Marijuana Anonymous District 27

The following questions may help you determine whether marijuana is a problem in your life.

1. Has using marijuana stopped being fun?

2. Do you ever get high alone?

3. Is it hard for you to imagine a life without marijuana?

4. Do you find that your friends are determined by your marijuana use?

5. Do you use marijuana to avoid dealing with your problems or to cope with your feelings?

6. Has your marijuana use led to financial difficulties and/or legal consequences?

7. Does your marijuana use let you live in a privately defined world?

8. Have you ever failed to keep promises you made about cutting down or controlling your use of marijuana?

9. Has your use of marijuana caused problems with your health, memory, concentration, or motivation?

10. When your stash is nearly empty, do you feel anxious or worried about how to get more?

11. Do you plan your life around your marijuana use?

12. Have friends or relatives ever complained that your using is damaging your relationship with them?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you may have a problem with marijuana.

The above 12 Questions were updated and ratified by the 2021 World Services Conference on May 31, 2021.

The practice of rigorous honesty, of opening our hearts and minds, and the willingness to go to any lengths to have a spiritual awakening are essential to our recovery. Our old ideas and ways of life no longer work for us. Our suffering shows us that we need to let go absolutely. We surrender ourselves to a Power greater than ourselves.

Here are the steps we take which are suggested for recovery.

1. We admitted we were powerless over marijuana, that our lives had become unmanageable.

2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God, as we understood God.

4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

7. Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings.

8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.

11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood God, praying only for knowledge of God’s will for us and the power to carry that out.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to marijuana addicts and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Do not be discouraged; none of us are saints. Our program is not easy, but it is simple. We strive for progress, not perfection. Our experiences, before and after we entered recovery, teach us three important ideas:

• That we are marijuana addicts and cannot manage our own lives;

• That probably no human power can relieve our addiction; and

• That our Higher Power can and will if sought.

1. Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon MA unity.

2. For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority, a loving God whose expression may come through in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.

3. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop using marijuana.

4. Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or MA as a whole.

5. Each group has but one primary purpose, to carry its message to the marijuana addict who still suffers.

6. MA groups ought never endorse, finance, or lend the MA name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.

7. Every MA group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.

8. Marijuana Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers.

9. MA, as such, ought never be organized, but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.

10. Marijuana Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the MA name ought never be drawn into public controversy.

11. Our public relations policy is based upon attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, TV, film, and other public media. We need guard with special care the anonymity of all fellow MA members.

12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.

1. The Marijuana Anonymous service structure was created to give the groups the freedom to carry out our society’s primary purpose of carrying the message to marijuana addicts.

2. The ultimate authority and responsibility for service in Marijuana Anonymous is the collective conscience of the groups.

3. The Marijuana Anonymous groups have delegated to its service committees and trusted servants the full authority to conduct Marijuana Anonymous’ business and service regarding district as well as world affairs.

4. All members of a service committee have the “Right of Participation,” and bear substantial responsibility for the service committee’s decisions.

5. Group conscience is the spiritual means by which service decisions are made.

6. A “Right of Appeal” exists to protect minority opinions, and to ensure that all viewpoints have been considered in the decision making process.

7. The scope of responsibility and authority of every service position should be well defined to ensure accountability of all service positions as well as the ability to perform each position.

8. Effective leadership qualities are essential for trustees, who are entrusted with the responsibility of making final decisions regarding general world service business and finances.

9. The Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws of Marijuana Anonymous World Services are legal documents that empower the trustees to manage and conduct world service business; the conference charter is not a legal document but relies on the force of the traditions and power of the group conscience.

10. The integrity of our service structure depends on continued unity of Marijuana Anonymous groups, districts, and World Services through effective communication.

11. Marijuana Anonymous’ funds and resources should be managed responsibly to ensure their most efficient use in carrying out the primary purpose of Marijuana Anonymous.

12. The Marijuana Anonymous service structure should be one of selfless service and not of power or government, ensuring that the spiritual principles of the 12 Steps, 12 Traditions, and the warranties of Article 12 of the conference charter are always maintained.

Marijuana Anonymous is a fellowship of people who share our experience, strength, and hope with each other that we may solve our common problem and help others to recover from marijuana addiction.

The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop using marijuana. There are no dues or fees for membership. We are self-supporting through our own contributions. MA is not affiliated with any religious or secular institution or organization and has no opinion on any outside controversies or causes. Our primary purpose is to stay free of marijuana and to help the marijuana addict who still suffers achieve the same freedom. We can do this by practicing our suggested Twelve Steps of recovery and by being guided as a group by our Twelve Traditions.

We who are marijuana addicts know the answer to this question. Marijuana controls our lives! We lose interest in all else; our dreams go up in smoke. Ours is a progressive illness often leading us to addictions to other drugs, including alcohol. Our lives, our thinking, and our desires center around marijuana—scoring it, dealing it, and finding ways to stay high.

As stated in our third tradition, the only requirement for

membership in Marijuana Anonymous is a desire to stop

using marijuana. There is no mention of any other drugs or

alcohol. This is to adhere to the "singleness of purpose"

concept, but many of us have found that the only way that

we can keep our sobriety is to abstain from all mind and

mood altering chemicals, including alcohol.

When we give up the drug of our choice, a void is created.

The initial struggle to abstain from marijuana use often

leaves us vulnerable. To fill this void we may start to use,

or increase the use of, other substances such as alcohol,

cocaine, pills, or other self-prescribed drugs.

