Originally Posted by
alaek 
Thank you so much for this. It's really what I needed. I haven't read the Big Book yet, not sure why, but I really appreciate this passage. Could you tell me where in the book it is? But yes, I agree, true friends wouldn't try to convince me I don't have a problem... So then, do I have to make the decision to let go of those friends? Or do I forgive them because they are simply in denial of their own problem themselves?
There is a guy in my circle of friends who used to be a biggest pothead, smoking weed morning to night everyday and then all of a sudden he stopped. He never gave a concise, detailed and clear explanation why even though I've asked several times. He just shrugs it off giving a simple answer like "I just don't want to anymore". He still hangs out with the same friends and have been offered a joint on countless of occasions and always passes. It's been now a couple years since he's been pot-free and it didn't occur to me until I read your post that perhaps he knows he was an addict, made a commitment to stop, but his friends around him (including myself) don't fully understand why because his explanations didn't fully sink into all of us. We just couldn't grasp the concept because pot (and booze) have become so mainstream in our culture. I think if he would have sat us down and explained in detail the way you had explained it, as friends we would have respected that and would consciously make better efforts not to smoke Around him or keep buggin him about his decisions to quit. Thanks for that eye opener so I can be a better friend.