Narcotics Anonymous sprang from the Alcoholics Anonymous Program of the late 1940s,
with meetings first emerging in the Los Angeles area of California,
USA, in the early Fifties. The NA program started
as a small US movement that has grown into one of the world's
oldest and largest organizations of its type.

For many years, NA grew very slowly, spreading from Los Angeles
to other major North American cities and Australia
in the early 1970s. In 1983, Narcotics Anonymous published its
self-titled Basic Text book, which contributed to tremendous growth.
Within a few years, groups had formed in Brazil, Colombia,
Germany, India, the Irish Republic, Japan, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

Today, Narcotics Anonymous is well established throughout much of the Americas,
Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Newly formed groups
and NA communities are now scattered throughout the Indian subcontinent, Africa, East Asia,
the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. Narcotics Anonymous books and information
pamphlets are currently available in 27 languages,
with translations in process for 16 languages.