Marijuana Anonymous - District 1

What is Marijuana Anonymous?

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Marijuana Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women 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.

Marijuana Anonymous uses the basic 12 Steps of Recovery founded by Alcoholics Anonymous, because it has been proven that the 12 Step Recovery program works!

MA Meetings in San Francisco

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Download the schedule in PDF

MONDAY 7:15 - 8:15 pm
Kaiser CDRP
1201 Fillmore Street (at Turk) Room 1
O, NS, W/A
"Greener Pastures"
ON ALL LEGAL HOLIDAYS the building is closed and we meet at nearby Alamo Square Park at 7:30 pm, weather permitting, at the middle bench near the tennis courts

TUESDAY 7:30 - 8:45 pm
Park Presidio Methodist Church
4301 Geary Blvd. (at 7th) 1st Floor
O, NS
"Friends Of Bud Group"

FRIDAY 8:00 - 9:00 pm
California Pacific Medical Center (formerly Davies Medical Center)
Castro & Duboce - Meeting Room B1
North Building, downstairs LEVEL B, next to cafeteria (north end of building)
O, NS, W/A
"Castro Weed Patch"

3rd SATURDAY of every month
gathering 3:45 pm, meeting 4:00-5:30 followed by pot luck dinner
O, NS, W
"Women's Potless Luck"
Location in San Francisco changes every month
For details contact Sara K: sarakap@gmail.com

LEGEND
O: Open (to all)
C: Closed (marijuana addicts only)
M: Men Only
W: Women Only
NS: Non-Smoking
W/A: Wheelchair Accessible

Schedule updated September 3, 2009

Twelve Questions

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

1. Has smoking pot 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 smoke marijuana to avoid dealing with your problems?

6. Do you smoke pot to cope with your feelings?

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 dope smoking?

9. Has your use of marijuana caused problems with 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 pot smoking is damaging your relationship with them?

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

Marijuana Anonymous FAQs

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Q: Do you have to believe in God to quit smoking marijuana?

A: This quote from Marijuana Anonymous' book, Life with Hope, p. 7 (Step Two) sheds light on this question:

"It is not necessary to acquire a major God Consciousness to be able to cease using. All we need is to maintain an open mind and a hopeful heart. It is not necessary to say yes. It is however, important to stop saying no. Observe the reality around you and the recovery taking place within MA. One only has to stop fighting. Higher Power means different things to different people. To some of us, it is a God of an organized religion; to others, it is a state of being commonly called spirituality. Some of us believe in a deity; a Higher Power can be the strength gained from being a part of, and caring for, a community of others. There is room in MA for all beliefs. We do not proselytize any particular view or religion. In MA each of us discovers a spirit of humility and tolerance, and each of us finds a Higher Power that works for us."

Q: What is the effect of marijuana on pregnancy?

A: Marijuana Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues including medical advice or opinions. MA does not know what effect marijuana may have on pregnancy. Some members may have more experience in that areas than others, but no more so than the general population. That is a medical question best answered by medical professionals.

Q: What physical side effects does the use of marijuana cause?

A: The pamphlet, Detoxing from Marijuana, does not contain medically based knowledge, but empirical knowledge based on the experiences of many MA members who took the time to fill out extensive questionnaires regarding their own early days of abstinence from their drug of choice. This pamphlet should answer most of your questions on common physical side effects.

Q: Why do I need MA to quit using marijuana?

A: Maybe you don't. "Marijuana Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women 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." If you haven't crossed over the line from using to abusing to addiction, you can probably quit using it any time you'd like. Marijuana Anonymous is for those of us who crossed over that line into addiction and for whom "just saying no" is no longer an option. We need more than just will power to refrain from using. We need the help of other addicts who understand our problem. If you are an addict we are here to help you.

Q: How can there be marijuana addicts if marijuana is not addicting?

A: "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" (Life with Hope, p. xi).

Based on our own experiences, we who seek recovery in MA generally consider ourselves to be marijuana addicts. Whether or not our addiction is psychological, physical, or both, matters little. When it comes to the use of marijuana, we have lost the power of choice. It is strictly up to the individual to decide whether he or she feels addicted to marijuana. MA has no opinion about marijuana itself one way or another. Marijuana Anonymous exists solely to provide a means of recovery to the suffering addict who seeks help.

