
“It seemed so right at the time. Smoking pot was a way of declaring my independence and establishing an identity.”
– A Life Worth Living, Life with Hope, second edition, page 165
Throughout my life, my identity was very much defined by smoking herbs. However, the day came when I realized that I was addicted and I felt a new identity emerge, one based on who I truly am and not anchored in some substance. From the realization that I was not a person because of drugs, but rather from being a person in myself, set me free to pursue a larger I, and with the help from my new family, a greater We. Today, I stand as a human who has discovered many layers of self that were not available to me while numbing my conscious and unconscious self with marijuana.
Final thought: Today, I am thankful for being a fuller and more present human being.
Living Every Day with Hope – Copyright © 2025 Marijuana Anonymous World Services. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means without the written permission of the publisher. Marijuana Anonymous groups have been granted limited permission to quote Living Every Day with Hope.
By, Tanya Mc. Stepping into… I am absolutely powerless over weed in my life.I can honestly say i can’t stop using, once I start.It’s always, just one more time, but then;It seems to be a marathon, on which I embark. But, I feel like it is just me who is doing this.I feel like there…

By Lisa N. Recovery – it takes some time.Minutes turn to days, days to weeks.While the weeks, they mark the climb. Work through the months, get to the end.Recovery is continuous, a journey and path.No final destination you see, my friend! Addiction is our illness, connection is our cure.We wrestle our demons, deal with Life.Adulting…

“I’m having positive transitions. This is the promise of recovery.” – Anonymous Published in A New Leaf – June 2025

By, Jesse P. It started out as one teenaged wishthe click of a lighterand turned into a lifeIt was excitingand floating from the groundcame the laughter and the closeness I needed to have somehowyou turned into a danger from someone I held so close, I don’t knowbut it was time for you to go Oh…

By, Melissa H. Dear Cannabis Sativa,We were introduced by a cool, blond-haired rebel girl from Colorado. I was a 15-year old flatlander from Pennsylvania who had never even heard of you. I took to you because you elevated fun to a new level. I hadn’t known that fun was smokable. You made rolling over on…

By, Carol M. I am an addict and a depressive. I wish I were manic depressive, but I have never experienced the up, just the down. Getting to the “almost OK” has been a struggle all my life. My first attempt at suicide was at eleven. Depression is a disease. In many ways it’s like…

Copyright © 1989–2026 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—