Welcome. I understand some of us have or had a cocaine problem or addiction and are unable or need to stay stopped. I also understand how hard it is to get to a meeting, especially your first one. My intention here is to bring you a meeting so you may get a feel for what goes on.

After this intro I will be facilitating a meeting and given no-one here is ever alone, it’s our meeting.

This meeting represents as close to what goes on in AA, Narcotics Anonymous, Gamblers Anonymous, sex and love addicts Anonymous, and all 12 step anonymous meetings.

All 12 step programs have been derived from the Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book and structure, which set up the precedence, with a few subject matter words changed, because it works. Cocaine Anonymous (CA) is about HOPE, STRENGTH and COURAGE. All great tools to use in Recovery.

In my experience, I have been to hundreds of CA, NA and AA groups, my only advise to the newcomer is take what works, and leave the rest. No 2 people live the same program, It is a program based on support from one another, however, this not meaning everyone is correct or that those answers are for you. Regardless, if you find yourself getting frustrated, hang in, the payoff is worth it, and you, with a sponsor and fellow members will find YOUR way.

General Facts

Founding date: November, 1982

First meeting: Hollywood, California, U.S

C.A. is concerned solely with the personal recovery and continued sobriety of individual addicts who turn to the fellowship for help. Cocaine Anonymous does not engage in the fields of drug addiction research, medical or psychiatric treatment, drug education, or propaganda in any form -- although our members may participate in such activities as individuals.

The Fellowship has adopted a policy of "cooperation but not affiliation" with outside organizations concerned with the problem of addiction. C.A. never endorses, supports, opposes, becomes affiliated with, or expresses any opinion on, the programs of others in the field of addiction. C.A. has no position on outside issues -- including the legality or illegality of drugs -- or any other public policy.

C.A.'s relations with professional groups, agencies, facilities, and individuals involved with the problems of drug addiction are handled by the information committee Mutual understanding and cooperation between C.A. members and others who work with addicts are the concerns of this standing committee of the World Service Board.

Cocaine Anonymous is not organized in the formal or political sense. There are no governing officers, no rules or regulations, no dues or fees. While we are guided by the Twelve Traditions of Cocaine Anonymous, each group is generally free to conduct its business as it sees fit, as stated in Tradition 4: "Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or C.A. as a whole."

However, the need for services to addicts throughout the world is very important to the Fellowship. Inquiries from both within and outside the Fellowship have to be answered. Literature has to be written, printed and distributed, and requests for help be followed up. The main service body of the Fellowship is C.A. World Services, which is centered at the World Service Office in Los Angeles, California. Here employees and service volunteers maintain communications with local Groups and with persons outside the Fellowship who turn to C.A. for information on the program of recovery. C.A. Conference-approved literature and chips are prepared, published and distributed through this office.

The World Service Office, through its Board of Directors, is responsible to the World Service Board of Trustees. The Trustees, who serve as custodians of the Traditions of Cocaine Anonymous, as well as interpreters of policies affecting C.A. as a whole, in turn are responsible to the World Service Conference.

The World Service Conference meets annually to unify the Fellowship and consider those actions which affect the Fellowship as a whole. Comprised of Delegates from all the recognized Areas of C.A., as well as the Trustees and the World Service Office Board, the Conference considers how best to carry the message of recovery from cocaine addiction to those outside, as well as inside, the meeting rooms of Cocaine Anonymous. Committees of the Conference cover various areas that affect carrying that message of recovery: Literature, Hospitals and Institutions, Public Information, Convention (responsible for the annual World Service Convention), and Unity. Other Committees address the internal functions of the Fellowship: Conference, Finance, and Structure & Bylaws.

All of the service structure of C.A. is based on our 9th Tradition: "C.A. as such ought never be organized, but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve."

The principal of consistent rotation of responsibility is followed in all C.A. service positions. Positions in the local Group are rotated according to a vote of the Group. Representatives to the local service organization are voted on at the Group level -- according to a schedule defined by each Group. Officers of the local service organization, as well as the Conference Delegates, are elected based on the group conscience of these representatives. All such officers, delegates, and representatives serve at the pleasure of their electors.

