The Twelve Traditions of

Cocaine Anonymous
The Twelve Steps of
Cocaine Anonymous The First
30 Days
1. Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery 1.  We admitted we were powerless over cocaine and all other
depends upon C.A. unity. mind-altering substances – that our lives had become
unmanageable.
2. For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority –
a loving God as He may express Himself in our group 2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could
conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do restore us to sanity.
not govern.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of
3. The only requirement for C.A. membership is a desire to stop God as we understood Him.
using cocaine and all other mind-altering substances.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
4. Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the
other groups or C.A. as a whole.
exact nature of our wrongs.
5. Each group has but one primary purpose—to carry its message
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of
to the addict who still suffers.
character.
6. A C.A. group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the C.A.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems
of money, property and prestige divert us from our primary 8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing
purpose. to make amends to them all.
7. Every C.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining 9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except
outside contributions. when to do so would injure them or others.
8. Cocaine Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, 10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong
but our service centers may employ special workers. promptly admitted it.
9. C.A., as such, ought never be organized; but we may create 11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious
service boards or committees directly responsible to those they contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for
serve. knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry
that out.
10. Cocaine Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence
the C.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy. 12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps,
we tried to carry this message to addicts, and to practice these
11. Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than
principles in all our affairs.**
promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the
level of press, radio, television and films. **The Twelve Steps are reprinted with permission of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Permission to reprint and adapt the Twelve Steps does not mean that A.A. is affiliated with this
12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our Traditions, ever program. A.A. is a program of recovery from alcoholism. Use of the Steps in connection with
reminding us to place principles before personalities.* programs and activities which are patterned after A.A. but which address other problems does
not imply otherwise. THE TWELVE STEPS OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS: 1. We admitted
we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable. 2. Came to believe
*The Twelve Traditions are reprinted with permission of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. 3. Made a decision to turn our will CA Central UK
Inc. Permission to reprint and adapt the Twelve Traditions does not mean that A.A. is affiliated
with this program. A.A. is a program of recovery from alcoholism. Use of the Traditions in
and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. 4. Made a searching and fearless
moral inventory of ourselves. 5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the www.centralukca.co.uk Tel 0800 689 4732
connection with programs and activities which are patterned after A.A. but which address other exact nature of our wrongs. 6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of char-
problems does not imply otherwise. THE TWELVE TRADITIONS OF ALCOHOLICS ANONY-
MOUS: 1. Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. unity.
acter. 7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. 8. Made a list of all persons we had
harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all. 9. Made direct amends to such people
CA Ireland
2. For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority—a loving God as He may express
Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern. 3.
wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. 10. Continued to take per-
sonal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. 11. Sought through prayer and
caireland.info Tel +353 (0) 87 3174989
The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking. 4. Each group should be meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for
autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or A.A. as a whole. 5. Each group has but knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. 12. Having had a spiritual awakening CA London
one primary purpose—to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers. 6. An A.A. group
ought never endorse, finance, or lend the A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise,
as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these
principles in all our affairs ca-london.org Tel 0800 059 5130
lest problems of money, property and prestige divert us from our primary purpose. 7. Every A.A.
group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions. 8. Alcoholics Anonymous
should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers.
CA Scotland
9. A.A., as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees www.cascotland.org.uk Tel 0141 959 6363
directly responsible to those they serve. 10. Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside
issues; hence the A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy. 11. Our public “We’re Here and We’re Free”™
relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal CA UK
