The Potential Health Benefits of Going ‘California Sober’
Experts are cautious about touting benefits of the California sober approach, since it’s not right for everyone and can come with its own risks, Marino says. But if used as an attempt to reduce or reassess substance use, it may be a reasonable tactic for some individuals, he says.
1. May Reduce Alcohol Consumption
Chronic alcohol use has been found to increase adverse effects on the heart, digestive system, and liver, and to increase the risk of cancer. Research shows that alcohol consumption accounts for 5.4 percent of cancer cases and 4.1 percent of cancer deaths in the United States, making it the third leading modifiable risk factor after cigarette smoking and excess body weight.
“By using marijuana when experiencing cravings to drink alcohol, an individual may find some relief from the alcohol cravings,” says Alison Tarlow, PsyD, a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in addiction and the chief clinical officer at Boca Recovery Center in Boca Raton, Florida. “However, this does not work for all people who are struggling with alcohol addiction,” Dr. Tarlow says.
About 27.9 million people ages 12 and older, or 1 in 10 in that age group, have alcohol use disorder in the United States.
The aforementioned American Journal of Psychiatry study that looked at alcohol consumption after cannabis use involved 157 participants studied over three days. It found that participants consumed less alcohol after smoking cannabis with lower (3.1 percent) and higher (7.2 percent) amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) marijuana. Both concentrations reduced alcohol urge immediately after smoking, with the lower amount of THC reducing alcohol consumption by 19 percent, and the higher amount leading to a 27 percent reduction. (One author reported affiliations with companies in the behavioral health technology and biotechnology industries, including a company that provides therapy for alcohol use disorder.)
2. May Reduce Use of Other Drugs
Some people also try a California sober approach to use marijuana in place of other addictive drugs besides alcohol.
Complete abstinence may be difficult for some to achieve, but research suggests that even a reduction in other drugs appears to be associated with meaningful improvement in various measurable indicators of recovery. One review of 13 clinical trials involving more than 2,000 participants seeking treatment for cocaine or methamphetamine use found that more people were able to reduce drug use (18 percent) than stop completely (14 percent). Those who reduced how often they used stimulants had a 60 percent decrease in cravings, 41 percent decrease in drug-seeking behaviors, and 40 percent decrease in depression severity.
“A drug such as marijuana is considered to be less physically addictive, and therefore possibly less harmful than harder substances like opioids, heroin, and cocaine,” Tarlow adds. “Instead of total abstinence from any addictive substances, an individual following this path of recovery can choose to keep using marijuana because they believe this substance has not and will not cause as many problems as their other addiction.”
But while most drugs are considered “hard” or “soft” according to public perception, these are not clinical classifications, and misuse of any drug can be dangerous, says Tarlow.
3. May Help Soothe Anxiety and Pain
Instead of coping with stress or anxiety via alcohol, some choose to instead use a cannabis product that purportedly induces relaxation, Tarlow says.
Some research shows that CBD could be promising as a complement to existing pain treatments and may also have benefits for certain neurological, psychiatric, and immune conditions. But again, the research is limited: CBD is rarely used in isolation — it’s typically consumed alongside other compounds like THC or flavonoids, which makes it challenging to measure CBD’s effects on its own. Better-designed studies using pure CBD are needed before medical experts can provide evidence-based guidelines.
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