Now, just before we start, I am going to list a bunch of questions, so you yourself, can determine if you may have an addiction to cocaine;

1. Have you ever used more cocaine than you planned?
2. Has the use of cocaine ever interfered with your job
3. Is your cocaine use causing conflict with your spouse or family?
4. Do you feel depressed, guilty or remorseful after you use cocaine?
5. Do you use whatever cocaine you have almost continually until the supply is exhausted?
6. Have you ever experienced sinus problems or nosebleeds due to cocaine use?
7. Do you ever wish you had never take that first line, hit, or injection of cocaine?
8. Have you ever experienced chest pains or rapid or irregular heartbeats when using cocaine?
9. Do you have an obsession to get cocaine when you don’t have it?
10. Are you experiencing Financial Difficulties due to your cocaine use?
11. Do you experience any anticipation high just knowing you are about to use the cocaine?
12. After using cocaine, do you have trouble sleeping without taking a drink or another drug?
13. Are you absorbed with the thought of getting loaded even while interacting with a friend or loved one?
14. Have you begun to use cocaine alone?
15. Do you ever have feelings people are talking about you or watching you?
16. Do you have to use larger amounts of drugs or alcohol to get the same high you once experienced?
17. Have you tried to quit or cut down on your cocaine use only to find that you could not?
18. Have any of your friends or family suggested you may have a problem?
19. Have you ever lied, mislead, to those around you how much or how often you are using?
20. Do you use cocaine in the car, at work, in the bathroom on airplanes, or in any other public places?
21. Are you afraid that if you stop using cocaine or alcohol, your work will suffer or you will loose your energy?
22. Do you spend time with people or in place you otherwise would not be around except for the availability of Drugs?
23. Have you ever stolen Drugs or money from friends or family to support your habit?

If you have answered YES to any of these questions, you may have a cocaine problem. There are answers - CA is here and is really helpful, as I find all 12 step programs, with an appropriate amount of exposure-when I need it and as an addict, well thats……

So if you answered yes, come join us in the meeting, can’t hurt this way and you’ll see just how simple it is.

Chairperson who runs the Meeting and keeps it flowing in a timely matter.

Hello, my name is Kimberly, I am a recovering Addict and I’d like to welcome you to the 8 pm  closed Sunday night HuPages meeting. ( a closed meeting is a discussion meeting for addicts only. An open meeting is for families and friends as well as the addicts and are primarily speaker meetings.)

Before I qualify can we please can we have a moment of silence fro the addict still suffering, followed by the‘we version of the serenity prayer together, thank you.

GOD, GRANT US THE SERENITY TO ACCEPT THE THINGS WE CANNOT CHANGE, THE COURAGE TO CHANGE THE THNGS WE CAN, AND THE WISDOM TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE.

As chairperson, now I am supposed to qualify. 

Thank you. Still Kimberly, still a recovering addict.  I used Heroin and cocaine for 24 years daily and despite knowing it will kill me, it’s still the first thing I think of every time I wake up.  I was born an addict, I live as a recovering addict and by the grace of God, will die a clean addict.  That should qualify me.

I chose this meditation because it talks about living.  For me the message is about living the Journey instead of focusing on the end result.  Which I find myself doing far too often lately.  Hope it helps some of you too.

‘…...You don’t get to choose how you’re going to die.  Or when.  You can only decide how you are going to live, Now.’     -Joan Baez

How thrilling to contemplate that we can choose every attitude we have and every action we take.  We have been gifted with full responsibility for our development.  What will we try today?  It is our personal choice.  How will we decide on a particular issue?  Our options are only limited by our vision.

Every situation in life offers us significant opportunity for making a decision that will, of necessity, influence the remaining situations we encounter.  Just as we are inter-dependent, needing and influencing one another in all instances that bring us together, likewise, our decisions are never inviolate.  Each is simply important; however,it’s impact is multiplied by the variety of other decisions triggered.

God will provide us with the guidance, and the program offer us the tools.  The decision to act is ours, alone.

‘...Today I will exercise my personal power.  My choices to determine my development…’

Our Readings (The chair person picks a different person to read each Reading)

1) What is Cocaine Anonymous?

"Cocaine Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem, and help others to recover from their addiction."

The best way to reach someone is to speak to them on a common level. The members of C.A. are all recovering addicts who maintain their individual sobriety by working with others. We come from various social, ethnic, economic and religious backgrounds, but what we have in common is addiction.

"The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop using cocaine and all other mind-altering substances."

Anyone who wants to stop using cocaine and all other mind-altering substances (including alcohol and other drugs) is welcome.

"There are no dues or fees for membership; we are fully self-supporting through our own contributions."

We do ask for voluntary contributions at meetings to cover expenses such as coffee, rent, literature and service to help those who are still suffering. However, newcomers need not feel obligated to contribute. We do not accept donations from organizations or individuals outside the fellowship.

