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Tradition Ten

(Starts on page 74, Basic Text, Sixth Edition)



“Narcotics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the NA name ought never be drawn into public controversy.”


In order to achieve our spiritual aim, Narcotics Anonymous must be known and respected. Nowhere is this more obvious than in our history. NA was founded in 1953. For twenty years, our Fellowship remained small and obscure. In the 1970’s, society realized that addiction had become a worldwide epidemic and began to look for answers. Along with this came change in the way people thought of the addict. This change allowed addicts to seek help more openly. NA groups sprang up in many places where we were never tolerated before. Recovering addicts paved the way for more groups and more recovery. Today NA is a worldwide Fellowship. We are known and respected everywhere.

If an addict has never heard of us, he cannot seek us out. If those who work with addicts are unaware of our existence, they cannot refer them to us. One of the most important things we can do to further our primary purpose is to let people know who, what and where we are. If we do this and keep our good reputation, we will surely grow.

Our recovery speaks for itself. Our Tenth Tradition specifically helps protect our reputation. This tradition says that NA has no opinion on outside issues. We don’t take sides. We don’t have any recommendations. NA, as a Fellowship, does not participate in politics; to do so would invite controversy. It would jeopardize our Fellowship. Those who agree with our opinions might commend us for taking a stand, but some would always disagree. With a price this high, is it any wonder we choose not to take sides in society’s problems? For our own survival, we have no opinion on outside issues.