Your cart is currently empty!
Summer Days
Written by, Michael M.
For me, sunny summer days were made for using. At the pool. Before work. After work. For BBQ’s. For hikes in the woods. My friend used to say that weed was a “guaranteed good time.”
And for addicted me, summer was prime “party” time.
My mind wants to reminisce about how good getting high used to be.
But the truth is, getting high stopped being fun decades ago. The truth is, getting high had become a chore. A chase. A coping mechanism. It was for escaping. And running. It was a tool to tamp down my fears.
But somehow my addict brain wants me to frame it as “fun.” Because my addict brain doesn’t want me to remember how unmanageable my life had become. Because my addict brain wants to kill me.
The truth is summer is delicious sober. The cool water at the pool is sweeter sober. The cook-out is perfect sober.
And that’s why I keep coming back. So that I can remember the real story. So that my brain doesn’t try and pull a fast one on me. So that I remember what happens if I pick up.
Published in A New Leaf – September 2025
More Articles
-
Surrender
Written by, Anonymous In reality, there is only one thing you dread: letting yourself fall, taking the step beyond all the securities that exist. And whosoever surrenders himself one single time, whoever has practiced the great act of confidence and entrusted himself to fate, is liberated. He no longer obeys the laws of earth; he…
-
Addicts on Wheels
Written by, Brian K. As the sun played hide and seek with the low level clouds hovering over the Southland, a group of MA members gathered in the parking lot of Venice Beach for District Six’s first scheduled bicycle ride on September 21st. Packing lunches and water bottles, the riders pumped up their tires, strapped…
-
GREEN DRAGON
Written by, Joel I find I must be wary of dragonsBecause some are recognizable,And some are notOnce in my youthA green oneCame alongChameleon-like with charmBreathed his vapors on meAnd smelling their sweetnessI rode with scaley scaley visionsReplacing all of my dreamsWith empty drago smokeI couldn’t seeThat under the tie dye and love beadsA sinister reptile…
-
The Day Has Come
Written by, Anonymous The day has come to take an accounting of my life. Have I dreamed of late of the person I want to be, of the changes I would make in my daily habits, in the way I am with others? Have I reviewed my vision of the world I want to live…
-
Thoughts from the Field: The First Step
Written by, Anonymous I am a marijuana addict because when using pot, it was the most important thing in my life. More important than anyone or anything. It helped to suppress all the inadequacies I felt. It helped me not to feel the pain of not living up to expectations. It enabled me not to…
-
Yom Kippur and Sukkot
Written by, Ellen B. As a Marijuana addict in recovery, my Jewish High Holyday season has a natural connection to working the Twelve Steps and practicing the spiritual principles daily. A New Leaf requested submissions for Yom Kippur and Sukkot, therefore this piece of writing will only focus on these parts of the holiday season.…
Copyright © 1989–2025 Marijuana Anonymous World Services—All Rights Reserved
—Marijuana Anonymous World Services, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, does not endorse or accept contributions from any outside enterprise—