COS History

The Circle of Sisters (COS) Women’s Convention of Narcotics Anonymous was created by and for the women of Narcotics Anonymous who had a vision of an annual convention for the women of our fellowship in Portland, Oregon.

The first convention held in February 1998 was named the Pacific Northwest Women’s Convention of Narcotics Anonymous #1, because the organizers anticipated the convention would be an ongoing tradition in the Pacific Northwest. However, COS quickly outgrew its origins, in the second year and the words ‘Pacific Northwest' were deleted. In its third year, COS ventured far from its roots, all the way to Houston, Texas.

The COS Advisory Committee was established at COS III to provide continuity as Circle of Sisters grew and traveled further.

COS IV evolved into an international NA convention when it moved to Vancouver, Canada.

The first version of the Guidelines was approved at COS IV. In 2016, the COS Advisory voted to be the executive body of Circle of Sisters to ensure the consistency of COS guidelines remain intact.

No addict will be turned away from any NA meeting in accordance with our Third Tradition. However, convention activities are restricted to women only.