Cannabis and Creativity
If you’re a medical cannabis patient who finds that your medicine makes you more creative, you’re in good company. Influential people around the world have used cannabis for hundreds of years to stimulate the muses and open their minds to new possibilities and connections. From Shakespeare to Maya Angelo, Justin Timberlake to Matt Damon, Martha Stewart to Steve Jobs, supremely successful writers, artists, actors, politicians and business people, not to mention everyday people living around the world, have used cannabis to relax and create everything from classic plays to multi-billion dollar empires.
How does it work?
Despite all the anecdotal evidence that cannabis heightens creativity, scientific evidence largely refutes those claims. Issues Berkley Medical Journal, however, reported that experiments done by researchers in 1992 showed that thirty minutes after cannabis consumption, subjects had increased cerebral blood flow in the frontal lobe, which may be responsible for “promoting the creative drive and divergent thinking characteristic of the creative process.”1 Perhaps a little extra blood flow is all it takes? Certainly many strains of cannabis induce a relaxed and open state of mind and silence the inner critic that can inhibit creative output. Increased blood flow or not, these factors alone may allow a person with creative tendencies to transition from a state of being filled with everyday worries and chatter to a quiet, peaceful state where thoughts flow and connect.
Does cannabis increase your creativity?
Whether cannabis actually stimulates creative thought or whether it just puts some people into a receptive mood remains to be seen. Either way, the list of people who swear that cannabis helps them innovate is impressive. We’re sure there are many more, but here’s a partial list of famous creative people who are open about their past or ongoing cannabis use. Thanks to the many sources listed at the end of this post.
Writers and artists who use/used cannabis
Alexandre Dumas
Carl Sagan
Hunter S. Thompson
Jennifer Egan
Ken Kesey
Lee Child
Maya Angelou
Norman Mailer
Salvador Dali
Stephen King
Susan Sontag
William Shakespeare
Entertainers who use/used cannabis
Alanis Morissette
Bill Maher
Brad Pitt
Bryan Cranston
Dave Matthews
David Letterman
George Clooney
Jennifer Aniston
Johnny Depp
Jon Stewart
Justin Bieber
Justin Timberlake
Kirsten Dunst
Lady Gaga
Madonna
Matt Damon
Matthew McConaughey
Mick Jagger
Miley Cyrus
Morgan Freeman
Oliver Stone
Paul McCartney
Rihanna
Robert Downey, Jr.
Rush Limbaugh
Snoop Lion
Stephen Colbert
Willie Nelson
Woody Harrelson
Business people who use/used cannabis
Bill Gates
Hugh Hefner
Martha Stewart
Rick Steves
Steve Jobs
Ted Turner
Politicians who use/used cannabis
Hmmm, maybe we’ll save that one for a future post.
What do you think? Does cannabis help you be more creative? As always, we’re interested in your thoughts and perspective.
Footnote:
- Talise, Jasen, “Marijuana As Muse: How Cannabis and Novelty-Seeking Affect Your Health,” Issues Berkeley Medical Journal. Spring 2011. Retrieved from: https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~issues/articles/18.2_Talise_J_Marijuana_1.html
Other sources:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/18/most-famous-marijuana-users_n_5160073.html
http://www.bustle.com/articles/52203-34-celebrities-who-love-pot-dont-care-who-knows-it
http://www.axs.com/15-surprising-advocates-for-marijuana-in-the-music-industry-14181
http://www.theweedblog.com/marijuana-and-creativity/
http://www.ranker.com/list/40-and-politicians-who-smoked-marijuana/brettski
http://www.alternet.org/drugs/7-successful-famous-cannabis-smoking-geniuses
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/psychology-masala/201204/cannabis-and-creativity
http://herb.co/2015/08/31/does-marijuana-actually-make-you-more-creative/
https://sensiseeds.com/en/blog/cannabis-and-creativity-what-do-artists-say-about-cannabis-use/
http://www.neboagency.com/blog/the-science-behind-cannabis-and-creativity/
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00213-014-3749-1
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053810011002856
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02791072.2009.10399769
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165178114007410
http://www.mhpbooks.com/slideshow-ten-marijuana-loving-authors/
https://mic.com/articles/102854/definitive-proof-that-smoking-weed-makes-you-a-great-writer#.9Q0yJtpBx