Marijuana: Creativity Enhancer or Myth?

Posted by Greg at 8:36 PM



It has long been debated whether or not marijuana smoking enhances creativity. My post here is not to argue for one side or another, but to present two studies that find opposing results.

The first article from Psychiatric Quarterly did a study on 316 college students who reported their marijuana use (or not) measuring creativity, authoritarianism, anxiety, social desirability, and acquiescence. They found that With increased frequency of marijuana usage, creativity and 'adventuresomeness' scores increased significantly, while authoritarianism scores decreased significantly.

The second article from the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease found very different results. However, they only tested 16 college males, and were actually given cookies with THC or placebo before they were tested. This raises some skepticism about their results from their small sample size, and whether or not subjects should be tested while high or sober.

There are numerous more articles out there, and no conclusion has been reached. Decide for yourself!

 

4 comments:

  1. Tony Dao said... December 3, 2009 at 4:47 PM

    It really depends on how people define "creativity." I'm not sure how having hallucination is the same thing as being creative, but I'm sure many musicians, artists, and writers are high as a kite when they come up with their "creative" materials, which is fine.

    My point is: do we really need to use mind-altering substances as a crutch for creativity? It's like drinking excessive amounts of alcohol to be social and flirtatious.

    Let creativity develop naturally (but not as naturally as smoking a plant).  

  2. SRS said... December 12, 2009 at 11:46 AM

    Interesting...I think that creativity happens and means something totally different for every person. It is not something you can necessarily practice, so I think that whatever works to bring out a creative side then that's what it takes. For the more conservative means of being creative I think that stretching your non-dominant side of thinking helps to foster creativity and get you to see things differently. For instance, taking art classes and doing things out of your comfort zone.  

  3. Unknown said... July 7, 2010 at 10:30 AM

    Sadly, the main potential of marijuana often remains understated in the public debate: the potential to enhance various cognitive abilities during a high such as to remember past events, to hyperfocus, to be in the here and now, to recognize patterns, to achieve real self-knowledge through introspection and to empathically understand others. Finally, as Carl Sagan once stated, marijuana can act as a catalyst to obtain real insights. There is a new book out now which explains how marijuana can positively affect our cognition during a high: "High. Insights on Marijuana." by Sebastian Marincolo (dogearpublishing 2010). Many stunning reports from marijuana users illustrate the interdisciplinary approach and show how many lives have been positively enriched in such a magnificent way by the use - not abuse - of marijuana.  

  4. Anonymous said... February 14, 2013 at 4:14 AM

    apparently it depends on which type of cannabis one smokes .. sativa: which enhances imagination and can in fact cause hallucinations .. or indica, which makes feel one heavy and lethargic...

    i have experienced both these states.. and have indeed traced them both back to the type of cannabis that is smoked.

    Smoking tobacco with weed also seems to lesson the imaginative part of the experience and induce drowsiness and a "stoned" feeling.  

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