Demi Lovato said she identifies as 'California sober' and still consumes alcohol and marijuana in 'moderation'
- Demi Lovato opened up about her current recovery process and "moderation" on "CBS Sunday Morning."
- Lovato also revealed she "didn't control any" of her life before she overdosed in 2018.
- Lovato spoke about her overdose and recovery in her upcoming documentary, "Dancing with the Devil."
Demi Lovato said she still uses alcohol and marijuana in "moderation," labeling herself "California sober" more than two years after overdosing.
Ahead of her upcoming documentary, 28-year-old Lovato got candid about her relapse, overdose, and ongoing recovery process on "CBS Sunday Morning." "Dancing with the Devil," which debuted at SXSW last week, details the events that led to her near-fatal heroin overdose in 2018.
At the time, Lovato was discovered unconscious inside her home and transported to a local hospital for medical treatment. She suffered a heart attack, three strokes, and woke up in the hospital temporarily legally blind.
Lovato told CBS's Tracy Smith complete abstinence was difficult for her and she's since used moderation.
"So, you're doing what they call moderation, I guess, right? So, you're drinking, smoking a little bit of weed, is that fair to say?" Smith asked Lovato.
"Yeah. I think the term that I best identify with is California sober," Lovato said.
"California sober" typically refers to people who abstain from alcohol and most drugs but may indulge in marijuana, as described in features from The Cut and Vice.
Although she currently uses moderation, Lovato continued that she didn't want others to consider it a "one-size-fits-all" fix.
"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," Lovato told Smith.
"I am cautious to say that, just like I feel the complete abstinent method isn't a one-size-fits-all solution for everybody, I don't think that this journey of moderation is a one-size-fits-all solution for everybody, too," she added.
Lovato had previously been sober for six years, which she detailed in the 2017 documentary, "Simply Complicated."
In her new documentary, Lovato said she mixed meth, molly, cocaine, marijuana, and Oxycontin the first night she relapsed in 2018. She also revealed that she was "miserable" before she overdosed and did not control certain aspects of her everyday life during that time.
"I didn't control any of my life at that period of time," Lovato told "Sunday Morning." "But yes, I also needed to grow up and take control. And that's something I haven't done until the past two years of my life, which is, I'm now in control of my finances, I'm now in control of the food that I eat, how often I work out…"
Smith cut in, asking Lovato to clarify whether she had control over what food she ate.
"Obviously, I was in control of what I put in my mouth," Lovato said. "But there were times where phones were taken out of - actually, every time I was in a hotel room, my phone was taken out of the room so I couldn't order room service."
Lovato added that she shoulders the responsibility for her behavior and actions.
"Regardless of what other people may have said or done, my actions put me in the seat that's in front of you today. Unfortunately, nobody can answer for my overdose but me," said Lovato.
"Dancing with the Devil" is set to premiere on March 23 as part of a four-part documentary on YouTube.