If you find it difficult to control your marijuana use, if you think about using marijuana even when you are not, or if you have broken promises to yourself or others about limiting or stopping your use, you may be an addict. Only you can decide. No one in Marijuana Anonymous will decide for you.

We are a group of men and women who have lost the ability to control our marijuana use and have problems that relate directly or indirectly to marijuana. We share experience, strength, and hope with each other so that we can recover from our addiction to marijuana, as well as help others to recover. Our program is adapted from the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.

In MA, we know what it is like to lose control over marijuana and not be able to stop using, despite pledges, pleas, and promises. Our only qualification for helping others is that we have stopped using ourselves. If we can do it, you can do it too! It is the support that MA members offer each other that is the backbone of the program's success.

The only requirement for MA membership is a desire to stop using marijuana. We have found, however, that recovery requires us to examine our use of other drugs as well, including alcohol.

People discuss their problems with marijuana, what they did to recover, and what life is like now. We have found that as a group we can achieve for ourselves results which, as individuals, we failed at repeatedly.

None. There are no records or files and you need not disclose anything about yourself if you don't want to. No one will bother you if you do not wish to come back.

Membership in MA is confidential and anonymous. Whom we see and what we hear in meetings is not mentioned outside of the meetings. People you know whom you see at meetings are there for the same reason you are and will respect your anonymity.

Nothing. There are no dues or fees. MA meetings pay their bills through the voluntary contributions of those attending. A basket is passed at each meeting for contributions. Marijuana Anonymous is completely self-supporting.

No, nor is it connected with any religious organization, sect, denomination, politics, institution, or any other organization whatsoever.

Most MA members come to believe in the idea of a power greater than themselves. Some call this power God. There is room in MA for all beliefs or no belief at all.

We don't believe in a cure for marijuana addiction; too many of us have relapsed. We find it is useful to go to meetings to maintain our recovery. By association with others with our problem, we give each other strength to avoid marijuana use on a "one day at a time" basis.

The Twelve Steps are the program. The purpose of the Twelve Steps is to help us develop a relationship with a Power greater than ourselves, to improve our relationships with others, and to help us find serenity in ourselves. It is recommended you attend as many meetings as you can and do not use between meetings. We suggest that you get phone numbers of other members and call them between meetings—especially if you have a desire to use. We also suggest that you get a sponsor as soon as possible.

A sponsor is someone who shares their experience, strength, and hope with you. They will help you understand the 12 Steps and will guide you along the path of recovery. You are free to ask anyone to be your sponsor, but our experience indicates it works best when men sponsor men and women sponsor women.

1. We admitted we were powerless over marijuana, that our lives had become unmanageable.

2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God, as we understood God.

4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

7. Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings.

8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.

11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood God, praying only for knowledge of God's will for us and the power to carry that out.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to marijuana addicts and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

The following questions may help you determine whether marijuana is a problem in your life.

1. Has smoking pot stopped being fun?

2. Do you ever get high alone?

3. Is it hard for you to imagine a life without marijuana?

4. Do you find that your friends are determined by your marijuana use?

5. Do you smoke marijuana to avoid dealing with your problems?

6. Do you smoke pot to cope with your feelings?

7. Does your marijuana use let you live in a privately defined world?

8. Have you ever failed to keep promises you made about cutting down or controlling your dope smoking?

9. Has your use of marijuana caused problems with memory, concentration, or motivation?

10. When your stash is nearly empty, do you feel anxious or worried about how to get more?

11. Do you plan your life around your marijuana use?

12. Have friends or relatives ever complained that your pot smoking is damaging your relationship with them?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you may have a problem with marijuana.

Detoxing is the way in which your body gets rid of the toxins accumulated from years of using. It happens the first few days or weeks after getting clean and/or sober. It is also the very beginning of getting used to dealing with reality and real feelings with no numbing agent.

