Here are some instructions to read before you chair
● Chairpersons please arrive 5 minutes before your meeting starts and be prepared to moderate the post meeting space for 15 minutes.
● Chairpersons please become familiar with and use “Q&A mode” and MUTE ALL function (*52)
● Remember to unmute yourself when it is your turn to speak as the chair.
● Also remember to mute yourself during others' sharing
● Material in brackets are instructions, not to be read aloud
● The keystrokes to manage the call:
Q&A mode
Enter Q&A *11
Advance queue *12
End Q&A *13
Mute queue *14
Muting
May Unmute Yourself *51
Mute All *52
Unmuted *53
● Suggested Mtg Outline
○ Start with Serenity Prayer
○ Ask for introductions
○ (optional) Put meeting into Q&A mode
○ Ask for volunteers to read one or two of the Twelves
○ Read the intro items ( Greeting, Preamble, … )
○ Ask volunteers to do the reading of the Twelves
○ Ask for introductions
○ Ask for two or three topics
○ Ask for participants to share
○ After sharing, introductions again
○ Closing serenity prayer
○ Number exchange, questions, timed shares
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Start Meeting Here
Hello everyone. My name is: ___________ and I’m powerless over marijuana.
[ Or introduce yourself in a manner that speaks your truth in your sobriety ]
Welcome to the “Marijuana Anonymous World Men's Meetings” or MAWMM (mom) group, also known as Dudes in Recovery!
The website ma-phone.org hosts three independent MA groups on different phone numbers.
Dudes in Recovery meets in this teleconference Mon-Thurs. 3 PM Eastern/12 Noon Pacific.
But please note there are phone meetings everyday at Eastern Time zone 7AM, 10AM, 12PM, and 8PM, as well as 10 PM meetings four days a week.
The full schedule for all those MA Phone meetings, along with phone numbers and access codes is on the websites ma-phone.org and marijuana-anonymous.org.
This meeting is available World Wide, so let your friends know. Please look on the same website, ma-phone.org , for the complete list of international numbers.
Feel free join us briefly for prayer and reflection.
Let’s start with a lengthy moment of silence.
You may want to unmute to participate in saying The Serenity Prayer, or stay muted to reflect in your own way.
It starts with the word God, and that’s your own understanding of that.
[ Optional ] At this meeting we invite you to use whatever word or words speak your personal truth to your own personal higher power.
[ Optional: You can do a call and response version of this or all together. You can also designate whether it uses the I or we pronoun ]
God . . .
Grant me the serenity . . .
To accept the things I cannot change . . .
The courage to change the things I can . . .
And the wisdom to know the difference.
[ If Needed : ]
Time for Q&A
I am now putting our call in Q&A mode. To actively participate, press star 6-1. You can remove yourself from the queue by pressing star 6-1 again.
[Chairperson: Put meeting into Q&A mode for the entire meeting until the closing Serenity Prayer by pressing *11. Please be sure to mute when someone else is speaking and unmute when you talk.]
Responsibility Statement
I am Responsible.
Whenever anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help, . . . I want the hand of Marijuana Anonymous to be there.
For that: I am responsible.
[NOTE to chair: INVITE (now) volunteers to get in the Q and prepare the material to READ one of the “Twelves” while you read the Preamble.]
○ 12 Questions
○ 12 Steps
○ 12 Traditions
○ 12 Promises
○ 12 Principles
○ 12 Concepts for Service
○ “Our Awakening” found at the end of Step 12
[ If needed: ]
When the system tells you “It is now time to ask your question,” that means it’s time for you to speak.
Make sure to unmute your phone before speaking. Please tell us your first name and what you will be reading. Thank you for your service.
Preamble
Marijuana Anonymous is a fellowship of people who share our experience, strength and hope with each other that we may solve our common problem and help others to recover from marijuana addiction.
The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop using marijuana. There are no dues or fees for membership. We are self-supporting through our own contributions. MA is not affiliated with any religious or secular institution or organization and has no opinion on any outside controversies or causes. Our primary purpose is to stay free of marijuana and to help the marijuana addict who still suffers achieve the same freedom. We can do this by practicing our suggested Twelve Steps of recovery and by being guided as a group by our Twelve Traditions.
