Demi Lovato Celebrates 420, Explains Decision to Be ‘California Sober’

Demi Lovato is one of the many stars to spark up for 420 as she continues to live a “California sober” lifestyle following her near-fatal overdose in 2018. The “Dancing With the Devil” singer celebrated the major day for marijuana enthusiasts Tuesday, sharing to her Instagram Story a photo of herself smoking a bowl while relaxing in a hammock oceanside. “Happy 420,” she wrote on the picture.

Lovato added to the Story her song “California Sober,” which she has previously used to describe her decision to refrain from using all drugs except marijuana and alcohol — one that has been criticized by addiction specialists and people close to her. Lovato has been open about her sobriety journey, speaking out in her new YouTube docuseries Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil about how her past drug use almost ended her life.

It was in this docuseries the “Confident” singer revealed she drinks and smokes marijuana in moderation after getting sober, saying her approach “isn’t for everyone.” She explained, “I’ve learned that shutting a door on things makes me want to open the door even more. I’ve learned that it doesn’t work for me to say ‘I’m never gonna do this again.’” The former Disney star said that complete sobriety is “setting myself up for failure” because she is such a “black-and-white thinker,” adding that for years she had equivocated “one drink” with a “crack pipe.”

Last month, Lovato explained her sobriety approach again in a CBS Sunday Morning interview. “I think the term I best identify with is ‘California sober,’” she at the time. “I really don’t feel comfortable explaining the parameters of my recovery to people because I don’t want anyone to look at my parameters of safety and think that’s what works for them. Because it might not.”

Several of Lovato’s close friends have spoken out publicly in her YouTube documentary about their skepticism of her method, with Elton John saying, “Moderation doesn’t work. Sorry. If you drink you’re going to drink more. If you take a pill, you’re going to take another one. You either do it or you don’t.” Lovato’s manager, Scooter Braun, added, “Demi knows the whole moderation thing isn’t something I totally agree with. What I’ve learned with the whole addiction thing is if I push her to do what I want, I push her away. I can’t control her. What I can do is be a friend and hope that she’s right.”