In spite of numerous years of being told that there are no physiological effects from marijuana addiction, many of our recovering members have had definite withdrawal symptoms. Whether the causes are physical or psychological, the results are physical. Others have just had emotional and mental changes as they stop using their drug of choice. There is no way of telling before quitting who will be physically uncomfortable and who will not. Most members have only minor physical discomfort if any at all. This pamphlet is for those who are having trouble and wonder what's happening to them.

Unlike most other drugs, including alcohol, THC (the active chemical in marijuana) is stored in the fat cells and therefore takes longer to fully clear the body than with any other common drug. This means that some parts of the body still retain THC even after a couple of months, rather than just the couple of days or weeks for water soluble drugs.

The experiences of some members have shown that if you quit marijuana and expect to take a drug test you should not go on a crash diet at the same time. Fasting, or a crash diet, can release the THC into the bloodstream very rapidly and can give a positive reading. This has happened to several of our members, but each time only with crash diets and major weight loss, not with just eating less than usual.

By far the most common symptom of withdrawal is insomnia. This can last from a few nights of practically no sleep at all, up to a few months of occasional sleeplessness. The next most common symptom is depression (that is, if you're not euphoric), and next are nightmares and vivid dreams. Marijuana use tends to dampen the dreaming mechanism, so that when you do get clean the dreams come back with a crash. They can be vivid color, highly emotional dreams or nightmares, even waking up then coming back to the same dream. The very vivid, every-night dreams usually don't start for about a week or so. They last for about a month at most and then taper off. "Using" dreams (dreams involving the use of marijuana) are very common, and although they're not as vivid or emotional as at first, they last for years and are just considered a normal part of recovery.

The fourth most common symptom is anger. This can range from a slow burning rage to constant irritability to sudden bursts of anger when least expected: anger at the world, anger at loved ones, anger at oneself, anger at being an addict and having to get clean. Emotional jags are very common, with emotions bouncing back and forth between depression, anger, and euphoria. Occasionally experienced is a feeling of fear or anxiety, a loss of the sense of humor, decreased sex drive, or increased sex drive. Most all of these symptoms fade to normal emotions by three months. Loss of concentration for the first week or month is also very common and this sometimes affects the ability to learn for a very short while.

The most common physical symptom is headaches. For those who have them, they can last for a few weeks up to a couple of months, with the first few days being very intense. The next most common physical symptom is night sweats, sometimes to the point of having to change night clothes. They can last from a few nights to a month or so. Sweating is one of the body's natural ways of getting rid of toxins. Hand sweats are very common and are often accompanied by an unpleasant smell from the hands. Body odor is enough in many instances to require extra showers or baths. Coughing up phlegm is another way the body cleans itself. This can last for a few weeks to well over six months.

One third of the addicts who responded to a questionnaire on detoxing said they had eating problems for the first few days and some for up to six weeks. Their main symptoms were loss of appetite, sometimes enough to lose weight temporarily, digestion problems or cramps after eating, and nausea, occasionally enough to vomit (only for a day or two). Most of the eating problems were totally gone before the end of a month.

The next most common physical symptoms experienced were tremors or shaking and dizziness. Less frequently experienced were kidney pains, impotency, hormone changes or imbalances, low immunity or chronic fatigue, and some minor eye problems that resolved at around two months. There have been cases of addicts having more severe detox symptoms, however this is rare. For intense discomfort, see a doctor, preferably one who is experienced with detoxing.

For some of the milder detoxing symptoms, a few home remedies have proven to be useful:

• Hot soaking baths can help the emotions as well as the body.

• Drink plenty of water and clear liquids, just like for the flu.

• Cranberry juice has been used effectively for years by recovery houses to help purify and cleanse the body.

• Really excessive sweating can deplete the body of potassium, a necessary mineral. A few foods high in potassium are: melons, bananas, citrus fruits, green leafy vegetables, and tomatoes.

• Eliminate fat from the diet until digestion is better.

• Greatly reduce or eliminate caffeine until the sleep pattern is more normal or the shakes are gone.

• The old fashioned remedy for insomnia, a glass of warm milk before bedtime, helps some people.

• Exercise not only helps depression and other unpleasant emotions, it helps the body speed up the healing process.