“Our message is a simple one of hope: by following the spiritual principles of the Twelve Steps, any addict can stop using marijuana and lose the obsession and desire to do so.”

– Life with Hope, third edition, page 58

Most of the years of my life were run by obsession with marijuana and constant desire to use it; that was my way of life. My hopes centered around that on a daily basis. Living any other way had never even occurred to me. Eventually, I reached the point where I was desperately addicted. I was faced with the undeniable need to change; I felt completely hopeless. Attending meetings, getting a sponsor, and working the Steps soon taught me I am powerless.

My deepest hope is for a program of recovery which would lead me to a power greater than myself, greater than marijuana, and the disease of addiction. Working the Twelve Steps brings hope and the spiritual principles to life. Following the spiritual principles gives a kind of hope that I’d never known before recovery. Now, working my program each day, the old obsession and desire to use is gone and has been replaced with the hope of this better life in recovery.

Final thought: We remember, that as long as there is life, there is hope. Our hope depends on a Higher Power; that hope and power come to life in working the Twelve Steps.