The Relationship Between Cannabis & Creativity

Cannabis has often been reported anecdotally as a tool for enhancing the creativity quotient in individuals for decades now. With the THC having an impact on dopamine levels, a plausible mechanism exists.

Steve Jobs had said once that "marijuana and hashish…make me relaxed and creative". Most of the people agreed with this assessment. One of the studies found that 50% of the users reported enhanced creativity skills when they were under the influence of marijuana. But was Steve Jobs wrong about the things before (the Apple Lisa, anybody?)?Is it possible that he may have been wrong about marijuana enhancing creativity as well?

Creativity Concept & Ways In Which Marijuana Influences It

Creativity is a subject concept; it can't be measured in absolute terms. The several ways in which the Creativity process is influenced by marijuana include:

Altered Perception: Cannabis tends to alter one's perception, leading it to heightened sensory experiences and altered perspectives; this shift in the perception may generate novel ideas and creative thinking.

Relaxation enhancement: Many of the users have reported feeling more relaxed and less inhibited when they use cannabis, which in turn provides them with an environment that is conducive to creative exploration and experimentation.

Focus on point: Some people find that cannabis helps them focus intensely on creative tasks, which allows them to delve deep into their work without any distractions.

Lateral thinking: The use of cannabis induces lateral thinking, which implies approaching problems or ideas from an unconventional angle. This definitely can lead to innovative solutions and novel insights.

Enhanced flow state: Cannabis may facilitate the state of "flow," which is characterized by intense concentration and immersion in an activity; in such a state, persons are bound to experience heightened creativity and productivity.

Increased sensory awareness: Cannabis tends to heighten the sensory perception of an individual, which makes users alert to sights, sounds, and other stimuli. This heightened awareness can inspire creative expression in various art forms like music, visual arts, writing, etc.

Reduction in self-criticism: Cannabis can reduce inhibitions and self-criticism, thereby allowing individuals to more they express themselves in a freer way and creativity without any judgment's fear.

Thinking Processes & Dopamine

The two cognitive processes play a strong role in CQ - that is, the creativity quotient consists of convergent and divergent thinking. Divergent thinking implies that the skill associated with brainstorming implies being able to explore the options via loose associations to create new, novel ideas. Convergent thinking, on the other hand, implies taking a bunch of loosely organized ideas and finding a common thread between them. There runs a common thread through these thought processes and dopamine. Dopamine is often said to be the reward neurotransmitter. This is just a major generalization, as dopamine carries on multiple functions.

Marijuana & Creativity Link Test

The main psychoactive ingredient of marijuana is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is known to stimulate the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the striatum - a brain's part that is involved in activities of a creative nature like writing. Chronic marijuana, on the other hand, may lead to depressed dopamine activity.

Divergent thinking may get worse with very high or low dopamine activity, and it is best if it is in the middle range. As the dopamine activity increases, the convergent thinking goes for a toss. Since long-term marijuana users tend to have depressed dopamine function, the use of marijuana could improve divergent thinking while worsening convergent thinking.

To test the effect of marijuana on creativity, a study of 59 young, healthy Dutch people was conducted who frequently used cannabis. These participants had been randomized to inhale marijuana that contained either a high dose of THC, a medium dose of THC or almost no THC. After the consumption of marijuana, they undertook two tests of creativity.

One is RAT - Remote Associates Task, which measures convergent thinking, and the other is AUT - Alternate Uses Test, which measures divergent thinking.

Findings

This study found that acute marijuana use by heavy users had no effect on the aspect of creativity termed convergent thinking. It also mentions that marijuana, which contains high doses of THC, might impair one's divergent thinking. Marijuana, which contains lower doses of THC, did not affect divergent thinking.

Study Indicators

The measures of creativity which were used in this test were all based on writing skills. It isn't clear if it relates to the other domains of creativity, like visual arts, dance, music, or the spoken word.

The participants in this study had used marijuana fairly for at least two years. So, even if we trust the results, they can only apply to people who have used marijuana similarly.

Different marijuana strains tend to have different effects, and these effects can vary for different sets of individuals.

The general applicability of this study is very limited because it was exclusively with those people who used marijuana heavily and also because it only measured two aspects of creativity that related to the writing. In addition, such a study generated a lot of hypotheses as to why the predictions of the authors could not pan out, and many of the aspects of this study could be tested through further research. The study definitely does not give conclusive proof. More research studies are needed to confirm the same.

Disclaimer: It is important to keep in mind that the effects of cannabis on creativity can vary widely depending on several concerning factors like an individual's tolerance, dosage, strain, and set. In addition, while some of the users may find that cannabis enhances their creative abilities, others may not experience the same effects or might even find that cannabis impairs creativity.

When it comes to any substance, it is important to use cannabis in the right & responsible way and be mindful of the potential risks, inclusive of impaired judgment and cognitive function. An individual who chooses to resort to cannabis as a tool for creativity is advised to do it in moderation and be aware of their limits and boundaries.

Frequently asked questions

Q. How potent was the marijuana used in this study compared to that of average marijuana?

Most marijuana is 5-10% THC although THC content has been rising sharply in recent years, sometimes hitting the 30% mark. For comparison, the highest THC dose in this study was the equivalent of around 9% THC. However, the participants in this group had to inhale a large balloon full of the vapour, which required several hits.

Q. This study was done on long-term users of marijuana. How would marijuana affect the creativity of people who don't use it frequently?

By the reasoning laid out in the introduction, marijuana use should make both divergent and convergent thinking worse. Recall that convergent thinking is inversely correlated with dopamine activity, and divergent thinking has an upside-down U-shaped correlation with respect to dopamine activity. This implies that any increase in dopamine activity will worsen convergent thinking, just like in people who use marijuana heavily over the long term.

However, since people who don't use marijuana frequently will lie in the middle of the inverted "U" curve for divergent thinking, occasional marijuana use could push them to the far right of the curve, worsening their divergent thinking as well. This is different from the prediction the authors made for chronic cannabis users.

That's the theory, anyway. As the study reveals, it didn't pan out as expected.

Q. So, the authors hypothesized that marijuana's effect on creativity is mediated by dopamine. Does this mean that other drugs that affect dopamine could affect creative thinking?

Assuming the authors' hypothesis is correct (which isn't a great assumption, given the results of this study), this would indeed be the case. The authors of the current study didn't take their hypothesis to its logical conclusion and mention other drugs in their discussion section.

There aren't a lot of solid studies on other drugs' effects on creativity.

One study, on Adderall, which affects dopamine levels, found no effect on divergent thinking and a positive effect on convergent thinking, but only in those who scored lower in convergent thinking, to begin with; those with higher convergent thinking ability to start with were either unaffected or impaired.

Q. Are there also supplements that could affect creative thinking?

Remember that dopamine activity is related to creative thinking. Dopamine is synthesized from the amino acid tyrosine. So, tyrosine supplementation could affect creativity. One group recently put this hypothesis to the test and indeed found that tyrosine improved convergent, but not divergent, thinking. While one study doesn't prove anything, this is an interesting result. Hopefully, more research will be done in this area.

Q. Do all strands of marijuana have the same effects? Might other strains boost creativity?

Different strains of marijuana differ in their molecular composition, most notably the overall amount of cannabinoids and their relative ratios. Since some effects of marijuana are linked to Delta-9-THC alone, others are attributed to cannabidiol, and others are not even traced back to specific cannabinoids (or interplay between them), it is possible that different strains can significantly differ in effects.

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