Sample Inventory Questions

• What does honesty mean to our group? Why is it important?
• How can we see honesty at work in our group and amongst our members?
• How well does our group embody and/or adhere to the principle of honesty? 
• Are our trusted servants honest? Are our members honest?
• Can members be honest about their concerns, especially in business meetings?

• What does hope mean to our group and why is it important?
• What can we do to encourage the principle of hope to flourish in our group?
• How well does our group embody the principle of hope?
• Do we provide hope to members?
• What else could our group do to bring the principle of hope to our fellowship?

• What does faith mean to our group and why is it important?
• How can we see faith at work in our fellowship?
• What can we do to encourage the principle of faith to flourish in our group?
• How well does our group embody the principle of Faith?

• What does courage mean to our group? Why is it important?
• How does our group embody the principles of courage?
• Do we demonstrate courage to members?
• Do members have courage to share in meetings? 
• What can we do to better support prayer and courage in our group?
• Are there other ways to support the principle of courage?

• What does integrity mean to our group?
• What are ways we see integrity at work? 
• Do our group’s trusted servants embody integrity? Do our members?
  • If not, how can our trusted servants and members better embody integrity in our group?

• What does willingness mean to our group?
• How is willingness seen at work in our group?
• Do our Trusted Servants model willingness? 
• Are members willing to be of service in both “tedious” roles, e.g. tech support, or kitchen clean-up for in-person meetings, and other types of service roles, such as Secretary/Chairperson?

• What does humility mean to our group?
• How can we see humility at work in our group? 
  • How has showing humility and placing principles before personalities helped our meeting?
• How does humility, or a lack thereof, affect our ability to carry the message? Attract and retain newcomers? 
• How does humility help our group to place “principles before personalities” and why is that important?
  • Are there ways members and Trusted Servants could both better embody the principle of humility?

• What do love and forgiveness mean to our group?
• How can we see love and forgiveness at work in our group? 
• Are there ways we could better support the principles of love and forgiveness? How so? 
• Why is having love and forgiveness important to our group and our primary purpose of carrying the message of recovery?

• What does justice mean to our group?
• How can we see justice or amends at work in our group?
• Do members make amends to one another when appropriate? 
• How can we encourage justice and amends in our group, and why is it important to do so?

• What does perseverance mean to our group? Why is it important? 
• How can we see perseverance at work in our group? 
• Are there ways we can encourage or otherwise facilitate the principle of perseverance in our Group?

• What does spiritual awareness mean to our group? Why is it important to us?
• How can we see spiritual awareness at work in our group? 
• Are there ways we can encourage spiritual awareness in our group, since MA is a spiritual program?

• What does service mean to our group and why is it important?
• Do we have strong “Service Sponsorship” in our group to encourage members to be of service by learning from the outgoing trusted servant? 
• Do trusted servants burn out and stop attending the meeting or stop being of service once their commitments end (or before they end?) Why? How can we prevent this?
• Do we encourage sponsorship in our group? How? How can we better encourage this form of service in our fellowship? Do we provide any support to our sponsors?
  • Some districts have a sponsors meeting for sponsors to share about their experiences being sponsors and seek support from other sponsors.
• Do our group’s members stick around and continue to serve, or do they leave our group once they’ve been sober for a while?
  • If they leave MA after being sober a while, why do you think this is? What do you think can be done to encourage longer time members to stay in MA and value service and giving back to MA where they got sober by attending meetings, sharing, taking service roles at all levels, sponsorship and service sponsorship, outreach to newcomers and more? 
• How can we encourage the principle of service in our group?

• Does our group put the interests of any individual above the welfare of the group or of MA as a whole? 
• Does our group prioritize “MA unity?” How?
• What does MA Unity mean to our group/meeting? How has our group been able to be autonomous while still prioritizing our common welfare and MA unity?  
• Does our group/meeting do anything that could jeopardize “MA unity” and “our common welfare?”
• How does our personal recovery benefit from MA unity?

