“Our fellowship will always be safe if our main interest in attending MA meetings is to recover from addiction and help others recover as well.”

– Life with Hope, second edition, page 82

People of every skin color, political affiliation, sexual preference, socio-economic status, and pre-existing health condition can be ensnared by marijuana addiction. It is a disease that transcends my independently held beliefs and values, as well as my social obligations and loyalties. My solution to the disease must also transcend my unrelated, situational positions in life. I must regard this foundational rule with reverence: that recovering and helping others to recover is the main interest in attending MA meetings. Relationships between fellows sometimes progress into friendships, romance, or heated rivalries. For example, I can think of one person in the program I feel animosity toward on a personal level. Despite my highly consistent contention, I am able to coexist in shared spaces because I am always willing to place recovery first.

Final thought: Today, I will remain stalwart in my devotion to keeping the Marijuana Anonymous rooms safe for people in recovery.