Steve Jobs, Lady Gaga, George Carlin, Louis Armstrong, Jay-Z. These artists have all credited cannabis with fueling their creativity, but is weed truly the hero of their creative breakthroughs?
What’s causing pot smokers to excel in this dimension of creativity?
Scientists agree on one singular important fact … personality is the key. Each individual will have a different reaction to marijuana and how it effects their levels of creativity. The personality trait is called ‘openness to experience.’
Differences in personality are driving the difference in creative ability. Cannabis use itself is not influencing creativity.
‘So many people are not creative anymore,’ said Heidi Keyes, a 32-year-old painter and art teacher who’s used cannabis since she was 15 to calm anxiety and boost creativity.
‘We’re really not encouraged to make art as adults. And when we do, we’re so worried about looking like a fool or not doing a good job.’
Consuming cannabis, the Oakland resident said, “helps people relax into themselves”. It helps them enjoy the process rather than worrying about the end result and what other people might think.
There aren’t more concrete answers on this overall subject because researchers still argue over how to best measure creativity or whether it can be objectively measured at all.
Things get even more complicated when you factor in how different strengths and strains of cannabis can affect people in different ways.
While mainstream media has propagated the idea that cannabis expands the mind and enhances creativity. Results show that the link between cannabis and creativity is a false correlation driven by differences in personality (for example, openness to experience).
So what’s the bottom line in my humble opinion?
Pot is not a substitute for innate creativity, talent, discipline, and the courage to explore new things!
