Cocaine Anonymous
Cocaine Anonymous (CA) is a nonprofit recovery program specifically designed to support individuals struggling with addiction to crack cocaine and other mind-altering substances, including alcohol. Established in Los Angeles in November 1982, CA has grown significantly and now has service groups in the United States, Canada, and various European countries. The organization operates on principles similar to those of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), utilizing a twelve-step recovery model that encourages participants to share their experiences and support one another in achieving and maintaining sobriety.
CA emphasizes the importance of community and mutual understanding among members, promoting lifelong recovery through ongoing engagement with local groups. Each CA service unit operates independently, allowing for tailored support that meets the unique needs of its members, whether in-person or virtually. Online meetings provide accessibility for those unable to attend physical gatherings, reflecting CA's commitment to inclusivity. The organization's mission is to facilitate a supportive environment for individuals to reclaim their lives from addiction, fostering self-discipline, community involvement, and a sense of purpose. Through literature, conventions, and outreach efforts, CA aims to provide resources and encouragement to those seeking help in their recovery journey.
Cocaine Anonymous
DEFINITION: Cocaine Anonymous (CA) is a nonprofit recovery program that was developed for men and women addicted to crack cocaine or any other mind-altering substance, including alcohol. CA aims to provide a community for discussion and bonding in support of the goals of abstinence and longstanding addiction recovery.
DATE: Established 1982
Background
Cocaine Anonymous (CA) was established in Los Angeles in November 1982 by a member of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). CA has since spread across the United States (US) from the charter region into Canada and throughout many European countries. By 1996, two thousand service groups with thirty thousand members existed worldwide. Because many CA groups are autonomous and membership is anonymous, these statistics are unavailable in the mid-2020s. Still, the group has grown significantly in the US and worldwide.
CA World Services, or CAWS, has become the overarching global board that provides services and oversees individual service areas, both physical and virtual. CA has a defined online presence that began with the first CA website in 1995. CA Online (CAO) meetings were established in 1997 and were expanded in 1999, receiving full service-area status by CAWS in 2000. In 2010, audio Internet discussion meetings were initiated, too, making six online meeting groups available for members worldwide. Cocaine Anonymous Online offers virtual meetings that run twenty-four hours per day, seven days a week. Voice meetings are also available through Internet conferring services. These meetings are similar in format to the in-person CA meetings.
CA was formed based on principles from AA (which was established in 1935) for coping with the abuse of cocaine and other illicit substances. The inclusion of all types of substances is validated in part because people addicted to cocaine and other abusive drugs of choice face similar addiction and recovery challenges; in addition, people with a substance use disorder often interchange substances or replace cocaine with new drugs during their struggles for abstinence. CA relies on the group lessons of shared recovery experiences and mutual understanding among longtime and new participants within the community.
The CA program, like AA, models a twelve-step recovery. During the recovery process, group participants progress through the steps of acknowledgment, forgiveness, and resolve. The person with an addiction begins abstinence by letting go of their sense of fault for the addiction, continues by asking and accepting forgiveness for past actions, and ultimately identifies a greater spiritual authority.
CA tenets also include twelve traditions, which provide a moral code of themes based on faith, forgiveness, and autonomy to supplement the twelve-step process. The traditions are directives for the individual members and the larger group, including the CAWS board.
Although initial recovery relies on the CA steps and traditions, CA participation does not end when the twelfth step is completed. Instead, the social network of a person’s local recovery group continues to provide positive reinforcement to sustain recovery after the twelve-step process and after any other treatment programs have ended. Leadership roles or simple comfort zones exist in the physical and virtual settings without a timeline or defined conclusion; recovery from substance abuse addiction is lifelong, and so too is CA support.
Regional service areas separate CA meetings; each regularly scheduled group is identified as a service unit. Contributions from its members independently support each unit and are not affiliated with business or political organizations. Although the meetings follow a traditional format outlined by AA and CAWS, each unit is autonomous in its decision-making and particular needs. Service units are available in rural, suburban, and urban areas; numerous district sites are often available within a major city. Home groups are the unit meetings at which the person with an addiction should feel most comfortable, uninhibited, and open to participation.
To be fully participatory, a member should attend one meeting each day for the first month as an immersive recovery experience. In addition, participants are encouraged to identify a member who has already completed the twelve-step recovery process; sponsorship by a member with a minimum of a one-year history of sobriety in the service unit can guide the new member on their own recovery path and promote abstinence on an individual level. In addition, a sponsor can build a close relationship with the new member and provide more profound guidance and more thorough discussions than the group meetings permit.
Mission and Goals
The primary goal of CA is to provide a local, accessible, and comfortable community for substance abuse addicts to start and maintain their addiction-free lives. One mission of the CA unit for each member through the recovery period is to encourage self-supporting discipline, community involvement, and re-entry into active society after suffering from the disease of substance abuse. CA supports a goal of freedom from addiction as one of its traditions; related tenets focus on God, spirituality, and personal inventory to further support the CA mission of addiction-free living.
To bolster each unit’s goal of unity through community outreach, CAWS publishes NewsGram each quarter; it is available in print and digital versions. Members or website visitors can purchase a newsletter subscription; single copies can also be obtained at service units. Similarly, CAWS released a two-volume series presenting CA principles through literature and fellowship stories. The first volume, Hope, Faith, and Courage, was followed by a second volume about recovery experiences. CAWS also holds a yearly convention. These conventions can take place in the US and other countries. The 2024 convention was held in the Netherlands. The CA organization has also released video public service announcements (PSAs) in several languages, accessible on the Internet and linked through their website. These short clips identify problems of addiction and encourage people with a substance use disorder to get help by contacting CA. The Hope, Faith, Courage motto is now part of the organization’s logo and summarizes the qualities each member learns to depend on to sustain an addiction-free goal.
Bibliography
CAWS 2024, caws2024.nl. Accessed 25 Aug. 2024.
"Cocaine Anonymous (CA) Meetings, 12 Steps, and Addiction Treatment." DrugAbuse.com, drugabuse.com/drugs/cocaine/cocaine-anonymous. Accessed 25 Aug. 2024.
"Cocaine Anonymous NewsGram." Cocaine Anonymous, ca.org/service/world-service-conference/cocaine-anonymous-newsgram. Accessed 25 Aug. 2024.
"Groups." Cocaine Anonymous, ca.org/service/groups. Accessed 25 Aug. 2024.
Kampman, K. M. "What’s New to Treat Cocaine Addiction?" Current Psychiatric Report, vol. 12, no. 5, 2010, pp. 441–47.
National Institute on Drug Abuse. Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research-Based Guide. 2nd ed. National Institutes of Health Publication No. 09-4180. Bethesda, MD: NIDA, 2009.
Seeking Drug Abuse Treatment: Know What to Ask. National Institutes of Health Publication No. 12–7764. Bethesda, MD: NIDA, 2011.