“Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends on MA unity.” – Tradition One
“The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop using marijuana.” – Tradition Three
“No matter who you are, where you came from, or what you did, you cannot be denied membership in Marijuana Anonymous.” Life With Hope (3rd Ed.) p.69 – Tradition Three
“Each group has but one primary purpose, to carry its message to the marijuana addict who still suffers.” – Tradition Five
What is the Unity Subcommittee?
The Unity Committee is responsible for supporting inclusion and visibility of marginalized and remote communities. Formerly known as Representation & Accessibility, this subcommittee seeks to best support “our common welfare” as stated in Tradition One.
This subcommittee drafts handouts (like this newly updated suggested Safety Statement: ma12.org/safetycard, and other handouts, below) and creates other resources to support and empower members, meetings, groups, and districts/regions in addressing concerns like safety, representation, visibility, equity and accessibility. Another goal of this subcommittee is for everyone who would like to be of service to feel welcome and able to be involved at the various levels of service; Meetings/Groups, Districts/Regions, and MA World Services.
The Unity subcommittee is always seeking ways to best support “our common welfare” (Tradition One), fulfill MA’s primary purpose of carrying “the message to the marijuana addict who still suffers” (Tradition Five), and ensure that all marijuana addicts with a desire to stop using marijuana feel welcome and safe in MA, and have access to the message of recovery (Tradition Three). The Unity Subcommittee remains open to feedback on our work, and welcomes suggestions on how to better fulfill these goals, as well as on what resources the fellowship would like to work on next.
How to Get Involved with the Unity Subcommittee
The Unity subcommittee is always looking for members who are willing to be of service by sharing ways to help with important issues regarding safety, equity, and access for marginalized communities. We would like to learn more about the issues that are important to you, and ideas about how the subcommittee can best be of service to all members of the fellowship, in particular, all currently remote communities and marginalized identities.
The only requirements to become a member of the Unity subcommittee is treating others respectfully and consistent with MA’s Third Tradition, having a desire to stop using marijuana. All members of MA are welcome and encouraged to join the subcommittee! You are welcome to join the committee to make suggestions, even for just one meeting, and you do not have to commit to permanently joining the subcommittee. Service work looks different for everyone and there are many opportunities to be of service. If there are any issues you are invested in addressing, please consider joining Unity to work on that project!
Email Unity@MA12.org with any questions, suggestions or issues, or to get information on how to attend a meeting!
Resources for Groups & Meetings
The below resources are suggestive only, and are not required by MA World Services. They were developed on request to provide tools for members and meetings to use (adapt, or not use) and to share experience, strength and hope from other groups. Like World Services, the Unity Subcommittee exists as a resource, and does not govern. There is no central authority or government within MA, and groups and meetings are autonomous and free to use or not use these resources however best suits the needs of their group and “the common welfare” as determined by the group conscience. We are open to feedback on these resources, so please email any suggestions to the below contacts.
Marijuana Anonymous’ Commitment to Member Safety
This suggested Safety Statement is designed to affirm a meeting’s commitment to the safety of its members, inform members what World Services can and cannot do, and provide members with information about what to do if they feel unsafe in the meeting. It can be adapted by groups and meetings as part of their meeting’s format, to read in whole, or in part, or made available for members to read – however is best suited for the group or meeting as determined by the group conscience.
Also available as ma12.org/safetycard *approved by the 2024 MA World Service Conference* a half-sheet, double-sided version to print is in development.
Safeguarding Our Common Welfare: Safety & MA
his handout contains suggestions collected based off the experience, strength, and hope of multiple MA meetings, groups, districts and regions to share with other members and groups seeking support and guidance about addressing and/or preventing various meeting safety concerns.
Also available at https://ma12.org/safety
Sample Meeting Format Language: Crosstalk, Safety Issues, & Phone List Usage
This handout contains suggested language relating to frequently encountered safety & representation issues that members and meetings can consider adding to their group or meeting’s scripts/formats to help make their meetings more safe and welcoming to all members.
Also available at ma12.org/meetingformats
Enabling Closed Captioning for Virtual Meetings
This tutorial can help make all virtual MA meetings more accessible. We suggest enabling closed captions before any members request it, adding a reminder to the meeting format to enable captions, and updating your meeting’s characteristics on the MA meeting finder in order to allow members who need captions to find accessible meetings.
Also available at https://ma12.org/closedcaptions
Handout on How to Call and Hold a Business Meeting
This handout contains guidance to support members and meetings in holding business meetings to come to a group conscience as may be needed to address or implement the ideas in the handouts shared above, among other common issues. Business meetings are one of our primary tools in MA for establishing the group conscience as is needed to make changes in MA, whether in your meeting or at the district-level, or even at the World Services level.
Also available at the short link https://ma12.org/businessmeetings
How Can Unity Support Members, Meetings, Groups, Regions, and Districts?
- Please reach out and let us know! We are here to help!
- What else would you or your group, meeting, or district find helpful relating to issues of representation and accessibility?
- What other types of resources would you like to see?
- Written materials/handouts? Pre-Recorded Videos? Interactive Workshops? Speaker panels? Anything else?
- What topics could your meetings or groups use support with from the Unity subcommittee?
- Accessibility questions? Safety Issues? Dealing with disruptive behavior or harassment? Advice on making your meeting more welcoming to underrepresented or marginalized groups? Help reviewing your group’s format language? Materials about how to hold business meetings?
If you have additional questions about the Unity subcommittee and the MA Traditions, you can contact the Unity Chair. You can also contact the Policies and Procedure Trustee with questions regarding the Traditions, and other MA Policies & Procedures.