The Cultural and Sub Cultural Influence of Narcotics Anonymous

For the self-help meeting in regards for my reaction paper, I attended a Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meeting. NA is a nonprofit, community-based, 12-step recovery organization for recovering drug addicts (Bowens, 2011, p. 1). The meeting I attended took place outside on a Saturday afternoon at Magnolia Park in Garden Grove, California. It is an open-group tag meeting, where one speaker will tag another person to share and welcome for anyone to attend. It was very easy to locate the meeting, as it was right in front of the park’s only parking lot with members sitting in a circle on benches and lawn chairs. The meeting started at 12:00pm and ended around 1:30pm.

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is the largest and most commonly known self-help group in the world. Since the creation of AA in 1935, there have been many programs modeled after it, which are also based on the 12-Step Program. Some of these include Narcotics Anonymous (NA) and Chemically Dependent Anonymous, as well as programs for specific drugs, such as Cocaine Anonymous (CA) and Crystal Meth Anonymous (NIDA, 2012). Attendance and participation for self-help groups are open for anyone to attend and free of cost for all members, with meetings typically held in locations such as churches and public buildings. “Metropolitan areas usually have specialized groups, based on such member characteristics as gender, length of time in recovery,

Alcoholics Anonymous is a group composed of men and women who want to stop drinking and help each other stay on the path towards sobriety. They are not affiliated with any other organization, denomination, or institution and the only requirement for membership is the desire to stop drinking (Fisher & Harrison, 2013). They meet at least once a week, if not more to support one another and to share their experiences, struggles, and successes.

The Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting that I attended was held at the Alcoholics Alana Club in Anaheim, California on Thursday. The meeting started at 7:30 in the evening, though many members gathered earlier to smoke and mingle outside. The members were a mix of Caucasian and Hispanic individuals that ranged from early 20s to late 60s. They seemed to be over lower socioeconomic status (SES), and the majority of them had tattoos and piercings. This particular meeting was a speaker meeting, so the meeting began with the leader welcoming everyone and announcing the people visiting from other states, as well as people who shared that this was their first meeting. He then called up a couple people to read certain chapters of the AA book. Another individual then volunteered to be the ‘10 minute speaker’, and briefly shared his story and how the 12 steps helped guide his recovery. The treasurer then passed around a donation basket and handed out sobriety chips, and a 10 minute break followed. After the break the guest speaker shared his story for the next half an

On June 26, 2015, we visited an Alcoholic Anonymous Hispanic group called “Poco a Poco”. The group was composed of eleven males and two females. Their ages were thirty years old to fifty five years old, which puts them in the middle adulthood stage. The group that was participating in the AA meeting was composed of different levels of education and socioeconomic status. One participant that was from a high income background and the rest were from a low and middle income background. Next to the group’s room, was another group waiting. We did not know its name, but the members' ethnicity was non-Hispanic. We reached the location fifteen minutes early which gave us the opportunity to observe the two different

For this paper I attended an Alcohol Anonymous meeting (AA), so that I could experience a new type of group that I have never been exposed to before. I attended the AA meeting here in Macomb, at the First Presbyterian Church on October, 1 2016 at 8:00pm. I learned about this group because a classmate informed me about it. I decided to choose this specific group because I have never been to an AA meeting before. I felt this would be a good way to get exposed to something I have never experience and to get a better understanding of an AA meeting.

On June 26, 2015 we visit alcoholic anonym Hispanic group called “Poco a poco”. The group was composed by 11 males and two females. Their ages were 30 being the youngest one and the rest between 40 to 60 years old that put them in middle adulthood stage. Beside their room there was another group non-Hispanic. We got to the place fifteen minutes early which gave us the opportunity to observe the two different cultural group waiting outside for their section to start. What we notice first was that the non-Hispanic group where composed by 5 males and 4 females all from the middle adulthood stage, they all interact well with each other and they all were smoking cigarettes. The Hispanic group they all salute each other but none was smoking cigarettes. The section of the AA meeting start on time. The first thing they all did was to greet us when we enter the section. They begin their meeting reciting the twelve stages and after that they made a prayer. After the prayer they said their rules of participation and everyone turn off and/or silence their cellphones. Each individual took 30 minutes to talk. They explain the first time they drink, and how they all broke

drunks. I had always thought that it would be an insult or degrading to a recovering

