Editing Narcotics Anonymous (section)

===Early history of NA===
On August 17th of 1953, Narcotics Anonymous was founded by [[Jimmy Kinnon]] and others.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080330021500/http://www.na-history.org/THE_FOUNDING_OF_NARCOTICS_ANONYMOUS.html The foundation of Narcotic Anonymous] (handwritten minutes of founding meetings).</ref> Differing from its predecessors, NA formed a fellowship of mutually supporting groups. Founding members, most of whom were from AA, debated and established the 12 Traditions of the NA fellowship. On September 14, 1953, AA authorized NA the use of AA's 12 steps and traditions on the condition that they stop using the AA name, causing the organization to call itself Narcotics Anonymous.

In 1954, the first NA publication was printed, called the "Little Brown Book". It contained the 12 steps and early drafts of several pieces that would later be included in subsequent literature.<ref name="NAHistoryWorkshop" /><ref>Text of ''The Little Yellow Booklet'' reproduced at [http://lakeportna.homestead.com/files/longhistory1.html The History of NA Literature] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061029161705/http://lakeportna.homestead.com/files/longhistory1.html |date=October 29, 2006 }}, although the stated year of first publication is incorrect on this page.</ref>

At that time, NA was not yet recognized by society at large as a positive force. The initial group had difficulty finding places that would allow them to meet and often had to meet in people's homes. The first meetings of Narcotics Anonymous were held in the basements of churches for the members' protection because at that time a law prohibiting convicted felons from congregating was still being upheld and churches offered their basements as a sanctuary. Addicts would have to cruise around meeting places and check for surveillance, to make sure meetings would not be busted by police. It was many years before NA became recognized as a beneficial organization, although some early press accounts were very positive.<ref>{{cite news|first=Jerome|last=Ellison|url=http://www.na-history.org/Saturday_Evening_Post.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060108223124/http://www.na-history.org/Saturday_Evening_Post.html|archive-date= January 8, 2006|title=These Drug Addicts Cure One Another|work=[[Saturday Evening Post]]|pages=22, 23, 48, 49, 52|date=August 7, 1954}}</ref>

In addition, many NA groups were not following the 12 traditions very closely (which were quite new at the time). These groups were at times accepting money from outside entities, conflating AA with NA, or even adding religious elements to the meetings. For a variety of reasons, meetings began to decline in the late 1950s, and there was a four-month period in 1959 when there were no meetings held anywhere at all.<ref name=Sep>{{cite book|last1=Seppala|first1=Marvin D.|last2=Rose|first2=Mark E.|title=Prescription Painkillers: History, Pharmacology, and Treatment|publisher=Hazelden Publishing|isbn=978-1-592-85901-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/prescriptionpain00marv/page/193 193]|url=https://archive.org/details/prescriptionpain00marv|url-access=registration|quote=4-month period in 1959 no meetings NA history.|access-date= June 11, 2013|date=January 25, 2011}}</ref> Spurred into action by this, Kinnon and others dedicated themselves to restarting NA, promising to hold to the traditions more closely.