• Does our group do anything that misrepresents the conscience of the majority of the group? 
• Do our leaders govern? Is there a healthy rotation of service?

• Does our group exclude anyone with a “desire to stop using marijuana” from attending the group, either expressly or implicitly? Do we make all feel welcome?
  • Closed meetings for women, men, POC, LGBTQIIA+ members or members who share other characteristics are consistent with MA’s Traditions, provided all members who share those characteristics with a desire to stop using marijuana are allowed to attend. 
• Does our group have cliques that may make members feel less welcome than others?
• Do we allow cross-talk that could make some members feel left out if their share is not referred to like others, and make them feel less welcome than others? 
  • Meetings are autonomous to permit, limit, or prohibit cross talk but it’s important to understand the reasons the group has decided to allow or prohibit or otherwise limit cross-talk and the effects that may have on members and the group unity.
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• Does our group do anything that does not conform to MA principles and affects other groups or MA as a whole? 
• How does our group balance Fourth Tradition autonomy with First Tradition’s emphasis on “MA unity?”
• Does our group adhere to MA’s Intellectual Property policies that affect MA as a whole? See SM Ver. 8.1, Ch 14, pg. 47 for MA’s IP Policies or email [email protected].

• Does our group do anything that conflicts with our carrying the MA message to marijuana addicts who want a way out from their marijuana problem? 
• How effectively does our group carry the message?
• Are we carrying the message to a wide-range of addicts from our community, or do we only seem to attract certain types of people?

• Does anything we do affiliate, endorse or bind the group, actual or implied, to any related facility or outside enterprise? 
• Does our group have a website or social media site that uses the MA logo in conjunction with other trademarks or organizations names or logos?
• Do we have a group or meeting website with ads that could be considered an implied affiliation or endorsement?

• How is the group fulfilling its responsibility to the Seventh Tradition?
• What does the group use Seventh Tradition funds for?
• Does the group receive donations from anyone other than an MA member?
• Does the group make donations to the District or Region? World Services?
• Does our group pay for all of its own expenses/is our group fully self-supporting? Or does the district pay some expenses, e.g. rent or Zoom fees?

• Are there any fees besides meeting expenses being charged for any “12 Step” work, i.e., for fellowship, sponsoring, step work, counseling?

• Is there a governing individual or exclusive group authority that dictates organization to our group? 
• Do we rotate service commitments, or is one individual or a small group the “exclusive” or final group authority that dictates how our meeting/group is organized, such as about our format, our service structure, etc.?
• Is our group “so and so’s” meeting, such that one individual takes exclusive ownership over the group and how it’s structured, i.e. format, service structure etc.

• Does our group do anything that publicly states an opinion or takes sides on any issues or controversy that are outside of MA?
• Do we provide members advice on issues such as detox, CHS, mental health or other medical issues, or do we simply share our own experience, strength and hope on these topics?
• Does our meeting/group have and express an opinion  on issues like CBD or do we again only share each of our own experiences on such matters?
• Have members of our group misused the “outside issues” language from the 10th Tradition  to try and silence members from speaking about their own personal experiences and how their recovery has been effected (e.g. race, gender, sexuality, etc.)? Or is it only used to limit taking sides publicly as a group on outside issues.
  • Members are free to share their own personal experiences, Trad. 10 prohibits only the group/meeting from publicly expressing an opinion on such outside issues. Members are free to share their experiences on these issues (e.g. race, sexuality, gender, CBD, detox, CHS, mental health, etc.) so long as it remains limited to their own experiences and how those issues relate to their recovery. 

See MA12.org/safety pg.8-10 for more on Tradition 10 “outside issues,” why closed meetings for members who share characteristics do not violate any Traditions, and why Trad 10 should not be used to silence members from sharing about what might be considered “outside issues” as they relate to their recovery.

