Why I’m going 'California sober' this month

I’m over halfway through my first Dry February. It’s a new personal challenge for me, to go a month without any drinks at all. I should clarify upfront that, when I say dry, I chose to go ‘California sober’, so I’m keeping cannabis on the table. I’ve been meaning to do this for a while now, and a nudge from friends involved in the Canadian Cancer Society toward the Dry February challenge was all it took. The CCS’ Dry Feb is an online, third-party fundraiser that challenges people across Canada to go alcohol-free for the month of February while raising funds for life-saving cancer research and a nationwide support system. The aim beyond fundraising is to raise awareness about the link between cancer risk and alcohol and promote the idea that we can modify our alcohol consumption to reduce cancer risk.

Anyone who has ever had a hangover can see that alcohol isn’t exactly great for the body. I think we all, on some level, know how bad it is for us (even if we are trying hard to ignore it). Since I started tracking my biometrics I’ve become really aware of the effect alcohol has on my body on a day-to-day basis. When I’m not drinking, I have improved sleep quality (always chasing those green sleeps on my WOOP band), I’m better hydrated, my heart rate variability is better, and while my wearables don’t track this one, I feel mentally sharper. Once that information is laid out in front of me, it’s hard to ignore it. I kept cannabis in the mix for some the same reasons I’m cutting alcohol out: I find cannabis can benefit my health by reducing my stress levels and increasing my sleep quality. So far, I’m feeling very hydrated (because I’m only reaching for hydrating beverages instead of dehydrating) and my sleeps have been great.

Beyond a boost in health, this is a challenge for my personal discipline and an opportunity to flex the muscle of discomfort. It’s a solid opportunity to restart the relationship I have with alcohol and to break the habit of it all, so I can move away from treating a glass of wine at a restaurant as a default pairing with my meal. It’s a mental break to sever those links and give me pause to see if I really do want that drink.

When I decided this, the internal questions that first up were around what social settings will look like, when so much of the social life in North America is built around alcohol service and consumption. This is my largest challenge as I’m a social drinker and am used to the comradery of gathering over a cocktail. I want to be able to convene in these venues without ordering up a drink, and I want to diversify away from them. A walk and talk catch up with a friend is just as feasible as meeting at a pub. It’s a good incentive to get outside and be forced to find more things that don’t involve booze. Super Bowl was a good test as a historically booze-forward occasion, but I kept it to three virgin mojitos and plenty of water.

When I do want a bit of a ‘buzz’, I’ll be mixing more cannabis gummies into the social settings and making cannabis mocktails from our line of cannabis-infused mixers, Favour from Token, but that’s not always feasible. From home or at a friend’s place, it’s easy to bring along some mixers and ingredients, but obviously I can’t show up at a service establishment with my own mocktails. This makes one more strong argument for cannabis lounges, in my opinion – providing the option to gather in social settings outside the home in an alcohol-free environment. ?

When I want to stay fully sober, I’ll use the full range of our Bitters and Mocktails lines. That’s going to bring me the taste and experience of a cocktail and the ability to pair flavours with my food or with my mood. To match the demand we’re seeing over Dry January and now Dry Februrary, we will be launching our newest product, a pre-mixed Bitters and Soda, at Edmonton Cocktail Week over the first weekend of March. The Bitters and Soda line is a pre-mixed lightly flavoured carbonated beverage that is exactly what it sounds like – soda with Token Bitters. It can be mixed into a mocktail, a cocktail or enjoyed alone for a refreshing beverage that has a bit more kick than water. For me, it’s just in time to ease the transition.

Who else did Dry January or Dry February? I welcome any tips and tricks as this is new territory for me. That being said, I’m really looking forward to trying something new, be that cannabis drinks or non-alcoholic beverage lines. The options coming onto the market are really impressive and reflect a growing collective desire to expand away from alcohol. This month, at the very least, I’m all about it. I’ll report back in March.

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