So, pot is legal where I live now.
Ugh.
Now, I am meeting people in recovery who smoke pot on a daily basis and say they are sober. This leaves me feeling…
I am now officially “old school” and considered an “old timer” in this whole recovery thing. I look at the younger people coming into recovery and what they are experiencing and I want to hear EVERYTHING!
What is it like out there?
What did they go through?
What the fuck is “Clone”?
And I ask every one of them, “Do you think smoking pot every day means you are sober?”
I am AMAZED at their responses! Out of the 6 people I asked, 4 people said NO and 2 people said yes. Wow.
These are a mix of young (under 30) and older (over 50) people. They all have less than a year in recovery.
When I asked another group of people like me – who have over 20 years of sobriety – they all say that smoking pot on a daily basis is NOT sobriety.
Here’s the GAME CHANGER: I asked all of those same people the following: “What if the pot smokers have a medical marijuana card and are being prescribed that pot by a doctor?”
This was the look I would usually get…
Of course the younger, newer-to-sobriety people knew exactly what I was talking about. They are the “opiate generation”. They know that being prescribed addictive medications is part of going to the doctor and it’s not a big deal.
The older people, the ones who have been sober for awhile are shocked by this concept. In fact, they are disgusted! So I ask them, “What happens when you have surgery? You’re prescribed painkillers, right?” Yes, but only a few…for a limited amount of time. And, a trusted friend doles them out. AND, the intake is monitored. AND, this is completely different from POT (they said)!
Is it though?
First, I want to say that the topic of this post is very different than the one I wrote about in my previous post Meds vs. Drugs in Sobriety. That post was about REQUIRED, non-addictive medications people HAVE TO take in order to survive (e.g.- Insulin for diabetes or antidepressants for depression).
Second, while the drugs I am talking about in this post are prescribed and deemed critical by both patient and doctor, whether or not the patient would “survive” without them is questionable by many people. Also, the medications being discussed in this post are addictive.
For example: I know people in recovery with Multiple Sclerosis, arthritis, or cancer so bad that they are in pain all day, every day. Which would be better for them to have: A prescription for pain pills or a prescription for pot? Neither? Both? Would they lose their sobriety if they took these addictive drugs on a daily basis? Who makes that decision?
You?
I have to ask myself what truly defines “sobriety” and “recovery”. Is it the ACT of being sober? Is it the DESIRE to be sober? Is it the DECISION to remain sober? Is it the THINGS we choose to put in our bodies? Is it being sober ONE DAY AT A TIME, or do we have to go by those coins/tokens that are given out in some of those recovery Programs?
Some people say that you are not sober if you smoke cigarettes, or ingest coffee, or sugar, or Kambucha, or micro doses of mushrooms (which is also a new thing), or CBD, or ANY caffeine/mood altering chemical…including soda.
What about the people who are taking the drugs listed below during in-patient treatment – while they attend NA or AA meetings and out-patient Programs – in order to wean off of opiates, meth, and/or heroin?
FDA-approved buprenorphine products approved for the treatment of opioid dependence include:
Bunavail (buprenorphine and naloxone) buccal film
Cassipa (buprenorphine and naloxone) sublingual film
Probuphine (buprenorphine) implant for subdermal administration
Sublocade (buprenorphine extended‐release) injection for subcutaneous use
Suboxone (buprenorphine and naloxone) sublingual film for sublingual or buccal use, or sublingual tablet.
Subutex (buprenorphine) sublingual tablet
Zubsolv (buprenorphine and naloxone) sublingual tablets
FDA-approved methadone products approved for the treatment of opioid dependence include:
Dolophine (methadone hydrochloride) tablets
Methadose (methadone hydrochloride) oral concentrate
FDA-approved naltrexone products approved for the treatment of opioid dependence include:
Vivitrol (naltrexone for extended-release injectable suspension) intramuscular
Source: https://www.fda.gov/drugs/information-drug-class/information-about-medication-assisted-treatment-mat
These treatments are doctor-prescribed addictive drugs. Yet, without them, the success rate of people coming off the more addictive drugs is little to none. And, staying on those stronger drugs leads to suicide, expensive medical costs to our society, safety concerns to our communities, the spreading of diseases, and COMPLETELY avoidable deaths to countless many.
In the program of Alcoholics Anonymous, their Third Tradition says, “The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking.”
In the program of Narcotics Anonymous, their Third Tradition says, “The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop using.”
“Using” WHAT?!?! That is a pretty broad word.
Some may say I have entered a philosophical debate here. And yet I KNOW people who are facing these exact questions right now in their recovery. I have had to work through these with people I sponsor. People who genuinely want to get and stay sober. They want a new life. They want to clean the wreckage of their pasts, have a spiritual experience (if they haven’t already had one), and help others.
