Demi Lovato, Post Malone, Chris Stapleton, Billy Strings and Willie Nelson have all sung about being "California sober."
What does that mean — and is it any healthier than drinking alcohol?
You don’t have to be from California to be "California sober," but experts say you should know the risks associated with the lifestyle.
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It originates with the idea that people transition away from alcohol to a "safer" alternative using cannabis-based products, according to Dr. Cara A. Poland, addiction medicine doctor at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine.
Some who initially identified with the term now have a different take on what sobriety really means.
After a near-fatal drug overdose, singer and actress Demi Lovato openly shared her struggle with addiction and her own version of "California sober" in 2021, but later said she had realized "sober sober is the only way to be," according to reports.
"Users who aim for ‘Cali sober’ need to understand the medical and psychiatric risks of cannabis, as well as the problem of medicating away emotions and the increased risk of relapse to one’s drug of choice," Dr. Lori Karan, director of the addiction medicine fellowship at Loma Linda University in California, told Fox News Digital.
Journalist Michelle Lhooq is thought to have coined the phrase when she wrote a 2019 essay about moving from New York to California to "save herself" in an article for Vice.com, resolving to limit her drug use to only marijuana and psychedelics.
As marijuana was already legal in California at the time, she wrote, "I call this ‘Cali sober,’ a term some people also use when they quit everything but weed."
"‘California sober’ is generally a term used by people who are replacing a ‘more harmful’ substance with a ‘less harmful’ substance," said Poland.
"People should be cautious with this idea of replacing one substance for another, when both are known to cause substance use disorders and are not validated treatment options."
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People may 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 may also perpetuate the unhealthy relationship people develop with their substance(s) of choice.
"People use addictive substances to modulate how they feel without relying upon interactions with other people or events," Karan noted.
"Short-circuiting this feedback loop can cover up unresolved trauma, interfere with family and career, and cause emotional arrest."
Switching one drug for another ignores rather than resolves the underlying issues — so it is usually not a good long-term solution, according to Karan.
Previous research has linked alcoholic beverages to at least seven types of cancer, including the mouth, throat, voice box, esophagus, liver, colon and breast.
In 2019 and 2020, 72% of U.S. adults reported consuming one or more drinks per week, but less than half were aware of the link between alcohol and cancer risk, according to past studies.
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy recently issued a health advisory calling for warning labels on alcohol-containing beverages about the potential cancer risk, Fox News Digital previously reported.
"There is growing scientific evidence that no amount of alcohol is good for you," Poland cautioned.
Some say, however, that the current concept of sobriety cannot be a one-size-fits-all model.
While some people need full abstinence, others may find that cutting out alcohol but still partaking in some marijuana use helps them "stay balanced," according to Kim Gamez, founder of SOBER(ISH), an online marketplace that sells a hemp-derived, micro-dosed blend that can be added to any drink for a "relaxing buzz without alcohol."
Michigan-based Gamez shared that her mother battled alcoholism for years, where alcohol was the "real demon," but was able to achieve more balance in her life when she found hemp-derived products.
"Before we discovered hemp-derived beverages together, she often felt left out at social gatherings where drinking was the norm," she told Fox News Digital. "Now, with a hemp-infused cocktail in hand, she’s part of the party — without the risk, the regret or the relapse."
Gamez noted that this kind of choice isn’t about replacing one vice with another — it’s about finding a healthier alternative that works for the individual.
Karan warned that there is a lot of public misinformation about cannabis, with many unanswered safety questions — especially given the increased potency of today’s cannabis products compared with those of the 1970s.
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Humans naturally produce chemicals that are similar to the molecules in a cannabis plant, which move around the body and brain to help balance vital functions like 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.
"Cannabis can cause memory difficulties, paranoia, psychosis, nausea and vomiting, and a myriad of other problems," she cautioned.
Experts encourage people struggling with addiction, including alcohol use disorder, to first consult with their doctor for treatment options.
This often includes a combination of behavioral therapy and medications to reduce the risk of overdose, relapse and cravings.
There are currently three FDA-approved medications for alcohol use disorder: naltrexone, which dampens alcohol’s pleasurable effects; disulfiram, which makes people sick when they drink; and acamprosate, which restores the imbalance in the brain associated with alcohol withdrawal, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).
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Of the millions struggling with alcohol addiction, research shows that less than 10% who need the treatment actually get it.
Fox News Digital reached out to Demi Lovato’s team for comment.
from Health News Today on Fox News https://ift.tt/zcasJDr
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