anonymity at the level of press, radio and films. 12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all Conference Approved Literature
our Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.
Cocaine Anonymous World Services, Inc.
www.cauk.org.uk Tel 0800 612 0225
© 2006. All rights reserved.
CAUK OFFICE ADDRESS
CAUK, PO Box 1337, Enfield EN1 9AS
The First 30 Days One Day at a Time: We stay clean and sober one STEP THREE: Made a decision to turn our will and our
day at a time and, when necessary, one hour or lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
Welcome to Cocaine Anonymous. We are all here for the even one minute at a time; not for one week, or
same reason – our inability to stop using cocaine and all one month, or one year—just one day at a time. Cocaine Anonymous is a spiritual program, not a
other mind-altering substances. The first step towards religious one. Some of us arrived with a belief in God,
solving any problem is admitting that there is a problem. Cocaine and other mind-altering substances helped while others used the group until they found a Higher
us escape from ourselves; they altered our perception Power. A key phrase in this Step is “as we understood
THE PROBLEM of reality. They helped us cover up, avoid, and deaden Him.” In Cocaine Anonymous, each individual can
The problem, as we see it, consists of an obsession our feelings. As we get clean and sober, our feelings choose a God of his or her own understanding.
of the mind and an allergy of the body. The obsession begin to surface. Recovery can be challenging, but with
help, we find our lives get better one day at a time. As we continue to work the Twelve Steps of
is a continued and irresistible thought of cocaine and
Cocaine Anonymous, we begin to see these
the next high. Once we have given in to this thought,
When we attended our first C.A. meeting, we knew deep Promises coming true in our lives:
our bodies take over. The allergy creates an absolute
down inside that cocaine, alcohol and/or other drugs had
inability to stop using once we begin. Addiction is not a If we are painstaking about this phase of our
become a problem in our lives. Acknowledging this was
moral issue. Addiction is a disease – a disease that kills. development, we will be amazed before we are halfway
just the beginning. This is where the program of Cocaine
Anonymous provides a solution. We begin by surrendering through. We are going to know a new freedom and
THE SOLUTION
and working the Twelve Steps of Cocaine Anonymous. a new happiness. We will not regret the past nor
We wish to assure you that there is a solution and that wish to shut the door on it. We will comprehend the
recovery is possible. It begins with complete abstinence STEP ONE: We admitted we were powerless over word serenity and we will know peace. No matter
from cocaine and all other mind-altering substances. cocaine and all other mind-altering substances how far down the scale we have gone, we will see
It continues with practicing C.A.’s Twelve Steps of – that our lives had become unmanageable. how our experience can benefit others. That feeling
recovery, one day at a time. Here are some suggestions of uselessness and self-pity will disappear. We will
to help you stay clean and sober for your first 30 days: Most of us disliked the idea of being powerless lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in
over anything. We thought cocaine, alcohol and/ our fellows. Self-seeking will slip away. Our whole
Abstinence: Do not use any mind-altering substances! or other drugs made us invincible and powerful. In attitude and outlook upon life will change. Fear of
Experience has shown that the use of any mind-altering reality, they took a toll on us financially, emotionally, people and of economic insecurity will leave us. We
substance will ultimately lead us back to the drug we physically, and spiritually. Many of us were out of will intuitively know how to handle situations which
were trying to avoid or to addiction in another form. control and had reached the depths of despair. used to baffle us. We will suddenly realize that God
A Meeting a Day: Attend meetings as often as possible, The extent was different for each of us, but the fact is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.*
preferably every day. Meetings are where we go to share remained that our lives had become unmanageable.
*This excerpt from Alcoholics Anonymous, pages 83-84, is reprinted
our experience, strength, and hope with each other. It was not until we got honest with ourselves and
with permission of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
surrendered that we began to know peace. (“AAWS”). Permission to use this excerpt does not mean that
Get a Sponsor: It is a good idea to get a sponsor AAWS has reviewed or approved the contents of this publication,
during your early days, when C.A. seems unfamiliar. A STEP TWO: Came to believe that a Power greater or that AAWS necessarily agrees with the views expressed therein.
sponsor shares one-on-one how to maintain sobriety than ourselves could restore us to sanity. A.A. is a program of recovery from alcoholism only – use of this
material in connection with programs and activities which are
by working the Twelve Steps of Cocaine Anonymous.
Step Two involves open-mindedness. Having patterned after A.A., but which address other problems or concerns,

Use the Telephone: Get phone numbers from other admitted we were powerless over cocaine and all or in any other non-A.A. context, does not imply otherwise.

C.A. members and call them between meetings. other mind-altering substances, we became open-
A vital part of our recovery process is building minded enough to believe that a Power greater than
a support network of sober friends. Reaching ourselves could remove our obsession to use and
out to others can make all the difference restore us to sanity. This Power may be God, but does
not have to be. Many of us use the Fellowship of C.A.
in maintaining our sobriety. If no one on your phone as our Higher Power. After all, what we had failed
list is available, call your local C.A. helpline. to do alone, we are succeeding in doing together.