Crystal Meth Anonymous (CMA) is a California-based non-profit, public-benefit corporation founded in 1994. The members of the fellowship of Crystal Meth Anonymous work a twelve-step program of recovery with recovering crystal meth addicts. Participants in local groups meet in order to help others recover from methamphetamine addiction. CMA advocates complete abstinence from methamphetamine, alcohol, inhalants, and all other psychoactive drugs not taken as prescribed.
CMA was founded on September 16, 1994 in West Hollywood, California by Bill C., a member of the 12 step recovery community in Los Angeles for over two decades at the time. The first group held its first meeting at the West Hollywood Alcohol and Drug Center. , CMA had a presence in over 100 metropolitan areas of the United States, as well as parts of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Iran. The first CMA World Service Conference was held in Park City, Utah in October 2008, during which the CMA Conference Charter was adopted. The purpose of the conference is to bring together elected delegates from CMA groups from across the world to meet as guardians of the world services and of the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of CMA, the same Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions followed by Alcoholics Anonymous. The conference does not act as a governing body of CMA, but rather as the service body for the organization.
At the first General Service Conference, the delegates adopted that:
<blockquote> The Fellowship of Crystal Meth Anonymous works a Twelve Step program of recovery. We have not felt the need to elaborate in great detail a specific CMA approach to the Twelve Steps: too many other excellent outlines already exist for following these spiritual principles. But our experience has shown that without the Steps we could not stay sober. </blockquote>
As of 2026, CMA has approximately 863 meetings across 17 countries and 44 US states and territories.
CMA has a single requirement for membership: "a desire to stop using." There are no dues or fees for membership; the organization is self- supporting through voluntary contributions from its members.
Members themselves determine their addiction status. CMA explicitly states that "only you can answer that question. No one in Crystal Meth Anonymous will tell you whether you're an addict or not."
CMA is not affiliated with any religion, sect, denomination, political group, organization, or institution. The fellowship neither endorses nor opposes any causes, focusing solely on its primary purpose of helping members achieve and maintain sobriety from methamphetamine and other substances.
CMA's program of recovery is based on the Twelve Steps originally developed by Alcoholics Anonymous, adapted for crystal meth addiction. The fellowship adopted these steps, stating: "The Fellowship of Crystal Meth Anonymous works a Twelve Step program of recovery. We have not felt the need to elaborate in great detail a specific CMA approach to the Twelve Steps: too many other excellent outlines already exist for following these spiritual principles."
The Twelve Steps guide members through a process of personal transformation: acknowledging powerlessness over addiction, turning to a Higher Power as each member understands it, taking a personal moral inventory, making amends for past harms, and carrying the message to others who still suffer. Working the steps is suggested but not required for membership. They are designed to bring about what AA literature describes as "an entire psychic change" or spiritual awakening that enables lasting recovery.
Members are encouraged to find an experienced fellow recovering addict, called a "sponsor," to help them understand and follow the twelve-step program. A sponsor is typically someone who has worked through all twelve steps themselves and who shares their own experience, strength, and hope rather than imposing personal views. Sponsors help newcomers navigate the challenges of early recovery, though finding and working with a sponsor is suggested rather than mandatory. Following the helper therapy principle, sponsors often benefit from their relationships with sponsees, as helping others reinforces their own recovery.
CMA meetings provide a space where members share their experience, strength, and hope with each other to maintain sobriety and help others recover. Meeting formats are determined by each group's autonomy, but most follow a common structure: opening readings (often including the Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions, or a CMA preamble), member sharing about their recovery experiences, and closing statements with an optional group prayer or affirmation. A voluntary contribution basket is passed in keeping with the Seventh Tradition, by which groups are self-supporting. A core principle emphasized at meetings is anonymity: what is shared in meetings is confidential and stays within the meeting space. A full list of meetings can be found on the CMA Website (https://crystalmeth.org/meetings).
CMA operates a helpline at 1-855-METH-FREE (1-855-638-4373) to provide information and support to those seeking help with methamphetamine addiction.
In 2002, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimated 12 million people, age 12 and over, had used methamphetamineâÂÂ600,000 of which were estimated to be current usersâÂÂwith a growth rate of approximately 300,000 new users per year. In 2005, a Los Angeles clinic estimated that one out of three gay or bisexual HIV-positive men admitted to using methamphetamine. Methamphetamine lowers a user's inhibitions, increasing the likelihood of engaging in unprotected sex and sharing needles. In large metropolitan areas, such as Atlanta, Chicago, Miami and Washington, D.C., many CMA groups are designated as gay, or are ' gay. As CMA's popularity grew, the growth of meetings spread to large non-gay communities such as those in Phoenix and Minneapolis.
A self-selected study limited to men who had sex with other men, used meth, and attended CMA, showed that, after three months of participation in CMA, participants reported their number of sexual partners had fallen from seven to less than one, and self-reports of unprotected anal intercourse when using methamphetamine fell by two-thirds. In a six-month follow-up, 20% had used it again once and 64% had remained abstinent.