Not comfortable anywhere

There are several 12 step meetings in my area for just about any problem you can think of, except weed. I've been going to AA meetings and I have a sponsor there, but I've never had a big problem with alcohol so I have a difficult time relating to some issues that alcoholics have. Plus, there is the whole "primary purpose" thing. I've tried NA in the past, but marijuana is not really a narcotic and I feel embarrassed to talk about my addiction with people who have "real" addictions to substances like heroin or cocaine.

I've been told that I should just replace the word "marijuana" with "alcohol" in the first step, and for doing step work that's fine. My real concern is fellowship. I don't want to pretend I'm an alcoholic when I'm not-- it is a program of honesty after all.

So I don't really know where to go from here, but that's how I'm feeling today.

Hi stoner_x. I hear you; I used to be in an NA group where people had been into heavy drugs and I felt totally out of place, but nonetheless they helped me stay clean for a whole year. When I quit this time (6 years since the previous quitting), it was with the help of an AA group. I really had to substitute the words in every single sentence, but it worked. In the long run it´s easier to be with folks who have had similar problems. That´s why I'm on this site with MA. I've been clean almost 4 months this time, and as people on this site were saying; I never thought I could be this happy! I've cut off contact with most of my old friends, and I don't really have any new ones but I don't care. I'm happy just to have the company of my cat, and I live in the countryside doing things like chopping wood and tending to the garden. Luckily I have been able to keep my job, thanks to being clean. I'm still not really comfortable in most social settings, but - I am alone and happy.

Thanks for the reply Bianca. I was considering that it has been helpful to be around other recovering people, even if we aren't recovering from the same addictions. I had gone a few years clean on my own, but it was very lonely. I think that may be the hardest part of quitting for me: the lack of a social circle. I guess that is why I am here too. And I guess that means we're not alone :)

I was really done with the pothead lifestyle a long time ago and I'm glad that I'm off the stuff again. I just got 30 days back on the 24th and my mind is starting to come out of the fog, which I really appreciate. I only kept one of my old friends and that's because we had more in common than smoking weed. I had to get out of my job. It was to conducive to smoking pot, but I'm looking at a substance abuse counselor position. For what it's worth, I've found that I can help addicted people in general.

God bless.

Welcome to the forum Stoner.

So one of the best things about MA be it online, land, forums is that you getvto hang out with a bunch of pot heads that don't get stoned.

Hello Stoner x,

Well, you have come to the right place!  I have heard many people in MA tell me that they never felt they belonged in NA or AA.  Guess what?  You belong here! We are all former stoners who totally "get" what it's like to be unable to stop smoking.  Loren and Lou are cagey old-timers and know a whole lot about recovery.  Me, I'm a "mid-timer" (two years) so I know a thing or two at this point.  We are all here for you, dude!

Whoever mentioned the idea of starting a new MA meeting where there wasn't one before had a terrific idea.

Thanks for your replies. I wanted to write something so you know I'm reading them :D

Stoner, I have found online meetings very helpful in the past. Great for having a virtual conversation in real time.

Hi StonerX,
I can relate. There are threads here about starting new local meetings, maybe that's an option. I definitely wish there was M.A. land meeting where I am. Folks have shared a couple of encouraging stories here about starting chapters. Seems daunting to me as a relative newcomer, but there are surely people everywhere wishing that you or I would be the ones to start it up.
And the online meetings hosted here in chat are terrific, I think.
Brian C.