Personal Stories

Recent Articles

  • Choosing Life

    Written By, Mirabelle H. I smoked for the first time when I was 16. I didn’t feel anything physically, but emotionally, I felt guilt—like I was stepping over a line I wasn’t ready to cross. I told myself it would be different when I was older, when it was “okay.” So I made a deal…

    Choosing Life
  • Making It To Dry Land

    Written By, Lee N. A way to stay afloat. That’s what marijuana was for me. My therapist (cringing at myself for being a living, breathing queer, Jewish stereotype by starting a sentence this way but…if the shoe fits) recently shared with me a parable in which someone had compared their addiction to a life raft.…

    Making It To Dry Land
  • My Stepping Stones: A Personal Journey Through the Twelve Steps of Marijuana Anonymous

    Written By Brian B. When I first walked into the rooms of Marijuana Anonymous, I was searching for a new way of life. Recovery felt overwhelming but also full of possibility. At my very first meeting, called Grown as Men, newcomers were given a simple gift: a virtual white stone. That small image of a…

    My Stepping Stones: A Personal Journey Through the Twelve Steps of Marijuana Anonymous
  • From Bad to Worse

    Written By Christine L. Cannabis—at first harmless. A little flower lifted my mood, made me feel alive. My ex-husband and I partied, laughed, lived freely in the US. Later, alone, I used it spiritually, searching for God, the Goddess within me. I thought I’d found my true nature. I felt guided by spirit. Wrong. My…

    From Bad to Worse
  • Goodbye Weed

    Written By Gwynedd T. Hello there old friend, It’s been about a month since we last spoke. I’ve been thinking about you lately. I remember the first time we met. You scalded my throat and burned me from within, coating my mind and heart with a false sense of security. You made me feel like…

    Goodbye Weed
  • Personal Story

    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…

    Personal Story
  • Misunderstood Strengths

    Written By, Dan F. I used to look back on my childhood with confusion. I knew I was different—how I learned, how I connected—but I didn’t have the language for it. I just knew I didn’t fit. It wasn’t until I entered recovery that those memories began to shift. Not because they changed, but because…

    Misunderstood Strengths
  • No Longer Alone

    Written by, Michael O. The legs are no longer really working at all and my fingers are all curled up and it’s hard to move my arms.. I don’t know how much longer I will have the ability to work my phone, I’m sure glad we have speech to text. This life has been a…

    No Longer Alone
  • Why I Can’t Use THC Anymore?

    Written By, Emily A. Why I Can’t Use THC Anymore – Even Though It Helped Me Feel Better Personal Reminder for Myself in Recovery THC used to feel like a lifesaver. It helped me relax when nothing else would. It slowed my thoughts, softened the pain, and made the world feel bearable. I turned to…

    Why I Can’t Use THC Anymore?
  • Letters to the Editor

    Written by, Sally Dear MA: My son, Dave, is one of you, and I want to send each of you my love and support, and thanks, for giving of yourselves. He feels he owes his sobriety and life to you – I know I have my son back, but even better than before. He and…

    Letters to the Editor