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 and using other drugs for long periods of time, but I could not stop smoking pot. Marijuana was my drug of choice and the other drugs usually always followed a joint. Marijuana was how I started and ended my day. I didn’t do anything or go anywhere without pot. It was how I functioned. I tell them that I need to hear from people who smoked pot like I did. I need a program that primarily deals with marijuana.

Without MA, I don’t think I could have put together 20 months of sobriety. I never could before I attended MA.

For my sobriety, I attend both MA and AA programs, because I am an addict and alcoholic. I applaud all the 12 Step programs, but MA will always be the foundation of my sobriety. I feel I belong.

Published in A New Leaf – February 1991

  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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?