A New Assessment of “California Sober”

In 2021, when singer/actor Demi Lovato helped ignite the "California Sober" craze after saying in a TV interview that they were a devotee of the practice, there was plenty of cautionary pushback from addiction experts like me. Not so fast, we said; this method to reduce or control your drug intake is actually quite dangerous for people with addiction.

Now that the Cali Sober fad has died down somewhat, the pushback against it has as well. That inevitably provides space for the practice to become normalized, to become an accepted part of the “This works for me!” testimonial propaganda around addiction.

That’s not a good situation. Time for some new pushback based on my expertise in addiction psychiatry and brain chemistry.

What California Sober Is

Definitions of California Sober vary, but the most consistent is to give up alcohol and any other highly addictive drug, such as heroin or meth, and switch to marijuana, preferably in small amounts. It’s a page out of the harm-reduction playbook: You’re not abstinent, but you’re using a less-addictive, less-destructive drug in manageable quantities that you can control. This is with the idea that the rest of your life is manageable as well, and not spinning out of control as with full-blown addiction.

The “Marijuana Is Totally OK” Fallacy

One of the key flaws of the Cali Sober approach is that it's based on the recent reputational revival of marijuana—that it’s fine, harmless, doesn’t hurt your brain, isn’t that addictive, and even has medicinal qualities.

The fact is, marijuana can damage your brain, especially in young people whose brains are still developing (this happens until age 25 or so), and it can be quite addictive.

Here are three important things to know about marijuana:

1. It’s a gateway drug. In the addiction treatment field, we’ve seen a lot of teens developing cannabis use disorder in the last few years. They often vape it, which is an easier way to use it, often in concentrated form (i.e., more addictive). And it can prime the brain to respond addictively to other drugs. Marijuana also has been known for years to “switch on” certain genes that lead to schizophrenia or serious mood disorders in young people.
2. It’s more powerful now. In the 1990s, marijuana’s average THC concentration was about 4 percent. (Note: The THC part is what gets you high; the CBD part is what makes you relaxed.) By 2017, the average THC concentration in marijuana in this country had reached more than 20 percent. No surprise, this level of potency is more addictive.
3. It’s especially risky for kids. According to research, people who begin using marijuana regularly before age 18 are four to seven times more likely to develop cannabis use disorder than people who start using as adults. This is especially bad news for Cali Sober practitioners, as so many of them are underage.

A Case of Wishful Thinking

The biggest problem of all with the Cali Sober approach is that—for people with real addiction issues—it’s not going to work! It may seem like you’re more in control of your using, especially at first, but addiction is a progressive disease. It almost always keeps getting worse until the person unravels altogether.

If you have tried Cali Sober, or know someone who has, and it seems to be working, that likely means you or your acquaintance may not have true addiction in the first place. At least not yet. But if and when you get there, my concern is that Cali Sober isn’t going to help.

Falling for the Hype, and Hope, Is Understandable

To young people reading this post, I’m sure I sound like a buzz kill (!) in arguing against the Cali Sober approach, but that’s my job, and the facts are on my side.

Bottom line is, Cali Sober doesn’t cut it for those who are addicted. What we know about addiction psychiatry and brain chemistry doesn’t support it. And there have been no legitimate, peer-reviewed studies that have backed it up.

So I urge anyone who is tempted by California Sober to instead try a proven approach to sobriety. There are many that work well, and all of them are abstinence-based.

As Demi Lovato now says: “Sober sober is the only way to be.”