About
Addicts Anonymous

The History of Addicts Anonymous

In 1947, Bill Wilson, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, initiated a quiet but deliberate effort to extend the spiritual framework of AA to a different demographic: those suffering from addiction to narcotics. This effort resulted in the formation of Addicts Anonymous, a fellowship explicitly intended for drug addicts who did not relate to AA’s focus on alcohol but who nonetheless needed a structured path to recovery based on spiritual principles.

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This was not an accidental offshoot or grassroots mutation. It was a named, architected initiative created by Wilson himself. The language of the group mirrored that of AA. The format followed the same Twelve Step structure with minor adaptations. Bill Wilson had begun conversations about such an initiative as early as 1945, confiding in physicians and trusted allies that a “parallel fellowship” might be necessary as increasing numbers of narcotic addicts were appearing in and around AA meetings, many of whom found the alcohol-specific messaging to be alienating.

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Bill Wilson’s vision for Addicts Anonymous became tangible when Houston S., a member of Alcoholics Anonymous, introduced the program at the United States Public Health Service Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky—commonly known as the Lexington Narcotic Farm. This institution, part prison and part research facility, housed individuals incarcerated or committed due to narcotic addiction. Houston S. had a strong commitment to carrying the message of recovery into institutions, and Lexington was the most prominent of its kind. Though Houston S. played a critical role in implementing the Addicts Anonymous model inside Lexington, he did not author the program. The fellowship’s structure and name pre-existed his involvement and had been advanced by Wilson through private correspondence and discussion with early addiction researchers.

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At Lexington, Addicts Anonymous meetings were conducted in much the same manner as AA groups, with readings, step work, and spiritual dialogue. These meetings were attended by incarcerated addicts, many of whom had never been exposed to any form of peer-based recovery. The group published a newsletter called The Key, which kept former patients connected to the principles of recovery and to one another after discharge. The use of newsletters to maintain continuity reflected Wilson’s larger emphasis on fellowship and ongoing contact.

The medical professionals at Lexington supported this initiative. Dr. Ruth Fox, later co-founder of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, was one of the few physicians at the time openly engaging with Wilson on the application of Twelve Step recovery to narcotic addiction. Her correspondence references Bill’s desire to make spiritual recovery available to all addicts, not just alcoholics. Similarly, Dr. Vincent Dole, who would go on to develop methadone maintenance treatment, also noted Bill’s early interest in creating tailored Twelve Step fellowships for narcotics. Both physicians described Wilson’s involvement as direct, not theoretical.

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Despite its promising foundation, Addicts Anonymous failed to scale. By 1966, the Lexington group had largely dissolved, and no nationwide infrastructure had been built. The program’s collapse had several causes. There was resistance from within AA to creating “separate fellowships,” a lingering stigma attached to narcotic addiction that even many alcoholics rejected, and a lack of operational support for the expansion of Addicts Anonymous beyond institutional settings.

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It is worth noting that the collapse of Addicts Anonymous did not mark the end of its influence. In that same year, 1966, an inmate named William Benitez who had been exposed to the recovery model while incarcerated founded Narconon while serving time in the Arizona State Prison. Benitez had also been a member of the Church of Scientology and decided to combine Scientology’s theories on personal responsibility and spiritual rehabilitation with the basic architecture of anonymous recovery. Narconon grew quickly and became the treatment modality that introduced Danny C. a recovering addict in Southern California to structured recovery. Danny C. went on to play a critical role in the development of what would become the modern version of Narcotics Anonymous.

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Although Jimmy Kinnon, or Jimmy K., is often credited as the founder of Narcotics Anonymous in its current form, the true lineage is more complex. Narcotics Anonymous had made an earlier attempt at organizing in New York in the early 1950s, but this effort was short-lived. The later version of NA, founded in California, borrowed from both AA and the fragments of Addicts Anonymous that had survived institutionally and ideologically. The Narconon connection, particularly through Danny C., represents a bridge between Bill Wilson’s original idea and the evolution of a sustainable 12-Step program for drug addicts.

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The story of Addicts Anonymous is often forgotten or reduced to rumor. Yet the documentary evidence including correspondence housed in the AA General Service Office archives, early newsletters like The Key, and first-hand accounts from professionals like Fox and Dole clearly identifies Bill Wilson as the initiator of the fellowship. Houston S. was its carrier, not its creator. The name, the structure, and the purpose were born from the same vision that gave rise to Alcoholics Anonymous, but adapted for a different group suffering under different circumstances.

 

Had the institutional and cultural climate of the time been more accepting, Addicts Anonymous may well have become what Narcotics Anonymous later accomplished. Nonetheless, its creation marks an important chapter in the broader history of recovery: a deliberate effort to expand spiritual recovery to drug addicts long before the world was ready to receive it.

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Today, Addicts Anonymous has reemerged to grow into a new 12-step fellowship—one defined by an inclusive First Step. We believe that any use of mind- or mood-altering substances or engagement in addictive behaviors is a symptom of a deeper problem. By applying an age-old spiritual approach in a new way, we aim to help all addicts find recovery.

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Unlike many other 12-step fellowships, which define membership by a specific substance or behavior, Addicts Anonymous exists for anyone identifying as an addict. Our primary purpose is to help addicts—period. It doesn’t matter whether your struggle has been with meth, marijuana, heroin, cocaine, alcohol, pills, food, sex, gambling, or something else entirely. If it’s a mind-altering substance or an addictive behavior, you’re welcome here.

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We often say: if you’ve used anything outside yourself to fix something inside yourself, this is the program for you.

 

Join us.

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If you’d like to be of service to Addicts Anonymous or learn more, please email our Trustees:

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trustee (@) addictsanonymous.us