• At the general public level, does the group publicize any individual MA member’s name or picture as a self-appointed representative of MA?
• Do we protect members’ anonymity? How so?
• Is the phone list used solely for fellowship and recovery-related purposes, and not misused to harass, flirt, seek romantic or sexual relationships, or advertise a personal product or service to members?
• Does our phone list (or the announcement made with it) contain language about the proper use of the phone list? See MA12.org/meetingformats for suggested phone list language.

• Does our group give personal distinction to any MA member either among fellow addicts, or the general public, that puts their opinions above the conscience of the group or MA as a whole? 
• Does our group seek to place “principles before personalities” particularly during business meetings or meetings such as this one which could become heated without this guiding principle? Or does the loudest voice dominate meetings and discussions particularly business group conscience meetings?
• Why does it mean to you when Tradition 12 states that anonymity is the “spiritual foundation” of all MA traditions? What about it is “spiritual” and why is it considered the “spiritual foundation” of all the other Traditions?

• Does the meeting/group hold regular business meetings?
  • MA World Services has suggestions and resources for hosting business meeting sma12.org/businessmeetings 
• Does the meeting/group send a representative to the local District (or Region) Service Committee meeting? (GSR)
• Does the group regularly talk about how to better fulfill MA’s primary purpose “to carry the message” of recovery to the addict who still suffers?
• After paying expenses, does the group have enough money to conduct other services on its own that are in furtherance of carrying the message?
  • Does the meeting/group contribute money on a regular basis to the DSC and/or World Services?

• Does your Group Service Representative regularly take part in District Service Committee (DSC) meetings? 
  • Does the group have any way of letting the local DSC know whether it is meeting the group’s needs? How?  
• How frequently is your group consulted on service matters by the DSC? MA World Services?
  • Do you want to be consulted more often? Less often? Only on specific topics? Like what?

• What does your meeting/group think about the concept of delegated authority? 
• If your meeting/group were consulted on every decision that had to be made by every service board, committee, or subcommittee at the District or World Services level, would you still have enough time and energy to address your own group’s business? 

• Who participates in your meeting/group’s business meetings? Why? 
  • Are there any differences in the way members participate in service committee meetings and in a subcommittee meeting? Why, or why not? 
• What does it mean to “bear substantial responsibility” for the Service Committee’s decisions? 
  • Do all members “bear substantial responsibility “for the MA services delivered? 
  • Do all members in your meeting/group or district/region’s service committees (i.e. DSC meetings or any District committees, i.e. H&I or Events) “bear substantial responsibility” for the Service Committee’s decisions? How so? If not, why not?
• What does it mean for all members to have a “Right of Participation” in a Service Committee?
  • Are all members of the service committees in your group or district permitted to participate in the service committee’s decision making process? How so? Why or why not? 
  • Do all members of the DSC or other committees in your group or district actually participate in the committee’s decision making process? How so? If not, why not?

• What do we mean when we say that MA is a “spiritual” program? 
• How does the practice of the 5th Concept help us focus on “principles, not personalities” when we make service decisions?
• In what way is group conscience distinct from our decision-making processes? 
  • Is “group conscience” just MA ‘s way of saying “voting”? If not, how is it different?
  • What makes a spiritual decision making process? 
  • In what way is group conscience a fundamental part of that process?  
  • Does a spiritual program approach the decision-making process differently than other organizations? How so?

• Why is it important to make sure all viewpoints are considered when making decisions about the group/meeting or district?  
• Does your group/meeting consider the minority opinion in its decision-making process? How so? If not, explain. How can this be remedied? 
• How does your group/meeting or district allow for a “right of appeal?” Have you ever been afraid to speak your conscience in service meetings? If so, why?  
• How do you know when it’s time to speak up against a decision of the majority? When it’s time to accept a decision and surrender to group conscience?

