The Drug Pamphlet Is Not the Door

You use other drugs, and someone put a pamphlet in your hand as if the paper were a sentence. You have been standing outside a meeting trying to decode it into a yes or a no. Your hands are unsteady, and the argument in your head is louder than the traffic.

Put the verdict down. The paper is Problems Other Than Alcohol, pamphlet P-35. It is Bill's thoughts on the status of drug addicts within A.A. His thoughts stay in the pamphlet. They are not quoted here, and his conclusion is not stated here. You do not have to finish his argument before you know which door to try tonight.

A thought in print is not a ruling

People have waved this pamphlet like a gavel. You may have been told it settles you. It does not. His conclusion stays in the pamphlet, for a day when you want his words in his order. Tonight you need a door, not a debate club.

There is also a short excerpt piece, F-8. The literature list marks those excerpts no charge. No charge means you are not buying a decision. The excerpts are not quoted here either. A thinner copy of the same thoughts is still not a ticket and still not a ban. Leave F-8 in the stack if all it has done is scare you.

If alcohol is part of what is hurting you, the door tonight is still a desire to stop drinking. That is the only requirement for A.A. membership. The desire can sit beside other drugs you have used. The line you can use is that membership line, and you use it when alcohol is part of this.

The meeting question, the one about what you say in the room and where else you might go, is already written. If You Use Other Drugs and Want A.A. is that page. Read it when you want the longer walk through the hour. Do not make P-35 do that job in the parking lot.

If the thing you need to stop is drugs

If the problem in front of you is drugs, Narcotics Anonymous carries a different message. In NA's own words, an addict, any addict, can stop using, lose the desire to use, and find a new way to live. When new members come, NA's sole interest is their desire for freedom from active addiction and how the members can help. That is the invitation NA actually makes. It is not a guess about what Bill decided, and it is not a rule this pamphlet failed to print.

You can look for an NA meeting the same night you stop arguing with P-35. How to find NA meetings is the practical page. You do not need his status essay in order to walk into that fellowship. You also do not need to pretend alcohol is absent if it is not. Name what is true for you, and use the door that matches it.

There are no dues or fees at an A.A. meeting while you figure the rest out. When alcohol is part of why you are there, the newcomer welcome still includes race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, income, and profession. That welcome is the newcomer line. It is not a rewrite of P-35.

Listening does not require a drug inventory

If you are going to an A.A. meeting because you want to stop drinking, you can listen. Introducing yourself is not mandatory. You need not join a prayer. You do not have to list every substance in the first five minutes to be allowed to hear other people. People share what drinking did, what they did to stop, and how they live now. The point of the hour is experience, strength, and hope.

Meetings are in person, online, or by phone. Video off is a real choice if you do not want to be studied. Closed meetings are for members, or for people with a drinking problem and a desire to stop drinking. Open meetings are for anyone interested, and nonalcoholics may attend as observers. aa.org is not a meeting finder. Use the meetings search and confirm the time. Those listings are not verified.

Your body is not waiting on the pamphlet

Call 911 if you are sick, confused, or cannot breathe. Call or text 988 if you are in a mental health crisis. NIAAA says alcohol withdrawal can be life-threatening when a person who drinks heavily over time stops suddenly. A leaflet cannot manage that. NIDA says mutual-help groups such as A.A. are peer-led, not led by healthcare professionals, and not a substitute for treatment. The hour is peer support, not detox. FindTreatment.gov lists programs. SAMHSA's National Helpline, 1-800-662-HELP (4357), is free, confidential, and available 24/7 in English and Spanish.

Use the door that matches tonight

If alcohol is part of this, take a desire to stop drinking into a meeting and listen. If the problem is drugs, take NA's message seriously and find that room. Leave P-35 unread until you want Bill's thoughts for their own sake. You do not owe anyone a ruling before you sit down somewhere people are trying to stop.

Call (800) 653-9376 if you need treatment; the call is free to you, treatment providers pay for the referral, the line is not an intergroup, and the line is not A.A., and it is not SMART Recovery.

Additional Resources

Sources cited on this page:

• A.A. World Services: 2025 Literature Catalog
• A.A.: The Twelve Traditions
• A.A.: What to Expect at an A.A. Meeting
• A.A.: Need help with a drinking problem?
• A.A.: Find A.A. near you
• Narcotics Anonymous: What is NA?
• NIDA: Treatment, including mutual-help groups
• NIAAA Core Resource: Alcohol Use Disorder, From Risk to Diagnosis to Recovery
• SAMHSA National Helpline
• SAMHSA FindTreatment.gov
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
• SmarterRecovery meetings page (public meeting search; listings are not verified)
• SmarterRecovery about page (calling is free to the caller)

Common Questions