History of Narcotics Anonymous

Narcotics Anonymous started in the USA in 1953 and is one of the oldest and largest organizations of its type in the world. Following that first NA meeting in Los Angeles, the society grew slowly, spreading to other major north american cities and to Australia by the early 1970's. In 1982, when Narcotics Anonymous published its self-titled Basic Text, the growth of the fellowship was phenomenal. New groups sprang up in Brazil, Colombia, Germany, India, the Irish Republic, Japan, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. By the end of the year, 1.200 groups had been established in 11 countries. Three years later, the number of NA groups around the world had tripled.

Today, Narcotics Anonymous is established throughout Western Europe, North and South America and Australia, with newly formed groups and communities scattered across the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Central America, Asia and Africa. More than 43,900 meetings take place in 127 countries. In Eastern Europe and the Balkans Narcotics Anonymous enjoy popularity in Russia, Ukraine and Greece. AN groups were created in most other countries in the region.

The first NA group in Bulgaria was formed in Sofia in 2000. First years are a period of a struggle. After a sharp increase in membership in 2003-2004, the attendance decrease, only to revive in recent years.

Currently, there is 1 group (“Just for today”) is Sofia which conducts 2 meetings per week. Each meeting is attended by around ten people, mostly men between 25-35 years old. The average clean time of the members is 2-3 years.