for the first meeting of Narcotics Anonymous (not to be confused with the Narcotics Anonymous originally formed on the east coast by someone else that folded two years later prior to this event) at the prison. It was such a success, they were asked to return. Soon came time for an outside meeting. But this posed problems. A group of individuals sharing recovery at a prison is considered an "H&I presentation", and not a group which has to be part of a fellowship. What fellowship? Jimmy realized that one had to be formed. Because of the 12 Steps of A.A. are copyrighted, and cannot be adapted without an acknowledgment of the author without risk of copyright lawsuit, Jimmy received copyright permission and along with these other addicts, formed Narcotics Anonymous. Groups also had another problem _ where to meet? Back in the '50's (N.A. was formed approximately in July of 1953 "We Do Recover", cons were not allowed to meet together while on parole. Many churches would also not allow drug addicts to meet in their facilities. The first meeting of N.A. as a fellowship was in North Hollywood, California (I think in a Salvation Army). As meetings grew, some cops started waiting outside them for everyone to go in, and then they would jump in and arrest everyone for parole violations. Some cops camped out at meetings in order to catch those who had warrants out. Soon "rabbit meetings" were started in response to the police threat. Private, secret meetings that would be moved every night, that you could only find when the secretary had your number and called with directions. But these kinds of meetings posed a big problem _ how would a newcomer find the meeting? Especially a newcomer without a phone or answering service, or one that didn't want the ones they lived with to know about their attendance (remember this was the '50's and answering machines for addicts were very uncommon). A debate grew. The members insisted that more secrecy was what was needed. Jimmy resisted profusely, insisting that all meetings be held just like A.A. meetings with respect to consistency. "Even addicts said it could not be done the way we had it planned. We believed in openly scheduled meetings _ no more hiding as other groups had tried. We believed this differed from all other methods tried before by those who advocated long withdrawal from society (treatment centers). We felt that the sooner the addict could face his problem in everyday living, just that much faster would he become a real, productive citizen". "We Do Recover", Basic Text. Because literature was needed, Jimmy wrote our little white book, along with some IP's like "Self_Acceptance", etc. He formed CARENA, a corporation to hold his copyrights for him in a way that did not put his own personal name out there as author like Bill Wilson did with the Big Book, but also allowed him to retain control of the copyrights. Why? According to sponsees of his, he believed that part of what was needed to combat the disease, rather than the symptom, was total "anonymity". That no addict be considered better, higher, smarter, or even more "prestigious" than another. He saw this too clearly with how Bill Wilson was treated at A.A. meetings and what it did to him. He wanted addicts to feel this was their fellowship, not his. He believed that only by downplaying his role, and keeping his name off documents, would he be allowed to work a program just like any addict. A program that for him, meant avoiding any chance of "star" position if he was to stay in a humble, servant attitude. It was also because of this belief, that he felt the Basic Text should be written by the fellowship, and not him.