Can You Smoke Prescribed Marijuana in AA ?

I stopped drinking years ago after going to AA meetings. I'm still very active and have no desire to drink. I have a spiritual practice and I live a healthy life.

I have had a chronic case of insomnia for most of my life and have been prescribed numerous sleeping pills which are all either addictive or they can give you horrible hangovers.

After almost 10 years of this my Doctor suggested legal marijuana to use as a sleep aid. The studies show that this is way less harmful than all those chemicals etc. so I tried it and it works. It really helps. I wake up feeling great, get on with my day and that's that.
Is this ok in AA ??

---

---

Answer

You'll have to ask your sponsor or someone really in the know about all the rules of AA as to whether they would deem it acceptable.

But if it works for you and there is a clear medical reason for it, then I don't think it should really matter. Not everything is black and white, and sometimes there are valid reasons for differing from guidelines prescribed in something like AA.

But you have to be really honest with yourself in all this - if there is any danger in your medicinal marijuana use becoming anything more than that, then it's just not something you should be risking your sobriety with.

If you're sure you've tried every available 'natural' avenue and aid, e.g. meditation before going to bed, natural supplements like melatonin magnesium, valerian, 5HTP and St Johns Wort etc. - then go for it. You know yourself better than anyone else does, so if you're absolutely sure marijuana provides no risk to your sobriety, trust your instincts.

But if you want to find the official AA view on this, you'll have to ask them directly. It's not something I think you want too many people knowing about, but try and speak to someone active in AA who's opinion you respect and who will be able to give you as impartial an answer as possible about doing what's best for you.

All the Best

+1 Alcoholism-and-Drug-Addiction-Help.com