"We are not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution. We do not wish to engage in any controversy and we neither endorse nor oppose any causes."

In order to maintain our integrity and avoid any possible complications, we are not affiliated with any outside organization. Although C.A. is a spiritual program, we do not align ourself with any religion. Our members are free to define their spirituality as they see fit. Our individual members may have opinions of their own, but C.A. as a whole has no opinion on outside issues. We are not affiliated with any rehabs, recovery houses or hospitals, but many do refer their patients to Cocaine Anonymous to maintain their sobriety.

"Our primary purpose is to stay free from cocaine and all other mind-altering substances, and to help others achieve the same freedom."

The only purpose of Cocaine Anonymous is to offer recovery to individuals who are suffering from addiction. Our experience has shown that the most effective way to attain and maintain sobriety is to work with others suffering from the same malady.

The Twelve Steps describe the Program of Recovery used by Cocaine Anonymous

1. We admitted we were powerless over cocaine and all other mind-altering substances — 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 Him. 

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 Him 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 Him, praying only for knowledge of His 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 addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs. 

The Twelve Traditions

1. Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon C.A. unity. 

2. 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. 

3. The only requirement for C.A. membership is a desire to stop using cocaine and all other mind-altering substances. 

4. Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or C.A. as a whole. 

5. Each group has but one primary purpose — to carry its message to the addict who still suffers. 

6. A C.A. group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the C.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property and prestige divert us from our primary purpose. 

7. Every C.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions. 

8. Cocaine Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers. 

9. C.A., as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve. 

10. Cocaine Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the C.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy. 

11. 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. 

12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.

Hope, Faith and Courage: Stories from the Fellowship of Cocaine Anonymous was first published in 1994.

As its title suggests, this powerful collection of stories delivers the message of recovery as it has been experienced by members of our fellowship, in their own words.

The following excerpt from Hope, Faith and Courage is often read at meetings of Cocaine Anonymous:

Reaching Out

I made it into this Program because someone else worked their Twelfth Step on me. Someone passed it on to me. Someone was out there after they got clean and sober, caring about others. I need to never, ever forget that. Had they simply gone on with their lives and forgotten about people like me who were still out there using and suffering, I wouldn't be here today. My gratitude begins with that fact. It is with that gratitude in mind that I reach out to others, especially the newcomers. I need to have them in my life. That is where my spirituality begins.

For me, spirituality comes from caring about others. I have found that the more I focus on improving the quality of the lives of others, the less I am into myself and my will. I feel a freedom and peace from within. The gifts I am beginning to receive in my life are greater than I could have ever imagined.

Something else I have done is that I have forgiven myself. I have forgiven myself for being an addict. I have forgiven myself for all the damage I did to my life, to my physical health, and to my career and finances. But most of all, I have forgiven myself for all of the horrible, negative and unloving things I have felt about myself. 

It was not until I offered and accepted my own forgiveness, that I was truly able to grow in my sobriety.

As are readings from the literature-just email me if you would like any.

Before we open for discussion can someone please read 2 slogans and what it means to them;

Slogans:

One Day at a Time

Live and let Live

By the Grace of God

I can’t, he can

Remember when

Think it through

Open-minded

These are just a few of the slogans, and I’ll give you 2 examples;

Think it through;  when I really have convinced myself I have been sober Long enough, I could have just one hit, I have to think it through knowing 1 is too many and 1000 is never enough.  I would be on a binger within 10 minutes ending up who knows where or with whom, and broke.  It keeps me fromhaving that first one.

One Day at a Time;  Yesterday is gone and I can’t change it, tomorrow is a mystery and I can’t predict it.  I only have today. And that’s enough.  I will do the best I can Today

Discussion

This now is where I would open up the floor to a discussion, with a topic, example, Gratitude or Relapsing or Newcomers.  Everyone, or as many as possible, depending on the size of the meeting, shares on that topic for a minute or two.  This lasts about 30 minutes. There is no discussing allowed on what someone else has said, and there must be the complete trust of anonymity in order for people to share.

Medallions

Now medallions are handed out for various milestones in clean time.  The most important medallion is the ‘desire medallion’.  The Newcomer is always the most important person in the room and this represents a DESIRE to stop using.

Closing

In closing everyone stands, holds hands and together recites the Lords prayer.

Now time for coffee and chat or straight home.

Lastly, even a bad meeting, which I have occasionally come across, still makes me feel better when I leave.  I need to remember that feeling when I don’t want to go to a meeting because that’s a sure indication that I need one.

A meeting near you.

www.ca.org