No, we still don't have local meetings.

I receive several emails each week via the Moderation Management site regarding meetings in the Baltimore area.  The fact that people are interested in MM as a way to help them change their drinking habits is great, but I'm disappointed that most people don't respond when they find out there aren't any meetings yet.  Some say thank you and ask me to contact them when meetings become available and some don't respond at all.  If anyone out there has suggestions for how I can get the meetings started sooner, I'll willing to listen.  Please understand that although I'm a little bit frustrated, I'm saying this honestly and openly and I'm not trying to be sarcastic.

In this era of email, blogs, and social media, it seems silly to secure a place first and then just hope that people show up.  It would be different if I simply wanted to establish a new location for Alcoholics Anonymous.  After all, AA is well-established as it has been around for decades.  MM, on the other hand, is new to most people.  The whole concept of alcoholism as a disease which requires sufferers to quit drinking forever has become rather firmly ingrained in our society too.  Therefore, many people looking to learn moderation skills may be criticized by their families and their peers for looking for an excuse to keep drinking.  I dealt with this and I know it's tough; we want to show our loved ones that we are serious about making a change and that can be difficult if we are presenting an approach that seems new and controversial.  

To me, the logical introduction of MM to this area should occur in this order: 

1.  Present the basic fundamentals of the program online.  The main site directs people to me so that I may respond by introducing myself and encouraging discussion on this blog.  By the way, the comments section is available to anyone, so people do not have to sign in to Google+ in order to post comments.  At this point, the blog turns up in search results if you punch in "moderation management Baltimore." 

2.  Interest in MM grows as more discussion takes place on the blog.

3.  I secure a meeting room at a local school, library, or church basement.

If I move directly to Step 3, there is a strong possibility that I will be sitting in a room somewhere by myself or with one or two other people quite a few times before a core group of attendees becomes established.  I would love to have that much time on my hands, but I don't.  If I'm going to commit an hour of my week (more when considering travel time) I need to know that at least a couple of people will be showing up to the first few MM meetings.  

Like I mentioned before, some people may meet resistance with spouses and family members when they tell them they are attending MM as opposed to AA.  I could be wrong, but I think that this will make establishing a core group quite difficult at first.  I really think I'm being realistic here as opposed to pessimistic, but if anyone reading this feels differently, please speak up.  I'd love to hear from you!

Now that I've gotten the topic of live meetings out of the way, I'd like to talk about how change and acceptance happens gradually.  When certain laws and beliefs form the standards by which many of us live by for many years, change is difficult.  Any new movement or "paradigm shift" involving something such as the established "disease model" of alcoholism is going to occur slowly.  But a society can change its views over time.  Just look at what is going on with marijuana legislation.  After decades of prohibition, some states are changing legislation to allow for medicinal use.  Colorado has taken the helm as the pioneer state to allow recreational use.  

People are beginning to realize that some plant certainly isn't going to be the downfall of our society.  After all, those of us who are getting older tend to feel that our days of experimentation and partying are behind us (myself included).  So even if Seven Eleven started stocking every strain of wacky weed imaginable, we certainly would not rush out and stock up on it.  It would just be nice if people who already use it could just keep doing so without fear of criminal prosecution.  A black market never did anything for tax revenues, so it would definitely make sense for the state and federal governments to allow marijuana to be sold legally.  They may as well make some money off of a cash crop that find its way into the market regardless of its legality.  

Rather than continue along that tangent, however, I'll relate the shift of pot prohibition to the shift in how many people approach the concept of alcoholism and problem drinking.  As more people demonstrate success with Moderation Management, the program will become more mainstream and accepted.  Just as many Americans are realizing that legal pot won't turn us into a nation of potheads, many will also begin to recognize that problem drinking behaviors exist along a spectrum.  While some people may fail at alcohol moderation, the fact that others are successful with it will help others realize that accepting such a program will not turn us into a nation of shameless drunks.

If anyone out there reading this would like to get on board and help with the Moderation Management "movement," please let me know.  Even if you don't live in the Baltimore area, your thoughts are welcome here!