About

What is Addicts NOT Anonymous?

Do you, your child, brother, sister or friend use or abuse drugs? Or are you already addicted? Are you at the point where you don’t know what to do? 

Addicts Not Anonymous is the premier non-anonymous online community of drug users, abusers, addicts and alcoholics. We can help an addict like only another addict can. We know how to get and stay clean. We've been there and done that.

I am NOT a Nameless, Faceless, Anonymous Nobody!

I know I’ve been there. I was addicted to heroin for almost twenty years. Not to mention all the other drugs, including methamphetamines, cocaine, even crack that I’ve been addicted to. Not to mention all the pot I smoked every day my entire life since I was 15 years old. I have been to prison twice, to in-house treatment programs twice, to  countless outpatient treatment programs, including AA, NA, CA and other A's. I was forced into some and volunteered for others, but none of them worked for me. Personally, I never liked being a nameless, anonymous number, essentially a nobody.

We may may be addicts. We may have done some terrible things to get our drugs. But we are NOT nameless, faceless, anonymous nobodies. We are not Social Security Numbers, drivers license numbers or prison numbers. We are people, with needs, wants, hopes and dreams like everyone else.

I am somebody!

The Alternative to Traditional 12-Step Programs

The cloak of anonymity makes it hard for people who are seeking treatment to get the lowdown on rehab programs; it's often hard to determine, for instance, if a program is run by 12-step group members who believe that their way is the only way. Preserving anonymity has also been used as a reason not to conduct research on the effectiveness of 12-step programs — even though research participants in all studies remain anonymous anyway. (More on TIME.com: The Addiction Files: How Do We Define Recovery?)

Lately, more and more people have been speaking out against the Anonymous Concept associated with AA, NA and other similar 12 Step Programs. For more on this, check out my article, Are Addicts Ready to Shed their Anonymity and Face Society with their Names?.

I have found that most people need the affirmation and acknowledgement associated with success, thus wanting to attach their names to their achievements, me included. This doesn't mean they don't ever want to do something for someone else without receiving recognition or reward, but sometimes one needs a pat on the back, if for nothing else but to reassure ourselves that we are on the right track. 

If people didn't need rewards, they wouldn't have invented awards!

Yes, I want to put my name on my articles, and so do most people, as it is only natural for people to get credit for what they have done. However, this works in both the positive and the negative, as for the first time in my adult life I have taken responsibility for my actions. 

By shedding the anonymous, we are now also accountable for everything we do. Which, I believe is the way it should be. And which is also a very important and necessary step in addiction recovery.

I also never liked their strict, rigid and stubborn program, with no room for compromise, much less tolerance.

I have said for a very long time that the world needs more alternatives to 12-step groups so that those in recovery can have more choices. After giving lip service about this for quite some time, I finally realized that "if it was to be, it was up to me!" In response to this realization I founded Addicts NOT Anonymous.

It is my intention, with Addicts NOT Anonymous, to build a support network based on tolerance, acceptance and understanding around shared experiences, rather than a rigid, inflexible program of rituals, traditions and secrecy. 

If you would like to get involved with Addicts NOT Anonymous, no matter if you would like to help build the planned addictsnotanonymous.org website, help with the projected forum and possible chat-room, by writing articles and or stories, or by helping with the always much needed funding, please contact me at tomretterbush@gmail.com

I am not sure how it will play out, but I have witnessed that people who have shared experiences with great emotional impact tend to bond over them, and stick together in a natural support network.

~ Tom 

Tom Retterbush
September 6, 2011
San Antonio, Texas

Drugs don't Cause Addiction, People Do

And so you understand where I’m coming from and where I stand, although I am and always will be an addict, I don’t believe that drugs in themselves are necessarily evil. Drugs don't cause addiction, people do. Nobody has ever become instantly addicted to a drug. Nobody. There are those who will claim that they took one hit or one shot and were hooked, but they merely liked the feeling enough so that they wanted to use the drug again. This is a long way from addiction.

I believe all drugs should be legalized, particularly however, marijuana. This would take the criminal factor out of the equation and stop addicts from also being criminals. It would give addicts more incentive and opportunity to get help.

And the legality factor by side, there are people that can use drugs recreationally, experimentally, spiritually and medically without ever developing a problem with addiction. If people are allowed to drink alcohol, they should be allowed to use drugs. It’s a matter of personal preference. It is a matter of choice. It’s a matter of freedom!

Now that you know where I stand, let me and others involved in Addicts NOT Anonymous help you or your loved one get clean…

Read the articles and stories, write and submit your own articles and stories, watch the videos and get involved. What do you have to loose, but an addiction?

~ Tom 

Tom Retterbush
September 4, 2011
San Antonio, Texas

PS: If you have a comment about my stance on drug policy, philosophy, write about it with a comment bellow, my Addicts NOT Anonymous readers and I would love to read all about it.