Demi Lovato, after Malone, Chris Stapleton, Billy Strings and Willie Nelson all sang about being “California Sober.”
What does that mean – and is it healthier than drinking alcohol?
You don’t have to be from California to be “California Sober”, but experts say you need to know the risks related to the lifestyle.
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It originates from the idea that people move from alcohol to a “safer” alternative using cannabis products, according to Dr. Cara A. Poland, a physician for addicted medicine at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine.
“California sober” originates from the idea that people go from alcohol to a “safer” alternative using cannabis products. (istock)
Some who initially identified with the term now have a different take on what is really meant.
After a near-fatal drug surplus, singer and actress Demi Lovato openly shared her struggle with addiction and her own version of “California Sober” in 2021, but later said she noticed a “sober sober is the only way to be,” according to reports.
“Users who seek ‘Cali Sober’ need to understand the medical and psychiatric risks of cannabis.”
“Users who seek ‘Cali Sober’ need to understand the medical and psychiatric risks of cannabis, as well as the problem of medication of emotions and the increased risk of reappearing to one’s drug,” Dr. Lori Kara, director of the staff of addiction at Loma Linda University in California, Fox News digital.
What to know about ‘California Sober’
Journalist Michelle Lhooq is thought to have stamped the sentence when she wrote an essay from 2019 on relocation from New York to California to “save herself” in an article for Vice.com, resolving to limit her drug consumption to just Marijuana and psychedelic.
Because Marijuuan was already legal in California at the time, she wrote, “I call this” Cali Sober “, a term that some people use also when they leave all but grass.”
“There are growing scientific evidence that no amount of alcohol is pleasing to you,” one expert warned. (istock)
“‘California sober’ is generally a term used by people who replace ‘more harmful’ substance with a ‘less harmful’ substance,” said Poland.
“People need to be cautious with this idea to replace one substance for another, when it is known that both cause substance diseases and are not validated treatment options.”
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People can perceive a substance as less harmful, but the risk of adverse consequences on the body depends on how that substance affects the individual, Poland added.
The concept can also perpetuate the sick relationship that people develop with their substance (s).
Changing one drug for another is ignoring instead of solving the underlying problem-so is usually not a good long-term solution, one expert said. (istock)
“People use addicted substances to modulate as they feel without trusting interactions with other people or events,” Karan noted.
“A brief circuit of this feedback loop can cover an unresolved trauma, intermingle a family and career and cause emotional arrest.”
Changing one drug for another is ignoring instead of solving the underlying problem-so is usually not a good long-term solution, according to Karan.
Possible risks of alcohol
Previous research has linked alcoholic beverages to at least seven types of cancer, including the mouth, throat, vocal box, esophagus, liver, colon and chest.
In 2019 and 2020, 72% of US adults reported consuming one or more drinks a week, but less than half was aware of the connection between alcohol and cancer risk, according to past studies.
Experts encourage people struggling with addiction, including alcohol use of disorder, first consult with their doctor for medical choices. ((Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)))
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy recently released a healthy advice by calling for warning tags on drinks containing alcohol about the potential cancer risk, Fox News Digital reported.
“There are growing scientific evidence that no amount of alcohol is pleasing to you,” warned Poland.
Some say, however, that the current concept of sobriety cannot be a one-size-fits-fit model.
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While some people need full abstention, others may find that cutting alcohol but still participating in some marijuana use helps them “stay balanced”, according to Kim Gamez, founder of Sober (ISH), an online market that sells hemp-derived, micro-dose mix that can be added to some drink for “relaxed mouth without alcohol.”
Michigan Gamez shared that her mother fought against alcoholism for years, where alcohol was the “real demon”, but could reach more balance in her life when she found cannabis-derived products.
“Before we discovered cannabis-derived drinks together, she often felt abandoned at social meetings, where drinking was the standard,” she told Fox News Digital. “Now, with a hemp infusion cocktail in hand, she is part of the party, the risk, the regret or the reappearance.”
Gamez noted that this choice is not about replacing one vice with another – it is about finding a healthier alternative that works for the individual.
Possible risks of Marijuan
Dear warned that there is a lot of public misinformation on cannabis, with many unanswered security issues – especially considering the increased power of today’s cannabis products compared to those of the 1970s.
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People naturally produce chemicals similar to the molecules in a hemp plant that move around the body and brain to help balance essential functions such as learning, memory, sleep, pain and temperature control, according to Harvard Health.
More research is needed to fully understand the extent of this activity, Karan noted.
“Hemp can cause difficulties in memory, paranoia, psychosis, nausea and vomiting, and a myriad of other problems,” one expert warned. (istock)
“Hemp can cause difficulties in memory, paranoia, psychosis, nausea and vomiting, and a myriad of other problems,” she warned.
Experts encourage people struggling with addiction, including alcohol use of disorder, first consult with their doctor for medical choices.
This often includes a combination of behavioral therapy and medications to reduce the risk of overdose, reappearance and cravings.
“People use addicted substances to modulate as they feel without trusting interactions with other people or events.”
Currently, there are three FDA-approved medicines for alcohol disorder: nalt trex, which dampens the pleasant effects of alcohol; Disulfiram, who sick people when they drink; and Acamprosate, which restores the imbalance in the brain associated with an alcohol withdrawal, according to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).
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From the millions of struggling with alcohol addiction, research shows that less than 10%who need treatment actually receives it.
Fox News Digital reached Demi Lovato’s team for comment.