Isn’t that what recovery is really all about??
Here’s me – just me – and just for today…
I don’t want to work with anyone who is “high”. I don’t know how to do that. If I see someone “using” ANYTHING (e.g. – Guys, gambling, pot/THC, etc.) to escape the stuff they don’t want to deal with in their lives, then I point them to a Program and outside help that can assist them with that. I let them know what I’m here for and that I cannot help them with that other stuff. If they want help with what I CAN help them with, then I give them the “simple tools that were laid at my feet”. If they are willing and able, then I’ll be right there with them…all the way!
If they tell me their doctor is prescribing them addictive medications for their ailments, then I can only suggest talking to their doctor about non-addictive alternatives. (Keeping in mind that I have NO control over this and I have NO business getting between a doctor and their patient!)
I DO have control over meeting with someone who is on anything that I believe is altering their behavior when they’re with me. I don’t have to meet with them…and I won’t.
Here’s the deal. People who truly do not want sobriety and are playing with all that addictive shit aren’t going to stick around for the work of recovery for long. Their addictive games, lying, and schemes can only go on for so long. They’ll bounce once they’ve worked their way through enough people, meetings, places, and things.
What I get to do in the meantime is pray for them and remain available for when they are ready, willing, and able to do this recovery deal.
I can only hope they are among the lucky ones who are blessed to have this amazing, beautiful sober life.
Wow – good one! You can imagine I agree with you about most everything. I hear a lot “these days” about Plant Medicine as well.
It seems that well-calibrated mushroom microdosing might be better than anti-depressants if the result is the same. I’ve read amazing stories of suicidal depression being abated by ayahuasca administered by a trained shaman. I’m very clear that there is much I don’t understand and that there are many healing realms.
That said, anything that results in self- or other-deception or a barrier to personal growth and recovery of mind/body/heart/Spiritual healing seems like a bad idea. Who’s to say? Higher Power, Higher Self, and time, I imagine.
Are you happier each year? Kinder? More serene and clear? Loving a life of service? Something’s working.
More will be revealed.
Love you!
I completely agree, Mela!
My little mind cannot comprehend it all! I do not pretend to walk in another person’s shoes and live their experience. I DO NOT KNOW!!
Didn’t one of the founders of AA experiment with LSD after he was sober from alcohol? “Bill Wilson thought LSD could help cynical alcoholics undergo the ‘spiritual awakening’ that stands at the center of twelve-step work,” writes author Don Lattin in his 2012 book on Wilson and AA, Distilled Spirits
No one can sit high on a pedestal, point down, and judge.
No one can stand below, point up, and judge.
No one can point in the mirror and judge.
Otherwise, no one lives a free and content life.
With Love,
~Liz
Holla! I don’t think you’re the first or the last to try to sort these things out. There are (at least here) programs and fellowships for people that are on more significantly harm reduction trajectories. And it’s fine if you choose to adhere to abstinence as the xA’s intended. Cuz that’s what will mean they’ll be around for those that wish it.
You alone have right to your name, and what to attach it to. Anything else is smoke and mirrors. Hugs.
Hi Steve,
Thank you so much for sharing here! As you know, I value your friendship and opinions on Twitter, as well.
There isn’t ONE WAY to look at all of this! And my years in recovery have taught me that there is no RIGHT WAY to recover for everyone!
“Harm reduction” and “xA” are terms that I am learning more and more about. It’s because of patient people like you, who are willing to teach me – instead of chastise me – that I can learn differing opinions on matters such as drug use during recovery.
We don’t all have to agree about something in order to learn more about that thing.
Take care out there!
I agree with everything you said. Smoking pot every day is not sober. It’s still a way to escape emotion which is the root cause of most addiction,
Thanks so much for visiting and sharing your thoughts, Dawn!
You are not alone on your thoughts regarding this topic. Of course, those I’ve said this to say that they are not “getting high” when they smoke pot on a daily basis…they are only relieving their physical pain.
To this, I cannot speak. I am not in their body, experiencing what they are feeling. That is their truth to tell…not mine. It definitely makes me nervous when I hear people doing what I cannot possible understand.
You are with the majority, though, and I appreciate where you are coming from, Dawn. I’m so glad you stopped by!
Take care,
~Liz
Thanks, this is the first time I read one of your posts. I will make sure to read others. I really liked the end where you shared your experience, strength, and hope. I also believe if you flirt with other things you are headed for a relapse.
Thank you so much for visiting and sharing your thoughts, David!
I appreciate your use of the word “flirt”. Yes, that does feel like what it is…doesn’t it? Perhaps that is why it is such a scary idea to take addictive drugs while in recovery, prescribed by a doctor or not. A very interesting way to put it! Thank you.
Take care,
~Liz