Alcoholics Anonymous is a support group established to help, support, encourage men and women suffering from alcohol addiction. This group is anonymous and volunteer based where people from different race, gender, and socioeconomic status share their stories of substance addictions. Based on the dynamics, this addiction has no prejudice. Many people are unaware that alcohol is a depressant in which slows down one's motor skills and the ability to think rational. This inability can lead to the person harming themselves and others. Many alcoholics used this drug as a way of coping with depression, stress, or loses. This support group will enable the attendees to become open with their addiction, explore other option, and eventually cease this

Narcotic Anonymous (NA) is a place where group of people, men and women gather together several times a week or month with the desire to stop using narcotics. This program started around the late 1940s which was taken from the idea of Alcoholic Anonymous (NA World Services, 2014). People who attend NA participates either because it was a court order or its their own willingness to get better. Narcotic Anonymous is an outlet for narcotic addicts to find people who share their own struggle in overcoming narcotic addiction; It can also provide resources on how to stay clean and stop using illicit drugs. NA welcome every participant from different ages, races and type of addiction.

A subculture is a group of people who share a distinctive set of cultural beliefs and behaviors that differ in some significant way from that of larger society. Marijuana smokers can be considered a subculture for many reasons. Marijuana is used by millions of people around the world, either for recreational, spiritual, or therapeutic reasons. Some call themselves the cannabis connoisseurs; people who respect cannabis and use it responsibly. Few drugs have been so politicized recently as marijuana has. It is frequently praised by one side and condemned by the other, on the basis of emotional issues rather than an objective view of research.

The Narcotics Anonymous meetings I attended were held in community centers, the meeting formats were the same, the environments were clean however sterile concerning anything on the walls that referenced N.A. In the back of the room, a portable table was setup for literature, and coffee and tea. The seating arrangement was a huge circle; about 25-30 individuals attended each meeting. The members were all ages and from all socio-economic status’. They were welcoming, friendly, and everyone hugged everyone! Initially, I thought it maybe it was just the culture of Central Texas (as I am new here), conversely, in my research I came to understand that this is part of the DNA of N.A. (Narcotics Anonymous, 1992).

Introduction - Use of psychoactive substances for recreational purposes is not a radically new social issue. In fact, history tells us that almost every society had their own pharmacopeia of herbs, potions, and substances that not only contributed to healing, but also allowed the user to escape reality (Schules 1992, 4-5). However, it is the contemporary use of psychoactive drugs purchased through illicit or illegal channels and used by persons neither prescribed nor in quantities larger than necessary that defines modern drug abuse (Robins 2006). Prior to World War I, substances like morphine, heroin, and cocaine were available in the major American cities, particularly those with active international ports. For instance, when Chinese immigrants were first imported to work in the mines and railroads during the early 1800s, they brought opium to America. It was the leisure class, who began to experiment with this drug, and, as in Europe, many major U.S. cities had so-called opium dens. In addition, there were a substantial number of "society women" who ended up addicted because their doctor prescribed this drug to deal with female histrionics or to "cure" an excessive sexual appetite (Johnson 2002). Within major cities, this problem began to spill over into other groups: prostitutes, child laborers, orphans, and even men and women of lower social classes seeking to escape the harshness of their lives (Courtwright 2002, 3-19). Between the widespread use and general

Our lecture defines a subculture as a diffuse social network that have a shared identity, distinctive meaning around certain ideas, practices and objects, and a sense of marginalization from or resistance to perceived “conventional society.” There are five requirements a group of people has to meet to label as a subculture. First, it is having a diffuse social network. With having a diffuse social network, there is a constant flow of participant in and out of the subculture by the members becoming more or less like the subculture every day. Second, it’s a shared identity. By having a shared identity, the members are able to identify one another and see themselves as different from the mainstream. Third, they must share a distinctive meaning.

Initiation into a subculture, reflects initiation into religious rituals, thus, similar themes of spirituality emerge. Participants can accept or reject concepts of spirituality upon attending a subcultural gig. This is the space where individuals are most likely to engage with meaning in the music, captivate feelings and create memories and connections