Notes from a Newcomer

By, Terri R.

I will always remember my first MA meeting. I was scared and nervous, but I remember all of that melting away as the meeting started. Soon I realized, “This is where I need to be.” I could relate to what I was hearing. Listening intently, I was amazed that there was a group of people just like me. By the end of the meeting, I felt much more relaxed and real glad I found my way there. A few people approached me after the meeting to greet me and give me a phone list, and tell me “Keep Coming Back.”

Approximately two weeks after the first meeting, I had what I choose to call a “Spiritual Experience.” I was high and I felt really terrible. I realized that after nine years of smoking everyday, morning noon and night, that I was an addict and that pot ruled my life. I never wanted to get high again. I feel very fortunate that this happened. I knew I could not get sober on my own, so I made a decision to make MA a part of my life.

The first 30 days were very difficult. My body was changing, mentally and physically, and I felt very strange. MA gave me a program I could believe in and follow. Soon I started looking forward to getting to at least one meeting a week and sharing my feelings, as well as listening to others. I began to feel more comfortable and soon started talking to people after the meeting. Everyone was very supportive and I knew they really cared about me and my sobriety. I was even nominated for the refreshment commitment, which I gladly accepted. Being of service is an added boost to my program.

I now have 60 days and I will be taking my 60 day chip this week. It is hard to put in words how my life has changed, just in the last two months. I am happy. My self-esteem and self-confidence has improved tenfold. I have never been more proud of anything I have ever done. These 60 days are very previous to me and I would trade them for anything, not even a joint.

“Keep coming back, it works if you work it.”

Published in A New Leaf – February 1991

More Articles

  • Hundreds Flock to MA Yard Sale

    Written by, Carol M. First, the good news. The second yard sale we had (this time at my house) on the weekend of April 13 and 14 [1991], was a rousing financial success. We brought in $788.10 through our own contributions (this time from the shirts off our backs, not to mention the junk from…

  • Dear Mary Jane,

    Written by, Anonymous I am done. I’m done wasting every single moment of every day getting high. You will not steal any more time away from me. For the last eight years of my life, you were my best friend, my partner, my home. You were my safety. You were everything to me, but you…

    Dear Mary Jane,
  • Forgetfulness of Being

    Written by, Sail R. Forgetfulness-of-being Did you forgetthat surrender comesat the foot to the well of being? Did you forgetthat the womb is a woundand not a home for the orphan? Did you forgetthat bubbles burst forthlike new egos,tenuous and awaitingits own destruction? Published in A New Leaf – July 2025

    Forgetfulness of Being
  • Durable Insight

    Written by, Sashank V. I imagine the brain to be an intricate Rube Goldberg machine, where a tiny stream of water flows over tributaries, spinning little water wheels, and setting tiny parcels afloat or aground based on the tide and logic of the day. Smoking marijuana is like setting a fire hose upon this delicate…

    Durable Insight
  • Little Victories

    Written by, Ernest F. I remember someone saying to share at a meeting. Someone may be going through what you have been through or have known personally. Victories should be shared even if they are little; it provides others with a sense of looking forward, or hope! Meditation has gotten better for me, I use…

    Little Victories
  • Why MA?

    By, Chuck R. A lot of people in other 12 Step programs ask the question, “Why Marijuana Anonymous?” I tell them that for twelve years, I was in and out of AA and NA and could not put together any length of sobriety or stop smoking pot. I tell them that I could stop drinking…

    Why MA?