The members of Crystal Meth Anonymous meet regularly, share support and fellowship, and create a safe environment in which to stay clean.

The fellowship advocates complete abstinence from crystal meth, alcohol, inhalants...medication taken not as prescribed, as well as all other mind altering substances.

Prayer and meditation are important parts of our program. Some of us are suspicious at first, fearing that we will be made to believe certain things. We may also react to our past experiences with organized religion.

This is a spiritual program, but we can define for ourselves the nature of our personal relationship with spirituality. For now, we can accept that something has helped many people stay clean and sober. We will begin to define our relationship with spirituality as we work the Twelve Steps with a sponsor.

What are the Twelve Steps?
The Twelve Steps are a set of principles designed to produce a spiritual awakening. The steps promote actions that help us to achieve and maintain sobriety. They offer a plan for recovery that helps repair the damage our addiction to crystal meth has caused. The steps guide us in new ways of living to create a fulfilling life in recovery.

Staying clean is our primary goal. When our actions are consistent with our principles, we can have inner peace, honesty and serenity.

Why One Day at a Time?
For most of us, the idea of never using again is impossible. If we focus on forever, we may lose sight of what we can do. We can make a commitment to not use just for today. For some of us, that commitment had to be: "I won't use, just for the next hour." Staying in the here and now makes sobriety possible. Yesterday is gone; we can't say what tomorrow will bring. For these reasons we say that we stay clean one day at a time.

What about Relapse?
Relapse doesn't have to be a part of our program. If we sincerely want to stay clean, the program makes it possible for us to not use drugs again - one day at a time.

For some of us, relapse has been a part of our path. We may not have been convinced we were addicts, and therefore hadn't effectively worked the First Step:

"We admitted that we were powerless over crystal meth and that our lives had become unmanageable."

It is easier to stay clean than to get clean. Using again starts the cycle of craving. It is important to quickly break the pattern of relapse.

If we do relapse, we can learn from our mistakes, uncovering what elements may have been missing in our program. We suggest rigorous honesty and return immediately to meetings.

If you feel you may relapse we suggest you reach out. Call someone from the program, get to a meeting and discuss the urge to use.

What about Alcohol and other Drugs?
Many of us struggled with the suggestion that we should give up alcohol and all other drugs along with crystal meth. For some of us, other drugs can be a gateway to using crystal. Dangerous rationalizations such as "But I'm not an alcoholic" or "A joint every now and then won't hurt" can lead us down the path of addiction once again. After a few drinks we may find ourselves looking for crystal and entering the addictive cycle again.

The first step in recovery is to admit that we are addicts. Even if we are not addicted to other specific drugs, medical evidence tells us our addiction can easily transfer to other substances or behaviors. This is called "cross addiction," and our experience shows us it is a very real danger.

What about other programs?
We find that we relate best to other crystal meth addicts, since we share the experiences of darkness, paranoia and compulsions that addiction to crystal meth brings. The behaviors of addiction may differ from program to program, but the principles of recovery remain the same.

Crystal Meth Anonymous is based on the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. All Twelve Step programs share the tools of spiritual living that help us stay clean. Many of us attend other fellowships, but the feeling of identification in the rooms of CMA keeps us coming back.

How can I stay clean?
We practice three basic actions for recovery:

1. Meetings & Fellowship
Our experience has shown that one of the most effective tools to stay clean is daily attendance at Twelve Step meetings. For most of us, active addiction was a very lonely place. Surrounding ourselves with others who are in recovery may be uncomfortable at first, but helps with the fear, sadness and isolation that our addiction created.

Meetings offer a supportive framework, and allow us to hear how others have stayed clean and sober. Immersing ourselves in the program gives us the opportunity to change our ways of thinking and emphasizes new ideas that support recovery. Finding new friendships that value sobriety over using is an important aspect of our program. Many people in the program refer to "90 in 90" - a suggestion newcomers attend 90 meetings in 90 days.

2. Sponsorship & Step Work
A sponsor is a person in the program who we choose to offer us guidance in working the twelve steps. "Working the steps" means understanding what the steps mean, and finding ways to apply them in our daily lives.

Sponsors share their experience strength, and hope. Sponsors describe the way they have stayed clean, and will make suggestions to help us maintain our sobriety. Sponsors don't loan money, act as therapists, or tell us what to do.

3. Service & Commitments
One of the ways we keep our sobriety is by helping others to stay clean. Service in the program refers to working with others to help them stay sober. A commitment is a responsibility we take, on a volunteer basis, at a specific meeting. Commitments keep us attending our meetings regularly, help others in the program get to know us, and provide us with the satisfaction of following through on what we've committed to do.