After you complete an addiction treatment program, you will have to learn how to cope with everyday triggers in your daily life. Sometimes, this transition can be incredibly difficult, increasing your risk of relapse. Thankfully, sober living programs provide you with the support and life skills you need to be successful and maintain your sobriety.
If you use medical marijuana to treat a physical or mental health condition, you might be worried that sober living homes won’t accept you into their program. While many sober living programs prohibit marijuana use, some make exceptions for medical cannabis patients.
Medical cannabis can be a useful tool in recovery from substance use disorders. It can replace opioid medications to treat chronic pain conditions. You can also use cannabis in place of benzodiazepines for panic disorder.
If you are looking for a Cali sober-friendly sober living in Los Angeles, you’ve come to the right place. At Patrick’s Purpose, we understand that everyone’s journey to recovery looks different. If you use medical weed as a form of physical or mental health treatment, you can join our sober living program without fear of judgment.
In this article, you will learn:
- Can you use medical cannabis in sobriety from addiction?
- Where to find a sober living home that allows medical marijuana use in California?
- How does Patrick’s Purpose support clients who use medical cannabis?
Can You Use Medical Marijuana in Sobriety?
Marijuana can lead to addiction when misused, however, if you are using it as prescribed by your doctor, it could be beneficial to your recovery. To explain, many people in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction have co-occurring physical or mental health conditions. When these conditions are left untreated, they are more likely to experience a relapse.
Medical marijuana can treat:[1]
- Chronic pain from a variety of conditions
- Insomnia
- Depression and anxiety
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Multiple sclerosis (MS)
- Cancer pain
- Migraines
- Fibromyalgia
- Alzheimer’s disease and dementia
- Crohn’s disease
- Glaucoma
If you have chronic pain, the most common treatment is opioid medications like oxycodone or morphine. These drugs are without a doubt more dangerous to use in addiction recovery than marijuana. By using medical marijuana to manage your pain, your risk of relapsing is reduced substantially.
That said, you have to be extremely careful when using medical marijuana in sobriety. Never allow yourself to use marijuana simply to experience a high. Instead, use it as prescribed to manage your pain, insomnia, mental health condition, or whatever else you are treating.
Where to Find a Sober Living That Allows Medical Marijuana in Los Angeles, California
Many sober living homes have strict rules against marijuana use. This can make it difficult for individuals in recovery who use marijuana to treat a medical condition. Sober living is often a vital part of the recovery process and should be accessible to everyone, no matter what your sobriety looks like.
Thankfully, some programs accept medical marijuana patients. For example, Patrick’s Purpose accepts clients who use medical marijuana into their sober living program. While the sober living program does not provide marijuana, it does allow its residents to obtain it through a licensed medical marijuana dispensary.
While people using medical marijuana in recovery often face scrutiny from their peers and other addiction professionals, Patrick’s Purpose sober living home is a judgment-free zone. We understand the benefits of medical cannabis and recognize that sometimes it is a necessary medication for a wide variety of conditions.
How Does Patrick’s Purpose Support Medical Marijuana Clients?
At Patrick’s Purpose, we allow our clients to use medical marijuana. That said, there are some things we do to keep our clients safe and sober. If you are using medical marijuana, we will encourage you to attend regular therapy sessions to prevent your cannabis use from becoming problematic.
Additionally, we offer a meeting that specifically focuses on using medical marijuana as an individual in addiction recovery.
Go Green Stay Clean is for individuals who have been recommended cannabis for medical purposes; a meeting that allows for its use can provide an additional layer of support and may help to reduce the risk of relapse. In addition, a meeting that allows for the use of medically recommended cannabis can provide a supportive environment for individuals who may feel isolated or stigmatized because of their medical condition. By allowing for the use of medically recommended cannabis, attendees can feel more comfortable sharing their experiences and challenges and may be more likely to seek and receive support from others in attendance.
We have rules and supportive services in place to ensure that our clients using medical marijuana achieve the same type of success in sobriety as fully abstinent individuals.
Get Connected to a Sober Living Program in LA That Allows Medical Marijuana
If you or a loved one uses medical marijuana in addiction recovery, you’ve probably hit some roadblocks in the process of looking for a sober living home. While many sober living facilities prohibit any type of cannabis use, Patrick’s Purpose allows its clients to use medical marijuana.
Contact us today for more information on how we support clients in recovery who treat their co-occurring conditions with medical marijuana.
References:
- Harvard Health Publishing: Medical Marijuana