“I know people that have gotten clean and sober off of their drug of choice... and have tried this 'medical marijuana' aspect of it... and... I don't know of anybody that was able to stay that way and maintain sobriety after going down that road.” -Tom Conrad
Today, Ben and I are chatting about California Sober, brought to light recently by Demi Lovato on Joe Rogan's podcast, offering our opinions on it. While we aren't here to criticize how other people recover from addiction, as we are not witch burners, we just want to offer our opinions based on our own experiences being former addicts ourselves.
How We Ultimately Feel About California Sober
In her interview with Joe Rogan, Demi Lovato defines what she means by being California Sober, saying, “It's a term that a lot of people use to identify this path of moderation with the help of some green plants.” Our perspective on this is that that isn't going to work for everyone. We both agree that while marijuana isn't usually a gateway drug and wouldn't likely cause us to revert back to harder substances, it wouldn't likely have any benefit in our lives and would, in fact, likely hinder productivity. Give it a go if it works for you, but our experiences suggest that, again, it does not work for everyone.
How People Like Joe Rogan Have Misunderstood the Twelve Steps
The first step of the twelve steps is admitting that you are powerless in your addiction, and some people seem to confuse powerlessness with helplessness. If you were helpless, then there wouldn't be recovery programs. Being helpless refers to an inability to take action, but these programs offer things that you can do, ways to fix the problem. It isn't helplessness. In fact, if anything, it can actually be empowering.
Our Experiences and How They Shape Our Opinion on Marijuana Maintenance
We, for starters, have known people who have relapsed and even died of overdose after years of sobriety because they started smoking marijuana. Living in the Palm Beach County Area in Florida, we have also seen four local treatment centers adopt the marijuana maintenance treatment method. Two of them were actually shut down by the FBI and owners got arrested because of how addicts were being taken advantage of, one voluntarily shut down because of its clientele not being serious about actually wanting to recover, and, finally, someone that we know personally throwing in the towel on the program because of his perspective that it had absolutely no benefit to him.
What the Best Approach Is in Our Opinion
While, again, we are not witch burners and are not even against marijuana, there is absolutely nothing to support the idea that marijuana maintenance is a more effective treatment than abstinence based treatment. While marijuana maintenance (or California Sober) works for some, that doesn't seem to be the norm, so it is our belief that it is always better to completely abstain from illicit substances, that that's always the best approach.
Listen in and hear us discuss our experiences and how they shape our opinions on this topic. Be sure to check out our new website where you can download any episode along with other useful information for those in recovery.
Show Notes:
Episode Links and Resources
341 - A remarkable story of recovery: Keith has 15 years clean off drugs and is not looking back
340 - Hope for a Bright Future: Witness the Inspiring Journey of a Young Man's Sobriety
339 - All things Medically Assisted Treatment with Dr. T
338 - Her son overdosed and almost died: Bridgette shares how she is grateful for what she has went thru and the things that she has learned
337 - When should you quit smoking? Can you switch addictions? What cheese preference we have...
336 - ADHD and Addiction with Dr. Tambini
335 - Matt shares his story of recovery: Advocate for HIV awareness, helping others and finding God
334 - Dr. Pamela Tambini: New Edition to Real Recovery Talk
333 - Jared "Flash" Gordon: From shooting heroin to fighting in Madison Square Garden with the UFC
332 - Joey has just over 30 days clean and sober! Here is his story
331 - Attitude of Gratitude and why it is important!
330 - How fitness impacted his sobriety: Why community was so important for him: Jeremy P. shares his story of recovery
329 - What a proper intervention looks like: Adam Banks: Interventionist
328 - Staying Sober thru the holidays!
327 - Training for a 100 Mile Race: Sober 11 years after 6 Treatment attempts: Dom Shares his story of addiction, sobriety and fitness
326 - Shawn Co-Founder of LITT: Love in the Trenches
325 - Served as a US Marine: Struggling with Addiction: Transitioning into civilian life: Will Shares His story
324 - Joe and Charlie AA Tapes: Where does motivation come from?
323 - Ben Harrison: When to seek professional help while in recovery: How to navigate medication while sober
322 - Are you physically STRONG but emotionally WEAK?
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