How Cannabis Affects Creativity
From musicians and poets to directors and tech geniuses, by now it’s not uncommon to hear successful individuals credit creative success to cannabis use. Even Steve Jobs has publicly commented on his cannabis use in the 70’s, which made him feel “relaxed and creative” while he was first developing the startup that would someday become Apple Inc. Maybe you’ve heard of it?
But this of course doesn’t mean that cannabis is the guaranteed secret to genius thinking and unlocking one’s creativity. While one person may feel an increase in creative thinking and problem solving, another might find their senses dulled and judgment clouded. In short, cannabis affects every individual differently, but there are approaches that will help you get the most out of your cannabis experience!
THE SCIENCE
When studying the effects of cannabis on creativity, how do scientists measure creative thinking? One method, used by clinical psychologist Gráinne Schafer, is to observe changes in “divergent thinking”.
The concept of divergent thinking is fairly abstract, which means testing and measuring it can be complicated. Schafer is a leading researcher on the topic, and even she feels that the relationship between cannabis and creativity isn’t sufficiently understood by scientists. Her team does note that cannabis produces effects that can help a person bridge connections between unrelated concepts, which might influence one’s ability to perform creatively.
To test the creative effects of cannabis, Shafer’s team separated a group of test subjects into two groups: those with “low creativity” and those with “high creativity.” Both were tested on their verbal fluency—a measure of how many words the participant could retrieve from their memory—in a sober state and then again under the influence of cannabis. After a week of cannabis use, the “low creativity” group found their verbal fluency scores, which were generally lower in the baseline measurement, rose to the level of the “high creativity” group. Meanwhile, the “high creativity” group saw no increase in its performance under the influence of cannabis.
Dr. Schafer’s research appears to show that people who wouldn’t usually consider themselves creative can see dramatic benefits from cannabis use. It helped them relax and opened their minds to ideas that they may have not considered while sober. As for those who already considered themselves creative thinkers, cannabis didn’t suddenly make them capable of genius creativity—although it didn’t detract from their creativity levels, either.
How does cannabis affect creativity, on a biological level? Cannabis Science expert Lewis Nelson explains that it increases blood flow to brain regions associated with creativity, including the nucleus accumbens, which is involved in reward; the amygdala, involved in feelings of happiness and euphoria; and the frontal cortex, involved in emotional regulation and executive functioning. But cannabis can increase blood flow to areas associated with paranoia and other negative emotional states, too. This means consumers need to make safe and measured decisions regarding their cannabis intake. If you’re looking to explore cannabis as a means to increase creativity, here are a few tips:
1. Start with lower doses
If you’re hoping to use cannabis for creativity, it may be best to start with lower doses, which will likely prevent you from becoming unproductively inebriated. If your dose of THC is too high, you may find that you feel less creative than before you consumed cannabis.
2. Avoid overly sedative strains
If a strain makes you sleepy, chances are you won’t feel motivated to engage in creative work. To enhance the creative powers of cannabis, opt for cannabis cultivars that provide you with enough stamina and clear-headedness to get the work done.