If You Use Other Drugs and Want A.A.

Key takeaway

You used more than alcohol and you expect the room to turn you away. If drinking is part of why you are hurting, the membership test is still a desire to stop drinking. Discussion may stay on alcoholism. NA is a separate fellowship if you want a room about drug use as a whole.

Last updated: Tue Oct 06 2026 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

You used more than alcohol, and you are already braced for the no. You think someone will hear one other drug in your story and point you at the door. Sit with this before you talk yourself out of the chair. If drinking is part of why you are hurting, the membership test is still a desire to stop drinking. You are not banned.

The short form of Tradition Three says the only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. Anyone with that desire is welcome, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, income, or profession. You do not have to pay. There are no dues or fees. You can sit and listen, or you can share.

If this is a medical emergency, call 911. If you are in a mental health crisis, call or text 988. Do not wait in a hallway to find out whether you qualify while your body is in trouble.

The purpose of the group, and the closed room

The short form of Tradition Five says each group has but one primary purpose — to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers. That purpose is about the person who still suffers from alcohol. It is not a purity test that erases the rest of what you took. If you want to stop drinking, you are who that sentence is for.

A closed meeting is for A.A. members, or for people who have a drinking problem and a desire to stop drinking. Read that twice. The drinking problem and the desire are the closed-meeting test. Other drug use does not rewrite it into a ban. An open meeting is for anyone interested in the program, and nonalcoholics may attend as observers. If you are there for your own drinking, either listing can fit. The open and closed guide walks through the labels.

At both kinds of meetings, discussion may be asked to stay on recovery from alcoholism. You might be asked to keep a share on drinking. That can feel like rejection if you came ready to tell the whole mix. It is a request about the topic. You can say alcohol is part of what you need help stopping. You do not have to deliver a full inventory of every substance to earn the seat. You also should not be shocked if the chair brings the hour back to alcoholism. The group is allowed to guard its topic. You are allowed to stay.

Tradition Ten does not do the extra work people give it

The short form of Tradition Ten says A.A. has no opinion on outside issues. That is the sentence. It does not say that other drugs are a reason to put you out. Do not let a harder ruling get glued onto those words. Nobody needs a speech about public controversy in order to sit down tonight.

If what you want is a room whose message covers drug use as a whole, Narcotics Anonymous is that fellowship. NA's message, in its own words, is that an addict, any addict, can stop using drugs, lose the desire to use, and find a new way to live. The message is hope and the promise of freedom. NA says: "When new members come to meetings, our sole interest is in their desire for freedom from active addiction and how we can be of help." NA meetings are run by and for addicts. That word is NA's. The AA and NA guide and the NA meeting finder guide are the next read if you want that room. You can try both. Trying NA does not mean A.A. expelled you.

Family who are wrecked by someone else's drug use can look at Nar-Anon. Nar-Anon is for them, not a second A.A. meeting for you.

The meeting will not detox you

A meeting is peer support. It is not detox, and it is not treatment. NIDA says mutual-help groups are peer-led, not led by healthcare professionals, and not a substitute for treatment. Other drugs in the story do not change the alcohol warning. If you have been drinking heavily and you stop suddenly, NIAAA's core resource says alcohol withdrawal can be life-threatening. A meeting cannot manage that.

SAMHSA's National Helpline, 1-800-662-HELP (4357), is free, confidential, and answered 24 hours a day, in English and Spanish. It is a treatment referral line. FindTreatment.gov lists clinical programs. Get care if stopping is dangerous. Argue about the right fellowship after you are safe.

Tonight

If you want to stop drinking, go to a meeting. Use the meetings search. Listings are not verified here. Confirm the time, and notice whether the listing says open or closed. aa.org is not a meeting finder. The first meeting guide tells you that you can listen. You can say, if you speak at all, that you want to stop drinking and you are new. You do not have to confess every drug to the first person who looks at you.

If you need treatment, call (800) 653-9376. The call is free to you. Treatment providers pay for the referral service. The line is not A.A., and it is not SMART Recovery.

You can walk in with a mixed history and a real desire to stop drinking. That desire is the test. The other fellowship can be there too, on another night, if you want a room that starts from any drug. Neither door is a clinic. Both are still open to the reason you are hurting.

Additional Resources

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Common Questions

Will A.A. reject me because I also used other drugs?

You are not banned for that. If alcohol is part of why you are hurting, the membership test is still a desire to stop drinking. Tradition Three says that desire is the only requirement. Closed meetings are for members, or for people who have a drinking problem and a desire to stop drinking. You can sit and listen. A group may ask that discussion stay on recovery from alcoholism. That request is about the topic of the hour. It is not a ruling that you have to leave.

What is A.A.'s primary purpose if I used more than alcohol?

The short form of Tradition Five says each group has but one primary purpose, to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers. If you want to stop drinking, you are inside that purpose, even when other drugs are also part of the wreckage. The newcomer page welcomes anyone with a desire to stop drinking. You do not have to pay. You do not have to sort every substance into a speech before you are allowed to take a chair and hear other people.

Can the group ask me to keep my share on drinking?

Yes. At open and closed meetings, discussion may be asked to stay on recovery from alcoholism. If the chair steers the hour that way, you can respect the request and still belong. You can say that alcohol is part of what you need to stop. You do not have to narrate every other drug to prove you are in the right building. If you want a meeting whose whole message is drug use, Narcotics Anonymous is a different fellowship.

When should I look at NA as well?

Look at NA when you want a room whose message is that an addict, any addict, can stop using drugs, lose the desire to use, and find a new way to live. That wording is NA's. NA says that when new members come, its sole interest is in their desire for freedom from active addiction and how the members can help. NA meetings are run by and for addicts, which is NA's own word. You can try A.A. and NA. Neither room replaces medical care.

Does Tradition Ten ban other drugs as an outside issue?

The short form of Tradition Ten says A.A. has no opinion on outside issues. That sentence does not say other drug use cancels a desire to stop drinking, and it does not hand the group a ban. Do not let anyone stretch it into one. What you may hear in the room is a request to keep discussion on alcoholism. If you need care for withdrawal, call 911 in a medical emergency, or 988 in a mental health crisis. A meeting cannot manage a dangerous stop.