On the tragedy of Matthew Perry and the profound American addiction to drugs

A pill (or infusion) for every ill. And we have so many ills these days.

California sober.

If you haven’t heard the phrase before, “California sober” is a clever way to say, I’ve quit drinking or using drugs, but I still smoke pot. Because cannabis doesn’t count. Cannabis is medicine. Occasionally people who use the phrase extend it even further, usually to psychedelics.

To be California sober, you see, is not to be sober at a…