Q: What is MA's opinion on the legalization of marijuana?

A: The Tenth Tradition of Marijuana Anonymous states:

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

This tradition protects the integrity of the organization. "Anything that can disrupt our unity, and interfere with our primary purpose of carrying the message to the marijuana addict who still suffers, should be avoided" (Life with Hope, p. 93). Therefore, MA has no opinion about the legalization of marijuana.

Q: Can you provide any information that will help me convince my child (spouse, friend, parent, etc.) to quit using marijuana?

A: You will find most of our literature posted on the website. It explains who we are and how our program works. However, it is unlikely that literature alone will convince someone to quit using. A person cannot be forced or nagged or prodded into recovery; they must come to the realization on their own that they are an addict and powerless over marijuana. No chart, graph, or stack of pamphlets and books can convince someone that they have a problem if they themselves are unwilling to admit it. Willingness, open-mindedness, and honesty are vital components of a successful recovery program. These essential traits are not something a person can be "convinced" to possess; they can only come from within. See pamphlet, For the Loved Ones of Marijuana Addicts.

The 12 Steps of Marijuana Anonymous

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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.

The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions are adapted with permission of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. Permission to adapt the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions does not mean that AA is in any way affiliated with this program. AA is a program of recovery from alcoholism---use of the Steps and Traditions in connection with programs and activities which are patterned after AA, but which address other problems, does not imply otherwise.

The 12 Traditions of Marijuana Anonymous

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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, t.v., 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.

The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions are reprinted with permission of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. Permission to reprint and adapt the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions does not mean that AA is in any way affiliated with this program. AA is a program of recovery from alcoholism---use of the Steps and Traditions in connection with programs and activities which are patterned after AA, but which address other problems, does not imply otherwise.

Literature

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Life With Hope

Life With Hope: A Return to Living Through the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Marijuana Anonymous

This book fully describes the steps and traditions of the program as they relate specifically to marijuana addicts. It is an excellent resource for any marijuana addict seeking recovery through the twelve step program.

The book is available at MA meetings. Excerpts, ordering information, and free downloads are available here.

Pamphlets

A variety of pamphlets are available for free at MA meetings. Pamphlets and prayers are available for free download here.

Newsletter

A New Leaf, the MA newsletter, is available for free at MA meetings. Excerpts, subscription information, and links to submit material for publication are here.

MA 12 Step Workbook

It is suggested that MA members work the 12 Steps with a sponsor. The step workbook is a tool to assist MA members and their sponsors work the steps together. A bound version is available at MA meetings. A free version is available to download here.

Public Information

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District 1 of Marijuana Anonymous covers the city and county of San Francisco. If you represent a school, group of law enforcement officials, organization of mental health practitioners, or other type of group that would like to learn more about Marijuana Anonymous, please contact us at:

Email: info@madistrict1.org

Voicemail: (415) 325-4785

For MA literature, please refer to the MA World Services Online Literature Repository.

In keeping with the Traditions of Marijuana Anonymous, MA District 1 neither endorses nor opposes any outside causes, including those which can be reached through any links on our site.

Events

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May 29-31, 2010
2010 Marijuana Anonymous World Services Conference
Concord, California
More information here

Please note: Due to the public nature of the information on this website, we do not publish anyone's last names, in following with the concept of Anonymity outlined in MA's 11th Tradition. If you want information on these events please come to an MA meeting and ask someone to put you in touch with one of the contact folks.

District Service Committee

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The District Service Committee (DSC) Meeting is where all the business of the district is discussed. The meeting is open to all MA members. It is scheduled on the first Wednesday of each month from 6:30 to 7:45 p.m. at:

San Francicso Main Library
100 Larkin Street at Grove Street
4th Floor - Sycip Family Conference Room
Civic Center, San Francisco

Contact Us

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District 1 of Marijuana Anonymous covers the city and county of San Francisco. If you would like to speak with one of our volunteers, please contact us at:

Email: email@madistrict1.org

Voicemail: (415) 325-4785

When you leave a message, please tell us if we may leave a message for you when we return your call. If you don't tell us it's OK, then we will not leave a message or identify ourselves to anyone else who answers your phone.