Friends & Family
If you have a friend or loved one suffering from addiction to crystal meth, we hope this information will be helpful in providing support for you and your loved one.
Addiction is a progressive disease that affects the entire family structure. Modern recovery approaches deal with the family and friends as well as the addict. It is important NOT to shield the addict from the consequences of their using behavior (sometimes referred to as “enabling”). Not enabling the addict may help them become willing to seek help.
If you feel someone is having a medical crisis or emergency, please call 911. We are not a medical organization and cannot offer counseling or suggestions regarding the medical situations of family members and loved ones of addicts.
We recognize that there are limited resources of support for families and friends of addicts. If you are coping with the pain of having an addict in your life, there are various support programs available to you. We have listed information on a few of them below. Please note, our providing this information does not constitute our endorsement of, nor an affiliation with the institutions, programs or resources listed.
Al-Anon and Alateen: These two groups focus largely on the families and friends of alcoholics, but their materials can be helpful to the loved ones of addicts as well. They are a very large organization, therefore easier to find in many localities.
Nar-Anon is an organization for the family and friends of drug addicts.
You can also call your local hospital’s CDRU (Chemical Dependency Recovery Unit) and ask for referrals.
If you have an addict in your life, it may help to compassionately confront their use and set boundaries around their using behavior. Examples of this are “I find your drug use unacceptable” or “I won’t allow you around the kids while you are using,” etc.
It may help to remember that addicts are suffering from a progressive and potentially fatal disease. Modern medical thinking is that addiction is not a weakness, a lack of willpower or a moral failing. Addicts are sick people who can be effectively encouraged to get well, not bad people who need to be “good.”
Sadly, most addicts do not recover until they become willing to seek help; our experience has shown it is nearly impossible to “make someone recover.”
Crystal Meth Anonymous is a fellowship of people who share their experience, strength and hope with each other, so they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from addiction to crystal meth. For the addict we suggest laying a solid foundation with meetings and fellowship, sponsorship and step-work, service and commitments.