While we strive to represent everyone in MA, regardless of how they identify, the R&A subcommittee focuses on supporting marijuana addicts from underrepresented and marginalized communities. If underrepresented and marginalized members of MA are better supported, and MA is made more accessible for disabled people, and people with other access needs, MA will be a better, safer, more welcoming place for all of its members, regardless of how they identify. But our focus has remained on those groups who because of a lack of representation or access, or being subjected to language used in a meeting format or by meeting members that is hurtful to them, without the other folks in the meeting realizing it (such as gendered language) can experience feelings of exclusion, lack of safety, and a lack of representation in MA to the point that it prevents them from attending MA meetings and threatens their recovery.
For example, a disabled person who has an access need that the meeting does not meet (like closed captioning on a virtual meeting) may feel uncomfortable asking for it, so they might never attend a MA meeting again instead of asking for accommodations for their disability, so being as accessible as is reasonably possible before someone requests it will make MA more welcoming for anyone with any type of accommodation need or disability so they can feel safer making a request if they require different accommodations, especially if they see other accommodations being made.
For some, not seeing others like themselves represented in MA, or being treated differently for talking about how their typically underrepresented identity relates to their recovery, or hearing unintentionally hurtful language in a meeting format or from meeting members, or a lack of accessibility, can even prevent some marijuana addicts from even attending any meetings and starting their recovery with MA. This is because someone who is considering recovery may assume MA is not the place for them and that they won’t feel welcome or be represented in meetings because of what they may hear from others in their community who have attended MA meetings and felt underrepresented or excluded, or read about MA, or something they even see about the meeting on the meeting finder.
To knowingly permit and ignore such potentially exclusionary behaviors (however unintentional they may be) that keep marijuana addicts from finding recovery in MA goes against the spirit of our Fifth Tradition, which states that our “primary purpose is to carry the message to the marijuana addict who still suffers.” So our goal in all we do is to make MA a better place for underrepresented and marginalized communities in furtherance of the Fifth Tradition so that we can better carry the message of recovery to more marijuana addicts in need!
The R&A subcommittee tries to attend meetings/groups throughout the fellowship to introduce ourselves, and see how we can help the meeting/group with issues like safety, representation, and accessibility. But another important aspect of visiting groups/meetings is to notice who is not present in any MA meetings, including our own subcommittee meetings, other committee meetings, or even in meetings formed by and for members from underrepresented communities. By doing so, we can work on ways to better carry the message to those marijuana addicts who have yet to find MA, or are not staying in MA, so that they too can get the message of recovery!
However you identify, we would love to hear from you. There are no requirements for membership or participation in the R&A subcommittee, and everyone’s feedback and perspective is appreciated and valued!