Narcotics Anonymous invites all people looking for drug-free life

"Don't do drugs," may seem like a simple, easy-to-follow statement, but for those who have been using narcotics, it isn't that way at all. What is simple is the message of Narcotics Anonymous - we have found a way to live without using drugs, and are happy to share it with anyone for whom drugs are a problem.

Narcotics Anonymous (NA) is a nonprofit fellowship or society of men and women, for whom drugs have become a major problem. They are a group of recovering addicts who meet regularly to help each other stay clean. There are no dues or fees. The only requirement for membership is the desire to stop using.

With the recent overdose deaths in South Lake Tahoe, many have expressed a desire to not let their deaths be in vain but to serve the purpose of providing information, education, and tools so other families and groups of friends don't have to experience the same immense sorrow and loss.

There are several meetings in the Lake Tahoe and Carson Valley area where interested people can attend. A regional hotline is open for those seeking help - 1-888-850-2205 or 1-775-200-9671. These numbers serve Reno, Sparks, Fernley, South Lake Tahoe, Minden, Gardnerville, North Lake Tahoe, Carson City, Dayton, Stagecoach, Silver Springs, Moundhouse, Winnemucca, Elko, Yerington, Fallon, and Lovelock.

People don’t have to be clean when they arrive at a meeting, but after your first meeting, they suggest you "keep coming back and come clean."

"You don’t have to wait for an overdose or jail sentence to get help from NA, nor is addiction, a hopeless condition from which there is no recovery," states the group's statement. "It is possible to overcome the desire to use drugs with the help of the 12-step program of Narcotics Anonymous and the fellowship of recovering addicts."

Addiction is a disease that can happen to anyone. Some use drugs because they enjoy them, and others use them to suppress the feelings already have. Still, others suffered from physical or mental ailments and became addicted to the medication prescribed during the illnesses. Some joined the crowd using drugs a few times just to be cool and later found they could not stop.

NA Literature:

Many of us tried to overcome addiction, and sometimes temporary relief was possible, but it was usually followed by an even deeper involvement than before.

Whatever the circumstances, it really doesn’t matter. Addiction is a progressive disease such as diabetes. We are allergic to drugs. Our ends are always the same: jails, institutions, or death. If life has become unmanageable, and you want to live without it being necessary to use drugs, we have found a way.

Narcotics Anonymous offers addicts a way to live drug-free. If you are not sure you’re an addict, don’t worry about it; just keep coming to our meetings. You will have all the time you need to make up your own mind.

You may be feeling hopeless and afraid. You may think that this program, like other things you have tried, will not work. Or you may think that it will work for someone else, but not for you because you feel you are different than us. Most of us felt like that when we first came to NA.

Somehow we knew that we couldn’t go on using drugs, but we didn’t know how to stop or stay clean. We were all afraid to let go of something that had become so important to us. It is a relief to discover that the only requirement for membership in NA is a desire to stop using.

This program offers Hope. All you have to bring with you is the desire to stop using, and the willingness to try this new way of life. Come to meetings, listen with an open mind, ask questions, get phone numbers and use them. Stay clean just for today.

May we also remind you that this is an anonymous program and your anonymity will be held in the strictest confidence. We are not interested in what or how much you used or who your connections were, what you’ve done in the past, how much or how little you have, but only in what you want to do about your problem and how we can help.

South Shore area of Narcotics Anonymous meetings, as of February 2024:

SUNDAY

​9 a.m. ZOOM-Stick meeting
ID 899 9755 7176
​​PASSWORD 092017

​7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. - ​Reps for Recovery
Inside Pulse Fitness yoga room
​885 MAHOGANY DR
​MINDEN, NV 89423

MONDAY

6 p.m. - Monday Night Miracle
Lake Tahoe Presbyterian Church
​2733 LAKE TAHOE BLVD, South Lake Tahoe
​ENTER ON LEFT, UPSTAIRS

7 p.m. - Just for Today
​FISH BLDG
921 MITCH DRIVE
GARDNERVILLE, NV 89460

WEDNESDAY

6 p.m. - Co-ed Meeting
​Lake Tahoe Presbyterian Church
​2733 LAKE TAHOE BLVD, South Lake Tahoe
​ENTER ON right, downstairs

7 p.m. - Wrecking Crew
FISH BLDG
​921 MITCH DRIVE
​GARDNERVILLE, NV 89460

FRIDAY

​6 p.m. - Happy Hour
​Lake Tahoe Presbyterian Church
​2733 LAKE TAHOE BLVD, South Lake Tahoe
​ENTER ON right, downstairs