There’s no mystery as to why #DryJanuary has taken hold as a trend, especially here in Minnesota. After the holiday season, in which we tend to push back the deep darkness by raging against it, taking a vacation from drinking can be a great respite in our coldest month. Plus, as the month of resolutions and resets, January feels like it has a bit of built-in momentum to help keep people honest.
But over this last year, it’s become more evident that for many people, this shift is not just a 31-day goal; it’s a more long-term commitment to an altered lifestyle. I’m not talking about the people who have struggled with serious addiction issues and sought treatment; those lovely souls are fighting the good fight to stay sober every day, no matter the hashtag. Instead, I’m talking about the growing movement of people who are not just opting out of drinking alcohol as a wellness choice but also striving to create a new lifestyle community that doesn’t include alcohol.
Between Marigold, the NA bottle shop I’ve written about before; NA beverage producers like 3Leche and DryWit, run by former bartenders; and groups like the Zero Proof Collective, the idea is to create a social movement that isn’t fueled by alcohol. Groups gather, people party, and everyone still gets the social benefits of drinking together with this “sober not somber” gang. I like that this isn’t about scolding or judging others but instead about creating a clear and open space for other ways to celebrate.
As I’ve noted before, I initially struggled with the popular term sober curious because I thought that it was too frivolous and demeaning to the sober community, but I have opened up to the thought that destigmatizing sobriety and making it more interesting, creative, and welcoming for more people is a good thing for the overall health of the population.
And then came summer and the sudden legalization of hemp-derived THC. This new intoxicant did not come onto the market just in the form of recreational chewy gummies; it arrived in force as a beverage option to rival sodas and seltzers. THC drinks are definitely not alcoholic; that’s at least one of the things that is a legal certainty concerning the product. They can be sold in coffee shops and hardware stores, as the product is (currently) classified no differently than a pack of gum or a LaCroix, though you still have to be 21+ to purchase and consume these drinks. Confusing, right?
Also confusing to me, I started seeing the new sober community propping up the beverages, selling them, and welcoming them into their spaces. And suddenly here we are again, questioning what “sober” means.
There’s even a new term floating around for all of this: California sober or Cali sober if you’re tagging it. While it’s loose in meaning, popular media has begun using it to refer to someone who consumes weed/THC while cutting alcohol out of their life. It’s become fashionable with celebrities and seems to be gaining followers, with #calisober earning more than 13 million views on TikTok. You can choose to take the hard-line view and see it as swapping one intoxicant for another, or you can take the softer view and seek to understand the differences.
Nearly all of the formal recovery programs, from AA to Hazelden, equate marijuana use as a relapse from sobriety, not as part of it. Their literature points out the negative aspects of THC and how it’s a controlled substance that needs more research. But for others, it’s less black and white, less of an all-or-nothing proposition and more about a different kind of intention that might lead to a new kind of temperance.
“The effect of alcohol on my body is not good,” says my 46-year-old friend who works in finance—we’ll call him “Bob.” “I’m a mess, and I feel gross for a few days later. Pot has nowhere near that physical cost for me, and I think I’m probably nicer too. When I think of how long booze has had a grip on my social life, it’s crazy. I feel much more in control of myself if I’m sipping a hemp drink.” Bob doesn’t consider himself sober, but if he’s out gathering with colleagues at a bar, he’ll order an NA beverage. He usually pops a gummy discreetly before joining, because he’s still unsure about the rules at his company.
As THC legalization moves across the country, consumption will be more normalized, and that will change the ways we socialize. Smoking a joint or popping a gummy is often a solitary, lonely act. But having a THC drink opens more doors to groups and gatherings. When I chatted with Omar Ansari ahead of Surly Brewing’s Take Five THC beverage launch, he agreed: “I think drinking a beverage is super social, where eating edibles isn’t as much. Drinking is the social lubricant; we have great crowds here because it’s something you share together. I think this is just a new way for people to enjoy each other’s company and still be social, drinking something new.”
Surly has the real potential for national distribution, and that kind of opening of the market could foster new social paradigms for many generations. There is no doubt in my mind that within the next few years, you’ll be able to get a pint of beer or a pint of THC tonic at a local bar.
Temperance, moderation, sobriety, clean: Perhaps in the end, it’s all personal anyway. Maybe we don’t have to work too hard to define sobriety for anyone but ourselves. I fully understand that some people need the push of a movement, the power of a community, to begin change in their own lives, so let #DryJanuary be whatever each person needs it to be.