Demi Lovato Says They’re Finished Drinking in Moderation and Smoking Weed

In March 2021, Demi Lovato revealed—in both their YouTube docuseries Dancing With the Devil and a Glamour cover story—that they were “California sober.” For the unfamiliar, that means you drink in moderation and smoke weed but abstain from other substances. At the time Lovato said this was an effective way of managing their sobriety. (Lovato had an overdose in 2018.)

“Telling myself that I can never have a drink or smoke marijuana, I feel like that’s setting myself up for failure because I am such a black-and-white thinker,” Lovato said on Dancing With the Devil.

Lovato even has a song on their seventh studio album called “California Sober.” “Used to live in fear of always slipping, / But living for perfection isn’t living. / I ran a little slower, now I’m tripping. / A beautiful and magical beginning,” they sing on the track. 

But now Lovato is revealing a new outlook. On Thursday, December 2, they took to Instagram Stories to say they’re no longer California sober.

“I no longer support my ‘California sober’ ways,” Lovato wrote. “Sober sober is the only way to be.” 

“What I’m encouraging people to do is just make choices for themselves,” Lovato told Glamour in March. “Autonomy, for me, is what changed my life.”

It’s been a year of self-discovery for Demi Lovato, who came out as nonbinary in May and announced they’d be using they/them pronouns. “I am proud to let you know that I identify as non-binary and will officially be changing my pronouns to they/them moving forward,” they wrote on Instagram. “This has come after a lot of healing and self-reflective work. I’m still learning and coming into myself, and I don’t claim to be an expert or a spokesperson. Sharing this with you now opens another level of vulnerability for me.” 

They continued, “I’m doing this for those out there that haven’t been able to share who they truly are with their loved ones. Please keep living in your truths and know I am sending so much love your way.”