Cocaine Anonymous

There were times when I didn't.

I was constantly showing up to Cocaine Anonymous.

You know, I went to the meetings in Chelsea at World's End and, you know, all around that kind of area and kept showing up to those meetings and People who I'd see on day one, I'd go back a month later and they'd have 30 days and I'd be showing up, getting my newcomer's key ring again.

And it filled me with shame.

But I did use heroin again.

And then, so that was in March that year.

And I couldn't go back to Cocaine Anonymous.

I was, it was so...

CA, just...

Cocaine Anonymous.

Yeah.

And there's a guy...

are the

rooms? Like the AA rooms and all that or CA rooms and stuff and it's all anonymous and that.

And, you know, you're with people who have all hit rock bottom.

Some people were... a day sober.

Now, the 12-step movement has expanded beyond alcohol, so there are a lot of 12-step programs for other substances, for example.

So if that was, say, uh, Cocaine Anonymous or, uh, Cocaine Users Anonymous, the only requirement for membership would be a desire to stop using cocaine.

Myth or fact: Alcoholics Anonymous or AA meetings are run and facilitated by licensed healthcare professionals.

That is a myth.

Every program, for the most part, was AA and then people taking whatever it is.

It, right, Overeaters, Sex Anonymous, uh, Cocaine Anonymous, Heroin Anonymous.

It all comes from that program changing words.

Think about it, right? So then-

So I've got a close friend of mine who's, you know, been alcohol free for close to 20 years now, cocaine free for, I think, 18 years.

And, you know, he goes to Cocaine Anonymous, Alcohol Anonymous.

And so it's the same thing to have people who've been through there, been through it so that you can relate to it.

So he'll talk about, you know, new members or guys who've only been in a year or two who, um, Let's say someone who's been sober for one week and will look at someone who's been sober for a month and go, how did you make it to a month? And the person at a month looks at the person at one year going, how do you make it to a year? Boom, boom, boom, goes on like that.

So people need to not get shut out or shunned or told you don't belong here or at least made to feel like they don't belong here.

One thing I will say this too, is I love that Cocaine Anonymous and Heroin Anonymous, they do their step work straight out of the book of Alcoholics Anonymous, which is remarkable.

I love going to CA meetings.

I love going to AA meetings.