This month, as many folks attempt to ditch alcohol for "Dry January," some are picking up cannabis as a replacement. In some circles, skipping booze for weed is a lifestyle colloquially known as going "California sober," a reflection of the lax attitudes around pot that abound in the Golden State.
For Alexis*, a 35-year-old software engineer from Portland, Oregon, being California sober means abstaining from alcohol, cocaine, meth, psychedelics, nicotine — everything but marijuana and caffeine. After witnessing how her parents struggled with addiction and alcohol use, she self-described as "straight-edge," meaning she stayed totally abstinent from drugs until her late 20s. Then, she found cannabis.
