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First of all, anyone who still smokes pot is always welcome in the rooms of AA. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. That said, it is our experience that “California soberity”, a.k.a. the “marijuana maintenance program” or plain simply smoking pot while sober is not effective sobriety.
So my understanding is that you can do anything you want and still be a member of AA, but if you’re using THC or psychedelics you won’t be seen as sober or be able to take a chip (in an honest way) even when you haven’t drank for a year.
- Overview
- What Is California Sober?
- Why Is a California Sober Lifestyle Controversial?
- Does Being California Sober Work?
- How Do Mental Health Practitioners View the Idea of Being California Sober?
- Benefits of Being California Sober
- Bottom Line
If you close your eyes and think of the word sobriety, your mind might wander to a room full of people discussing their addictions. There’s probably a mentor involved, there might be a coin that you receive at certain milestones, and the whole event is shrouded in a fair amount of anonymity. That’s the model we know, the abstinence-only 12-step model of sobriety practiced by groups like Alcoholics Anonymous since 1935.
But that pathway to a healthier relationship with substances like alcohol or drugs is not the only one. California Sober is a methodology that is coming to be known more and more in recovery circles. For some, it’s a lifeline; for others, it’s seen as blasphemy.
California sober is where someone in recovery abstains from so-called hard drugs like cocaine and heroin but continues to consume other substances, most commonly marijuana and alcohol. Proponents see it as a form of harm reduction, while opponents view it as the precipice of a slippery slope.
While there is limited research on the benefits of a California sober (or similar) lifestyle when compared to that of addictions research more broadly, there are many public discussions about the topic, sometimes led by celebrities. One of those stars, singer Demi Lovato, initially came out with a documentary series citing the lifestyle as core to their recovery.
“It's hard for someone who's trying to get sober to watch somebody else live out their fantasy.”
Those are the words of Bill Blaber CARC, CRPA, director of the recovery coaching program at Mountainside Treatment Center, who himself is in long-term recovery. He says that part of the reason the California sober lifestyle can be such a hot-button issue within recovery communities is that these journeys are not linear and not equal.
“The reason I think it's controversial is there's so many people out there who do need to be abstinent, right? And there's a little bit of envy, there's a little bit of judgment when they know that someone out there could be [California] sober,” says Blaber.
It's hard for someone who's trying to get sober to watch somebody else live out their fantasy.
— BILL BLABER, CARC, CRPA
Jason VanRuler (LPC-MH), a South Dakota-based counselor in private practice at Solomon Recovery who is in recovery and does drink alcohol on occasion, boils down the friction to the fundamental meaning of the term sober.
Blaber—who is adamant that California sober techniques fall well within the boundaries of harm reduction—says that a common misconception is that people following the framework are being cavalier about their substance use. He says that what is actually needed in order for success, like he’s seen with clients over his career, is a foundation and a direction.
“California sober isn't ‘Oh, I'm gonna use what I feel like it.’... there needs to be a plan, a wellness plan behind it,” says Blaber.
That plan involves being open and honest with people in your circle about the path you’re taking, given that relapsing is a very real risk no matter what stage of recovery you are in.
In VanRuler’s case, his consumption of alcohol is highly self-regulated. He will only drink on Friday and Saturday nights and does not consume more than two in any one evening. He says that it’s important for him to be continually in tune with his boundaries.
“If for some reason that would change and I'm no longer able to kind of follow these guidelines that I've set out for myself, I’d be done with alcohol.”
What to Expect From Drug and Alcohol Rehab Programs
Dr. Evan Espinosa, PsyD, a clinical psychologist and member of the leadership team at Recovia, says that being California Sober can have its benefits but that it can sometimes be harder than other forms of staying away from harmful substances.
“Because you really have to do a lot of deep diving on it yourself, your cravings, your triggers, your overall ability, and how you are maintaining progress towards your goals, as opposed to if you're just sober-sober, the answer's no to everything,” Espinosa explains.
Espinosa recommends his clients spend 30 days entirely sober from all substances so that they can identify these triggers, cravings, needs, and wants. From there, people can choose whether something like being California sober might be a good fit for them. He says methods like psychoeducation and motivational interviewing are ideal when it comes to supporting those in the early stages of recovery to ask things of themselves.
“How do you find [ways of] coping in your social self, your emotional self, your spiritual self, in your behaviors? Let's get you set up with a routine when your brain can get dopamine and serotonin from other more natural, healthy sources outside of just drugs,” Espinosa adds.
Thinking of exploring a California sober lifestyle? Here are some potential benefits and downfalls to consider:
Pros:
•It can be a gateway to recovery, a tool in the toolbox.
•It can allow you to reevaluate your relationship with substances individually rather than as a whole.
•It can ease the transition.
•It can keep you sober from the substances causing the most harm in your life.
Regardless of how you feel about the concept of being California sober, Gottlieb says it’s important to acknowledge that people in recovery are asking questions about it every day.
“[Last week] I was up in the mountains in Los Feliz having this very discussion with one person who was using marijuana and another person who was not, and I think it's very good to always open up a very important dialogue about it, as opposed to excluding and shutting the topic down altogether.”
VanRuler says that discussions around various methods of recovery can miss the point if they’re too prescriptive.
“I think we have to be careful because sometimes the reason people struggle with addiction is they feel they've never been seen, heard or had a voice," VanRuler starts. "And so if we say, Oh, I'm so sorry, you're struggling with that, now you just need to do all of these things. And we don't really care how you feel about it. Sometimes, I wonder if we're not just doing more of the same.”
As for Espinosa, he likens the reason he isn’t a one-method truther to a culinary metaphor.
“That'd be like me saying that the only way to make a spaghetti sauce is how my grandmother taught me," Espinosa says. "Well, no. there's tons of grandmothers, grandfathers out there, and people out there who make a damn good spaghetti sauce.”
Jun 12, 2024 · One year and three years later, 50% who joined AA on their own stopped drinking, but only a quarter in formal treatment stayed sober. After 8 years of tracking, 46% of those with professional help refrained from alcohol and drugs, while 49% of AA members remained sober.
The success rate of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is difficult to measure since it's subjective, but some studies have found that up to 70% of participants maintain sobriety for some period of time after completing the program.
Average member sobriety is slightly under 10 years with 36% sober more than ten years, 13% sober from five to ten years, 24% sober from one to five years, and 27% sober less than one year. Before coming to AA, 63% of members received some type of treatment or counseling, such as medical, psychological, or spiritual.
People also ask
Do AA members stay sober after a year?
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Many AA members made endless attempts to get sober trying everything from therapy, institutions, religions, and spiritual quest, locking themselves away from the temptations, stress, and trauma caused by their inability to stop on their own.
