“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
261 - He went to addiction treatment ONCE and has been SOBER SINCE! Mike's story
260 - Gio had his spiritual experience inside prison: Recovery and Sobriety is possible no matter your situation!
259 - How Internalized Homophobia fueled his addiction and kept him from growing in his recovery: Ben Harrison
258 - Grag W. shares his comeback story from addiction!
257 - Hear from two licensed clinicians: How the family is impacted by addiction
256 - At 19 Years old Nick has an opportunity to totally transform his life!
255 - He moved 3,000 miles away to get SOBER!
254 - Addicted to Marijuana and Fitness: Jack tells his story
253 - Xanax: Does it really help with anxiety?
252 - Why bother getting sober? There is no reason to!
251 - 27 Treatment centers later: Anthony now has 3 years clean!
250 - Your Sober? HELP OTHERS!
249 - What it took for Billy G to finally get clean and sober
248 - Should you work in addiction treatment?
247 - 12 step people are CRAZY! Brian shares his sobriety story
246 - Can you meet your life partner in Rehab? we think not
245 - Loved ones: You are not helping....
244 - 2023: Are you living your legacy?
243 - Relapse after multiple years of sobriety: Tara shares her story
242 - RRT Christmas Special
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