MARIJUANA ANONYMOUS uses the basic 12 Steps of Recovery founded by Alcoholics Anonymous, because it has been proven that the 12 Step Recovery program works! We encourage you to speak to others and ask questions after the meeting.
[ Optional ]
Who is a marijuana addict?
We who are marijuana addicts know the answer to this question. Marijuana controls our lives! We lose interest in all else; our dreams go up in smoke. Ours is a progressive illness often leading us to addictions to other drugs, including alcohol. Our lives, our thinking, and our desires center around marijuana – scoring it, dealing it, and finding ways to stay [stoned]. As stated in our third tradition, the only requirement for membership in Marijuana Anonymous is a desire to stop using marijuana. This is to adhere to the “singleness of purpose” concept, but many of us have found that the only way that we can keep our sobriety is to abstain from all mind and mood altering chemicals, including alcohol.
[ Optional ]:
The next few paragraphs are from the Forward to our basic text Life With Hope: A Return to Living through the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of MARIJUANA ANONYMOUS . . .
(page ix) How can we tell you how to recover? We cannot. All we can do is share with you our own experiences and recovery through the Twelve Steps of Marijuana Anonymous.
The Twelve Traditions are the guidelines for the fellowship of Marijuana Anonymous and the basic ideas, which unify our groups. Keeping in mind that our program is a living growing thing . . .
[Required]
Who would like to read?.
[Chair: Press *12 to check for volunteers.]
“The 12 Questions of Marijuana Anonymous.”
“The 12 Steps of Marijuana Anonymous” also known as “How It Works”
“The 12 Traditions of Marijuana Anonymous.”
“The 12 Promises of Marijuana Anonymous”
“The 12 Principles of Marijuana Anonymous”
“The Twelve Concepts for Service in Marijuana Anonymous”
“Our Awakening” found at the end of Step 12
[Thank the reader by name]
Introductions
At the start of the meeting we like to introduce ourselves. Let’s go around the room and say our first name and where we’re from. And share your day count too, if you’d like.
[ After a pause: ]
No one is required to introduce themselves, but if you would like to join our fellowship, now is a great time to do that.
It’s good to have a pen and paper ready to write down phone numbers when shared at the end of the meeting to make outreach calls. Whether you choose to share today or stay to listen, we are glad you’re here and hope you keep coming back. I will be staying on the line after the meeting to respond to questions and further welcome newcomers.
Meeting Norms
● You can actively participate in the meeting by unmuting yourself with “*6”. Please mute yourself when not speaking by pressing “*6” again.
● Note that you can use *2 to hear a current count of participants. This helps remind us we are not alone on this recovery journey.
● This is a closed meeting of Marijuana Anonymous, which means it is Just for Men. We ask that you stay focused on the topic of recovery from Marijuana addiction and share your own experience, strength and hope by using “I” statements.
● When you share, please tell us your first name and where you're from. You can share your day count too, if you’d like.
● At this meeting, we like to share at length for the first twenty minutes, so feel free to share as long or short as you please.
[ as needed ] I'll start setting a timer at around 40 minutes past the hour. When you have about one minute left, I'll give you a notice. I don’t mean to startle you, just wind down your comments during the next minute or so. And please let me know that you have heard my signal.
[ Meeting Chairperson: it is up to you whether you want to bring a topic or open the floor to general shares among the men. It is important that you do your best to keep men on the topic of recovery. Give a wide latitude but if a man is really getting off the rails, gently let him know that the meeting is about his recovery from marijuana addiction]
It is now time for sharing.
Make sure you are unmuted when you share by pressing *6.
[ If in Q&A mode] :
Note that the system will say, “You can now ask your question,” which for us means it’s your turn to share.
Please make sure you are not muted when you share.
[Chair: *11 enter Q&A ; *12 next caller ; *13 exit Q&A mode. Chair: After person shares, *12, “Next person please share…”]
[Repeat the meeting’s focus/topic if needed.]
