Personal Story

IT'S ENOUGH WRITTEN ON A CHALK BOARD

Written By Jess A.

I started smoking pot my freshman year of high school. I was an off and on smoker for 40 years. When I was on, I was on. As time progressed and weed got stronger, quitting became more challenging and my ability to live a normal life got harder and harder.

I found MA phone meetings in 2018. I had 18 months under my belt and then COVID hit, my daughter and her fiancee moved in and I started stealing pot from them. I relapsed 5 times over the next 2 years. I finally said enough is enough. I rented an Airbnb for 4 days/3 nights for my own “rehab”. My husband dropped me off on a Thursday and picked me up on a Sunday. I didn’t have a car, I live in California, so I could have walked to a dispensary, however I was determined to quit for good this time. I listened to zoom meeting after meeting, took baths, went for walks, read, journaled and detoxed.

This time I wanted it to stick. I told myself the missing ingredient recommended was to follow the suggestion of 90 meetings in 90 days, so that was the change I incorporated and I honestly believe that was the difference necessary to become committed to abstinence.

Today, I have 1190 days, that’s 3 years and almost 3 months without cannabis. I am a sponsor, I serve in meetings, I talk to fellows daily, I attend meetings weekly and I DON’T miss Mary Jane, at all. I love myself, others and my MA community. I am a different person than before. I am becoming the person I wanted to be, for years. I attribute it all to working the steps and being committed to improving myself daily. I believe the only requirement is a desire to be a better version of myself and a daily commitment to my higher power, everything else falls in line.💜

Published By A New Leaf – December 2025

More Articles

  • Broken Mirrors

    Written by, Lewis L. While you were in your state of vegetative,Did you feel your green roots were truly native?Did it really make you more creative?Spiritual connection in the Himalayas?Was your life orthodox like men with payos?Was it your proxy that was glitching statements?All the spending, were you missing payments?In social settings, were you at…

    Broken Mirrors
  • My New Life of Service

    Written By, Maryanne M. I entered the rooms of MA during the height of the pandemic. Never in my wildest dreams did I believe I would ever be fully sober after decades of heavy use. I had not planned on sobriety, in fact, my plan was to do the exact opposite. When I chose sobriety,…

    My New Life of Service
  • Pot Hole to Purpose

    Written By, Jovan B. Step One, we admit: we’ve lost all control,Marijuana trapped us, devouring us whole.Step Two, we believe there’s a Power unseen,Greater than smoke, to restore what’s clean. Step Three, we surrender, let go of the fight,We hand over our will and step into light.Step Four, we examine the harm we have done,Owning…

    Pot Hole to Purpose
  • Dear Marijuana

    Written By, Kristen J Dear Marijuana, I know I’m a little late here. And as I continue these ongoing efforts of prying myself from your shackles, I know that I can say “goodbye” to the belief that you are the only one who can embrace and comfort me. I can do that for myself now;…

    Dear Marijuana
  • How the Promises Have Come True to Me Through Service

    Written by, Heather C. My time in active addiction was plagued by feelings of uselessness. I felt that I was not a “productive” member of society because I had to stop working due to chronic health issues, and receive disability benefits to survive. Initially, I abused substances more and more to try and push those…

    How the Promises Have Come True to Me Through Service
  • THEN and NOW

    Written by, Al E. The sixties, everybody was tuning in, turning on, and dropping out. I wanted to feel a part of it all. Love-ins, concerts, flowers in my hair, Beatles, Doors, Stones, and even the music went against the “norm.” I’d swear to this day that the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper told us to “smoke…

    THEN and NOW