OPINION –

Nov. 9, 2022 – For many, self-medicating can be a slippery slope, Koob said. In addiction treatment facilities, he said, intoxicants are discouraged in favor of nonintoxicating medications that curb cravings and withdrawal: buprenorphine for opiates, nicotine patches for cigarettes, naltrexone and acamprosate for alcohol.

I called my friend Nick J., a 59-year-old Santa Monica actor and comedian who has been sober for 31 years. I sometimes use him as a sounding board for questions about addiction and sobriety because he has been active for decades in Alcoholics Anonymous and has sponsored hundreds of alcoholics over the years. When it comes to intoxicants of any kind, Nick is an absolutist.“I don’t take anything that affects me from the neck up,” he said.

As you might expect, he takes a dim view of “California sober.”“It’s a loophole,” he told me. “And everybody is looking for a loophole.”

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