• Do our group’s service positions have written descriptions to define the scope of responsibility for each position?
• Do we provide service sponsorship, service position training, service member group chats, or other resources to help new trusted servants be of service?
• Does the meeting/group assign particular tasks to particular people?
• Are members willing to volunteer for service? Is there a lack of willingness? How can that be remedied?

• What is the real foundation of MA leadership? 
• What are the skills and personal traits we seek when selecting trusted servants? 
• Does your meeting/group have leaders? 
• Could your meeting/group do without leaders?
• Does this meeting/group allow a rotation of leadership? How often?  
• What does MA leadership have to do with recovery? With selfless service?

• How would it limit our group/meeting from fulfilling our primary purpose (to carry the message of recovery) if we had to manage and conduct the business aspects of MA as embodied in the Articles, Bylaws and Conference Charter amongst just our group/meeting? 
• How does it help our group that World Services has a group of volunteers (and paid special workers) dedicated to performing the day-to-day tasks of managing World Services’ business that might otherwise overwhelm our group/meeting (or district?)
• Does our group/meeting know how to contact the MA World Services’ Board of Trustees if it needs to regarding World Service business? 
  • Contact [email protected] and they will direct your question to the appropriate person. 

The Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, and Conference Charter can be found in the Service Manual available at MA12.org/SM 

• How does regular communication support the other Concepts for Service? 
• Does the meeting/group maintain regular communication from the trusted servants, service boards, and committees that serve it, such as the DSC/RSC? MA World Services? 
  • How has this communication, or lack of it, affected your meeting/group? District/region?  How can it be improved? 
  • Does your group send a GSR to the DSC/RSC? Why or why not? 
• Does the District have delegate(s) they send to the annual MA World Services’ business Conference to vote on agenda items and other important MA business matters? If not, why? 
  • Visit https://mawsconference.org/  to learn more about the Conference.
• Does your District’s delegate (or another trusted servant) report on MA World Services’ business throughout their one-year term? Prior to the Conference on Conference Agenda items? 
  • Is your group/meeting polled on Conference Agenda items prior to the MA World Service Conference (typically held at the end of May?) Does your District’s delegate report back to your group/meeting about the Conference and results of Conference Agenda Items?
• Does your group share “pitch points” or other announcements at each meeting about District or Region business? About MA World Services business?
  • Announcements from MA World Services can be received directly through the newsletter “Carry the Message” Sign-up: MA12.org/CTM 
  • Do members of our group/meeting know about and how to register to attend the annual fellowship Convention? 
• Are members of the group subscribed to the “A New Leaf,” MA’s monthly literary publication (which is now digital and free)? Are members of the group familiar with and subscribed to “Daily Dose” MA’s new daily e-mail with excerpts from MA’s daily reader “Living Every Day with Hope?”
  • MA12.org/New-Leaf and MA-Daily-Dose.org to subscribe & submit 
  • Do members of the group submit content and sobriety anniversaries to A New Leaf either directly, or through a District “ANLP Liaison” (formerly “ANLP Bureau Chief?”)

• How are 7th Tradition contributions used in your group?
  • Does your group have standing budget priorities, or does it handle finances month-to-month?
  • Does the District/Region pay any group expenses, such as rent or Zoom fees? How does that affect whether your group adheres to this Concept for Service and/or the Traditions?
  • Does your group collect enough contributions to be self-supporting?
• Are MA funds well accounted for in your group? If not, what kinds of financial reports would you like to see instead?
  • Do you know of instances where MA money has been spent frivolously at the group level? What was “frivolous” about the way that money was spent? How should it have been spent instead?
• Does your group depend on MA fundraisers for a significant portion of its income? Is that wise? How does it affect your group’s relationship to the District/Region?

• What does “selfless service” mean?
• What is it about MA’s primary purpose and its spiritual identity that says “our structure should always be one of service, never of government?” 
• What spiritual concepts are utilized in our service structure?
• Is your meeting/group’s service structure one of service, or one of government? What is the difference?