Brehm: A sobering mistake by Minnesota legislators

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Minnesota sits atop many impressive state rankings. It certainly is a nice place to do a lot of things. But in my mind, there is one pursuit Minnesota is the very best place on the planet to undertake: getting sober. And I should know. I did it in 2020.

Our state’s history as a pioneer in the recovery field is a proud one. Modern-day treatment was born here in the 1950s when Willmar State Hospital doctors developed a clinical treatment for alcoholism grounded in the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and the lifelong maintenance of total abstinence from mood-altering chemicals. It was nicknamed the “Minnesota Model” and has been utilized — with great effect — all over the world.

Today, Minnesota remains home to many of the country’s top treatment centers. People suffering from substance use disorder travel here from across the globe to get help. After their stay, most patients are encouraged to find sober housing for a period of time to continue their convalescence before fully returning to the stresses and temptations of normal life. The accountability, encouragement and community that come from living with others also early in recovery can help lay a solid spiritual bedrock so critical to building lasting and happy sobriety.

When individuals struggling with chemical dependency travel to Minnesota for aid with their illness, they often stay for this essential part of their aftercare as well. It’s a good move. There is little stigma around the disease of addiction in the Twin Cities and the recovery community here is vibrant and welcoming. There is also an abundance of good sober housing options to choose from.

But thanks to ill-advised legislation passed earlier this year at the State Capitol, those sober housing selections are about to get more limited and less safe for many seeking short-term residential refuge from alcohol and drugs. Effective June 2026, all sober homes in the state — without exception — will be required to allow their residents to possess and use any and all legally prescribed medications to treat co-occurring mental health disorders. This would include highly addictive and commonly abused amphetamines such as Adderall and benzodiazepines like Xanax — and potentially even medicinal marijuana down the road. While these drugs can play a positive role for some, they usually prove precarious for those suffering from substance use disorder and even indirect exposure to them can wreak havoc on one new to and fragile in sobriety.

As readers of this opinion section know, I support personal autonomy and free markets. Minnesotans dealing with addiction should be able to decide what course of action they want to take with their lives and their disease. Our state, for example, also hosts what are often referred to as wet houses, which are residential facilities for chronically alcoholic men and women where tenants can drink as much as they want with little expectation that they will ever stop. While living in such a hopeless place is not something I endorse, it is an option people have. And for those wanting to pursue a harm-reduction or medically assisted model of recovery and live in facilities where mood-altering substances are used and available, Minnesota has thousands of beds to enable that path too if so chosen.

But those recovering men and women who believe an environment entirely free from any and all intoxicating chemicals — including potentially highly addictive prescription drugs — is what they need while they take their first careful steps in sobriety deserve that residential option, too. This new law will take that away, essentially eliminating all abstinence-based sober homes from the recovery marketplace in Minnesota. That’s not fair. Or wise.

I serve on the board of directors of the Retreat in Wayzata, a nonprofit that provides a variety of recovery services to help alcohol and drug-dependent individuals get well. There we continue to promote the simple yet effective Minnesota Model for the treatment of addiction. It might be considered old school now, but we believe practicing the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous (which demand surrender, self-reflection, rigorous honesty and service to others) and total abstinence from all inebriating elements is the best way for alcoholics and addicts to get and, most importantly, stay sober. Countless studies, including recent ones from researchers at Stanford and Harvard, agree with that.

As part of its offerings, the Retreat operates six sober homes in my hometown of St. Paul. They are affordable, clean and provide a safe sanctuary for newly sober guests by prohibiting highly addictive prescription drugs from the premises (non-habit-forming mental health medications such as Zoloft and Prozac are allowed). But Minnesota law will soon make it essentially illegal for the Retreat to offer this — an option it feels based on decades of experience is vitally important to the vulnerable men and women the organization is trying to help.

One of the many beautiful things about the diverse and rich recovery community is its avoidance of all things political. There’s no such thing as partisanship in the healing, hopeful and unifying rooms of AA.

And that same spirit ought to guide us to re-evaluate Minnesota’s new misguided sober home statutes. Leaders on both sides of the aisle should recognize that our alcoholic and addict family, friends and neighbors should be able to elect to live in residences entirely free from all addictive substances if they feel that is where their sober journey is leading them. It is not reasonable or prudent for Minnesota government to take that important choice away. Our governor likes to say we should mind “our own damn business.” The Legislature should take his advice and rescind this irresponsible and restrictive regulation and allow those seeking abstinence-based sober living to choose what is best for them and their recoveries.