Marijuana Anonymous (MA) Meetings

General Marijuana Anonymous (MA) Meeting Information

With 1,000’s of MA meetings being held around the world every day, it’s easy for you to find live meetings and online meetings with people from your local community in attendance. If you are in a treatment center, they will have meetings and may also provide transportation to and from meetings. Many meetings have childcare, to ensure mothers and fathers can attend meetings also.

Meetings for Marijuana Anonymous and are most often held in public places like churches, community centers, club houses and parks. During the COVID pandemic, many of your local MA meetings are still being held on the same day and time as before, but have transitioned to an online platform like Zoom. While MA groups do not affiliate themselves with any particular religion, they are spiritual in nature, with a goal of being a safe place for people with a desire to stop using marijuana to meet, share their experience, strength and hope with each other, and take the 12 steps of Marijuana Anonymous to rid yourself of your Marijuana use, clean up any wreckage you may have caused and heal yourself. The 12 steps of Marijuana Anonymous are specifically designed to help suffering Marijuana addicts rebuild their lives.

Types of Marijuana Anonymous (MA) Meetings

As a general rule, there are two standard types of Marijuana Anonymous (MA) meetings: open meetings and closed meetings. An open MA meeting is open to anyone who wishes to attend, including people suffering from addiction, friends, family members, students, members of the community, observers, first responders, treatment providers and more. Closed MA meetings are for individuals suffering from Marijuana addiction, who identify as a marijuana addict, and/or have a desire to stop using.

Open and closed Marijuana Anonymous (MA) meetings often follow various formats including:

• Discussion MA Meetings: Possibly the most common meeting format, the chairperson or leader of the meeting will choose a topic to discuss during the meeting. These meetings may be open or closed.
• Beginner MA Meetings: These meetings are led by a veteran member who has been Marijuana Anonymous (MA) for a long period of time and may follow a variety of formats (discussion, topic, book, literature, step, etc.), while focusing on the first three of the 12 Steps of Marijuana Anonymous (MA), or it may be more of a question-and-answer type format.
• Speaker MA Meetings: MA members who have been sober for a minimum period of time may be chosen beforehand to share their past experiences and how working through “The Program,” as MA’s 12 Steps and Traditions may be referred to, has helped them get to where they are today. These MA meetings are often open to the public, many are recorded, so you can listen to your favorite Marijuana Anonymous (MA) Speakers any time you want.
• Book, Step, Tradition or Literature MA Meetings: A reading from various MA Literature is read, shared on and worked through during the meeting. These MA meetings are usually held in a rotation as the MA Steps, Traditions, Book or Literature are worked through. Individuals may use workbooks and texts during the MA meeting or for homework assignments.
• Service MA Meetings: These may be information meetings about MA service opportunities within the group or MA as a whole. Often times reports on MA service activities the MA group has performed are often provided.
• Group Inventory MA Meetings: MA members work to determine if the particular MA group is fulfilling its primary purpose and functioning effectively.
• Business MA Meetings: Generally, Marijuana Anonymous (MA) business meetings are for the MA members involved in the business aspects of the CA group. They may also include the MA group electing officers or other MA group business needs.

People can attend as many Marijuana Anonymous (MA) meetings as the want and are often encouraged to attend a number of meetings until they find a meeting or set of meetings they like and that have people attending who they can relate to. People are encouraged to find a MA home group which they attend regularly. This is usually a meeting you relate to, that has people who are benefiting from the meeting and Marijuana Anonymous (MA) program. They generally take a commitment at their MA home group and hold themselves and others accountable for attending.

How is a Marijuana Anonymous (MA) Meeting Conducted?

Marijuana Anonymous (MA) membership is open to anyone who suffers from Marijuana addiction, identifies as an addict, and/or has a desire to stop using. People do not have to do anything prior to attending a CA meeting; they can just show up. Marijuana Anonymous (MA) meeting attendance is kept confidential, and individuals are welcome to attend as many different Marijuana Anonymous (MA) meetings as they desire. Marijuana Anonymous (MA) meetings are typically an hour, but there are also many longer meetings and some shorter in duration.

Typical Marijuana Anonymous (MA) Meeting Format

Individual Marijuana Anonymous (MA) groups may differ slightly in the way they are their individual Marijuana Anonymous (MA) meetings, but in general, a typical format for an MA meeting is as follows:

• Welcome and opening
• Moment of silence and recitation of the Serenity Prayer
• Explanation of 12-Steps, expectation of confidentiality, and reiteration of openness to all and no cost for membership
• Reading from the Marijuana Anonymous (MA) Literature
• Introductions around the room (first name only, though no one is required to speak)
• Introduction of the speaker or facilitator of the meeting
• Discussion
• Announcements
• Passing of the collection plate, donations are not required although this is how the MA group sustains itself
• Closing, most likely with a Marijuana Anonymous (MA) reading and a closing prayer

As Marijuana Anonymous (MA) meetings are meant to be a fellowship, there is also often coffee and refreshments at some point either before, during, or after the MA meeting for networking and socializing. MA members may choose to volunteer at MA meetings as coffee makers, greeters, literature distributor, or they can get more involved volunteering as the MA group’s secretary, MA treasurer, MA chairperson, etc.

Those who have been in Marijuana Anonymous (MA) for a long period of time may become a “sponsor” for newer MA members. A sponsor is a more veteran member of the MA group, who has gone through the same difficulty you may be facing, has taken the 12-steps of the MA program, will guide you through the 12 steps of Marijuana Anonymous to help with your success. MA sponsors also offer encouragement around the clock, helping to provide in-the-moment support and guidance when needed, and introduce you to other Recovery Resources. MA sponsors are often available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, usually by phone, to help sponsees get through potentially difficult situations, temptations, or triggering events. MA sponsors may meet or check-in with their sponsees regularly, and lifelong relationships may be formed.

Marijuana Anonymous (MA) groups are safe environments free from Marijuana, other drugs and alcohol, where individuals are surrounded by others with the same goal of sustained clean and sober recovery. These Marijuana Anonymous (MA) meetings can provide individuals with a network of clean peers who can understand and empathize with each other in ways that others who are not in Marijuana Anonymous (MA) may not be able to as easily.

The Recovery HQ Team is here to help you!

It’s important to know that you and your loved one are not alone in your fight for sobriety. Whether you choose to go to Marijuana Anonymous (MA) meetings, take up meditation or yoga or use other resources, taking the first step toward regaining your life has begun. Contact our dedicated team and we will help find the solution which best fits your needs.