Cocaine Anonymous
Cocaine anonymous is a 12-step program that takes a similar focus as alcoholics anonymous in that it is a fellowship of men and women who share in their experiences, strengths and hopes for recovery from cocaine addiction. The rules or steps that cocaine addicts take to recovery in Cocaine Anonymous are similar to those which are taken in Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-step programs. There are no fees for membership and anyone who is addicted to cocaine and has a desire to stop using the drug can become a member of Cocaine Anonymous freely and openly.
Purpose of Cocaine Anonymous
The primary purpose of Cocaine Anonymous is to help people recover from cocaine addiction by providing a fellowship in which they can turn to for help. Cocaine Anonymous does not take part in any type of drug addiction research, medical treatment or psychological treatments. No propaganda of any form is addressed in Cocain Anonymous but members are allowed to participate in any of these activities at their own discretion.
Anyone who wants to stop using cocaine, crack cocaine or similar mind altering substances is welcome to seek help and support at Cocaine Anonymous. This 12-step program is used universally for many different types of drug treatment because it has been proven that 12-step programs work for many individuals. The primary purpose of the Cocaine Anonymous is to help people remain free from the use of cocaine or other mind altering substances and achieve independence and freedom from addiction.
12-Steps of Cocaine Anonymous
We admitted we were powerless over cocaine and all other mind-altering substances – that our lives had become unmanageable
- Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity
- Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
- Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves
- Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs
- Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character
- Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings
- Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all
- Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
- Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it
- Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
- Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
- The 12-steps of Cocaine Anonymous are adapted from the original twelve steps that were developed by Alcoholics Anonymous in 1939. Although Alcoholics Anonymous has granted permission for Cocaine Anonymous to use the 12-steps and adapt them to fit their individual needs, the two groups are in no way affiliated with each other.
Twelve Traditions of Cocaine Anonymous
The Cocaine Anonymous groups function under a set of traditions which govern how the group works. The 12-traditions of Cocaine Anonymous are:
- Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon C.A. Unity.
- For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority – a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.
- The only requirement for C.A. Membership is a desire to stop using cocaine and all other mind-altering substances.
- Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or C.A. As a whole.
- Each group has but one primary purpose – to carry its message to the addict who still suffers.
- A Cocaine Anonymous group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the Cocaine Anonymous name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.
- Every Cocaine Anonymous group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.
- Cocaine Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers.
- Cocaine Anonymous, as such, ought never be organized; but we may create services boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.
- Cocaine Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the C.A. Name ought never be drawn into public controversy.
- Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, television and films.
- Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.
These 12-traditions of Cocaine Anonymous, like the 12-steps, are adapted with the permission of Alcoholics Anonymous although the two groups are not in any way affiliated with each other.
Standard Cocaine Anonymous Meeting Format
The standard meeting for a group of Cocaine Anonymous members consists of an introductory time where all newly joined addicts announce themselves, admit their addiction and state the number of days they have been clean. Additionally, members who visit a group from out of town or from another group will also introduce themselves and state their disease at that time. This format is not to embarrass anyone or to degrade but rather to get the group acquainted with one another and to allow them to open up.
12-step Cocaine Anonymous meetings generally last for an hour and a half and are fully participatory meaning that all group members are expected to participate in the session and to be fully supportive of the other group members. Newcomers are encouraged to ask questions about the program as well as recovery and all members are encouraged to share with the group for about 3-5 minutes.
The term anonymous is used because groups are just that…they remain anonymous. Group members are not to discuss other group members outside of the group. Further, Cocaine Anonymous anonymity is also a large part of the 12-traditions that govern the group. This anonymity is stated to help group members open up without having a fear of their story being “leaked” to others who do not share their disease.
Chips are given to represent how many days an individual has been sober. Additionally, many Cocaine Anonymous groups award a cake to members who have been continuously sober for 365 days or 1 full year. Individuals who have been sober for 30 days can get a newcomer chip, from there, the sobriety chips are awarded for 60 days, 90 days, 6 months, 9 months, 1 year, 2 years and more.
Additional participation takes place following a brief coffee break and then when there are about 10 minutes left of the group session, Cocaine Anonymous members will meditate and take part in a group prayer session to close out the meeting spiritually. The group is complete at this time but many members will remain around for a bit longer to talk with one another about the experiences in the group and to help each other out.