[Chair: Throughout the meeting, continue to remind callers of the topics in discussion meetings. “As a reminder, this is the topic(s) today…” ]
________________________________________
[Closing at about 55-57 minutes into the mtg]
That’s all the time we have for sharing during the meeting. In closing, please remember that anonymity is the spiritual foundation of our program ever reminding us to place principles before personalities. What you hear here, stays here. Speaking of staying here . . .
Please stay on the line after we close to exchange phone numbers, answer questions, and the meeting after the meeting fellowship.
7th Tradition
Our 7th Tradition states that MA has no dues or fees. We are self-supporting through our own contributions. For information on how to contribute, please go directly to the web page ma-phone.org/tradition-seven
Please give what you can, and even if you can give nothing for now, Keep Coming Back!
Introductions and Newcomer Welcome
We want to take another moment to welcome any newcomers to the meeting and acknowledge your being here. Newcomers include anyone new to the program, anyone coming back or anyone new to the phone lines – we’d like to welcome you.
[pause for 5-10 seconds]
Hello, are you a newcomer? Welcome, [ greet that person by name ]. You are in the right place. Keep Coming Back.
At this meeting we like to introduce ourselves, so let's go around the room and say our first names and where we are from.
[ After a pause ]
No one is required to introduce themselves, but if you'd like to join our fellowship, now is a great time to do that.
[Chair: press *12 to check the queue for seat-claimers.]
[ask “who are you and where they are from?”]
MA-related Announcements [ read by Chair ]
Please look on the ma-phone.org website for announcements under the Readings and Resources menu tab. There are many opportunities to participate in recovery, at both the group and world levels.
A brief overview of announcement titles includes information on the variety of meetings, service opportunities, support for family and friends, and other topics. If you ask me to, I will read the announcements during the question and answer time after a meeting.
The ma-phone.org website also has speaker tapes available on the Speaker Tapes page.
Our MAWMM meeting is available via a free app, named FreeConferenceCall app. This app also has speaker tapes from men available.
There is also the Marijuana Anonymous app. It's an extremely useful resource for recovery and includes a day-counter.
If any men have an upcoming anniversary of a year-or-more and would like to speak or invite a speaker, we would love to celebrate with you! Let us know.
Are there are any additional MA-related announcements from the fellows?
[If needed: Check the queue with *12.]
Thank you to everyone who provided service, those who shared, and those listening. [Optional: read names] Welcome again to the newcomer(s). We’re glad you’re here. Keep coming back!
If anyone has any questions that went unanswered, or if you would like to share more, please introduce yourself after the meeting. We will also share phone numbers after the meeting. No one is required to share their number.
Thank you for letting me be of service.
If so inclined, please join us briefly for prayer and reflection.
[ If needed. Chair: Press *13 to end Q&A, then press *5 to mute all.]
Those who want to participate in the prayer will need to unmute your phone by pressing *6.
It starts with the word God, and that’s your own understanding of that.
[ Optional ] At this meeting we invite you to use whatever word or words speak your own personal truth to your own personal higher power.
God . . .
Grant us the serenity . . .
To accept the things we cannot change . . .
The courage to change the things we can, . . .
And the wisdom to know the difference.
THANK YOU, EVERYONE!
I’ll stay on the line to facilitate phone number exchange and answer newcomer questions or concerns. After that we can have fellowship.
The meeting is concluded.
[Allow a minute for everyone to thank you for the meeting]
Phone Number Service Information
We have found telephone contact with other MA men between meetings to be supportive to maintain sobriety. Everyone can take down phone numbers from those who share them and call the people you feel comfortable with. Please know that no one is required to give out their phone number. When you do share your number, be mindful that you are sharing in a public space. Be of service, give out your number.
If you have worked the steps, have experience, strength and hope to share, and wish to be of service, then please identify yourself as available to sponsor or as a temporary sponsor when you share your number.
If any outreach call makes you feel uncomfortable, end contact with that person. Inappropriate incidents are infrequent, but they have happened.
As it states in our book, Life With Hope, in both the chapters on step 1 and 12, “We are responsible for our own recovery”. Calling our fellows helps keep us sober.
Do any newcomers have any questions at this time?
Would anyone care to share more?
It is now time for fellowship.
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