Although we may not now be addicted to these substances,

their use can lower our inhibitions, leaving us open to

repeating old patterns of thinking and behaving that can lead

back to marijuana use. The fact that we became addicted to

marijuana reflects a tendency towards behavior that may

lead to cross addiction or substitution addiction to these

substances.

To reiterate, the only requirement for membership is a

desire to stop using marijuana. It is important, however,

to recognize the potential to create another problem as

we strive to recover from this one.

God, grant me serenity

To accept things I cannot change

Courage to change the things I can

And wisdom to know the difference.

Higher Power,

I know in my heart that only you can restore me to sanity.

I humbly ask that you remove all twisted thought and addictive behavior from me this day.

Heal my spirit and restore in me a clear mind.

Amen

Higher Power,

I have tried to control the uncontrollable for far too long.

I ask that you take this burden from me.

I acknowledge that my life is unmanageable.

I ask for your care and guidance.

Grant me honesty, courage, humility, and serenity, to face that which keeps me from you and others.

I give this life to you, to do with as you will.

Amen

Higher Power,

Please Help Me.

Help me learn what I’m supposed to learn. Help me do what I’m supposed to do.

Help me be who I’m supposed to be.

Stay with me always.

In my hour of deepest despair.

And my hour of greatest joy.

Amen

1. The rewards we’ve received from taking Steps Eight and Nine are profound and sublime.

2. These actions have enabled us to live to good purpose and empowered us to be of service to others.

3. Miracles have become everyday reality.

4. We do things that we could never have done alone.

5. God has become a living force in our lives.

6. We have grown free and joyful.

7. Service to others has replaced selfishness.

8. We’ve lost our fears and regained trust in God, ourselves, and other human beings.

9. Petty problems have stopped bedeviling us.

10. Our attitude has turned from denial, defiance, and belligerence to gratitude, humility, and a sincere effort to be of service.

11. We have gained dignity as we’ve retaken our proper place in society.

12. The hard work that we put into the first Nine Steps was a precious accomplishment and a valuable gift.

Those of us who have rigorously and thoroughly taken all of the steps can attest

to the fact that we have become stronger people. As we make spiritual progress,

we begin to feel emotionally secure. Our new attitudes bring about self-esteem,

inner strength, and serenity that is not easily shaken by any of life’s hard times.

Our awakening has come about as a result of a spiritual house cleaning, being

aware of who we are, and cultivating a growing relationship with our Higher

Power. That relationship can lessen the role of fear as the main source of

motivation in our lives. We know that our needs will be met — perhaps not in the

ways that we had hoped for, but in ways from which we can truly grow. We have

found that freedom from fear is much more important than freedom from want.

We start to accept the unpleasantness in our lives and

become grateful when we are able to experience growth from it.

We learn to give without expecting rewards. We act as responsible members of

society, living not in isolation but with a sense of community. We become true

partners with our friends and loved ones. With the help of a Higher Power, we

respond positively to adversity. Practicing the principles we learn by taking the

Twelve Steps produces rewards beyond calculation. With a deep sense of

gratitude and the help of a power greater than ourselves, we can live in spiritual,

emotional, and physical recovery; we live with serenity and security, one day at a time.

Humbly seeking to do the will of a Higher Power, we find that we can now live useful lives.

As a result, we reap benefits we had thought unattainable, even unimaginable.

As we each work the program in our own special way, we discover the spiritual

principles that we all have in common. We are all unique examples of how the

program works, each of us with our distinct gifts to share. We take these steps for

ourselves, not by ourselves. Others have gone before; others will follow. We recover.

(Life with Hope, 3rd edition: p. 61-62)

Higher Power,

Please help me set aside everything I think I know about myself,

my disease, these steps, and especially you,

for an open mind and a new experience with myself,

my disease, these steps, and especially You.

Amen

Lord, make me a channel of thy peace--that where there is hatred, I may bring

love--that where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness--that where

there is discord, I may bring harmony--that where there is error, I may bring

truth--that where there is doubt, I may bring faith--that where there is despair, I

may bring hope--that where there are shadows, I may bring light--that where there

is sadness, I may bring joy. Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to

be comforted--to understand, than to be understood--to love, than to be loved.

For it is by self-forgetting that one finds. It is by forgiving that one is forgiven.

It is by dying that one awakens to Eternal Life.

Amen

(Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, p.86)

If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through.

We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness.

We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it.

We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace.

No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others.

That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear.

We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows.

Self-seeking will slip away.

Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change.

Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us.

We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us.

We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.

Are these extravagant promises? We think not.

They are being fulfilled among us—sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly.

They will always materialize if we work for them.

(Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, p.83-84)

Our book is meant to be suggestive only. We realize

we know only a little. God will constantly disclose

more to you and to us. Ask God in your morning

meditation what you can do each day for the

person who is still sick. The answer will come, if

your own house is in order. But obviously you

cannot transmit something you haven’t got. See to

it that your relationship with God is right, and great

events will come to pass for you and countless

others. This is the great fact for us.

Abandon yourself to God as you understand God.

Admit your faults to God and your fellows. Clear

away the wreckage of your past. Give freely what

you have found here and join us. We shall be with

you in the fellowship of the spirit and you will surely

meet some of us as you trudge the Road of Happy Destiny.

May god bless you and keep you -- until then.

(Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, p.151)

I place my hand in yours, and together we can do what we could never do alone.

No longer is there a sense of hopelessness.

No longer must we each depend upon our own unsteady willpower.

We are all together now, reaching out our hands, for a power and strength, greater than ours.

And, as we join hands, we find love and understanding beyond our wildest dreams!

Amen