January is an ideal moment for reflection and recalibration of your rituals. People leverage the year change as a signal to train themselves with new habits. Approximately 40% of Americans make New Year’s resolutions, and Dry January arose as a way to set a realistic short-term goal.

Being California Sober is also a popular lifestyle choice, and cannabis-infused drinks and mocktails are a modern alternative to alcohol. Cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids all have different impacts and entourage effects. Mixing these with the right combination of flavors can create a healthy beverage routine.

The Alchemy is the go-to cannabis dispensary in NYC to find cannabinoid-infused beverages that transform everyday rituals into elevated experiences. Our mixologists have the perfect drink to ring in your new year with a Cali Sober Dry January.

How to Be Cali Sober on Dry January

Dry January is a month dedicated to sobriety and living a clean lifestyle. This means giving up drugs and alcohol for the calendar month to assist in starting healthier rituals. However, even in the most stringent rehab facilities, you’re allowed one vice.

Traditionally, that single vice is smoking cigarettes. In the 2010s, vaping arose as a popular alternative. However, tobacco is ultimately an unhealthy vice, killing over seven million people every year. This is how the California Sober lifestyle gained popularity.

Being Cali Sober opens the doors on what your single vice can be. It grew in popularity after California legalized adult-use cannabis in 2016. Cannabis replaced tobacco as the most popular vice over the past decade across the country, although psilocybin and other drugs can also be used.

What’s important is focusing on mindful consumption over abstinence. Dry January is a gateway to mindful, year-round rituals like a Cali Sober lifestyle. It’s an opportunity to replace social rituals traditionally centered on alcohol with cannabis drinks that provide six core benefits.

6 Benefits of Cannabis Beverages in Your Ritual

• Wellness without the hangover: reduced next-day fatigue and mental fog
• Multi-use: can support relaxation, creativity, social ease, etc.
• Ability to share and sip in social settings
• No combustion
• No need for smoking tools/cleanup
• Discreet and convenient

The Science Behind the Sip

A recent survey found over half of respondents chose cannabinoid-infused drinks over alcohol. Consumers report preferring infused drinks due to their faster onset and shorter duration of the high versus smoking. It also lacks the odor of smoking or dabbing cannabis, making beverages a popular category for NYC cannabis dispensaries.

It’s important to know the effects of infused beverages are much less researched than alcoholic drinks. So be mindful of the old adage, “Start low, sip slow.”

Typical dosing ranges of 2–5mg are a great starting point. Effects can be felt within 15-20 minutes (versus 30-80 for edibles). If you don’t feel anything after 20 minutes, take another dose. Make sure you recognize personal thresholds and respect your body’s signals so you don’t go overboard.

Be especially careful in public venues like a club and always have an exit plan with trusted friends if the high gets too intense.

Crafting Cannabis Mocktails

Mocktails should be as exciting as cocktails, so don’t settle for something boring. Here are some ways to incorporate cannabis beverages, syrups, and edibles into spectacular mocktails.

• Here are eight unique coffee-based mocktails. Instead of coffee, use Harney Brothers 1:2 THC/CBD-infused maple nitro coffee.
• Try one of these tea-based mocktails. Substitute the tea bags with Harney Brothers THC-infused sleep tea sachets with 10mg of THC per satchel.
• This is a delicious recipe for a non-alcoholic chocolate martini mocktail. Shave some Kiva infused chocolate to add 5mg of THC and creamy milk chocolate per section. Also consider Cannabals Dark Chocolate Cones as a 10mg THC garnish.
• These ten lemon mocktails are refreshing and healthy. Ayrloom’s 2:1 THC/CBD-infused lemonade is the perfect lemonade to make them with.
• Sugar-rimmed glasses are a staple in mixology, and these 11 sugar-rimmed mocktails are fantastic. However instead of sugar, crush up some NY Infusions Lollipops to add 10mg of THC and a bold fruity flavor.
• Grenadine is the base of the world’s most famous mocktail: the Shirley Temple. Rather than Grenadine, use NY Infusions Pomegranate THC Syrup to elevate your mocktail to the next level with 100mg of THC and strong pomegranate flavor per bottle.
• This blueberry mojito is a fantastic mocktail filled with antioxidants, vitamins, and nutrients. Add some MFNY Turbo Blueberry Live Resin Tincture to add a broad spectrum of strain-specific cannabinoids and terpenes.

This is just the start–our Chelsea dispensary always has new flavors and strains coming in. Check our menu regularly for more infused mocktail inspiration.

The Alchemy Approach to a Cali Sober Dry January

Being Cali Sober is a mindful lifestyle that’s realistically achievable. And it helps relieve the burden of Dry January. Instead of feeling like a chore, cannabis-infused mocktails provide a treat for your taste buds while various cannabinoids, terpenes, and other ingredients elevate your mind and body.

Find flavors and ingredients that both make you happy and provide a benefit to your overall health. This will ensure you create mindful rituals that are easily sustainable over the long run. And contact The Alchemy for any tips on which products work best for you.

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