A team of scientists at the University of Washington recently conducted two studies capturing the effects of cannabis-based substances on creativity. As workplace behavioral researchers, their goal was to see how cannabis use impacted employees and organizations. Their findings, however, ended up addressing a much broader swath of human behavior.
To start, the team recruited over 300 people who reported using cannabis a few times per week. These self-reports were confirmed via drug test. (Due to legal and ethical guidelines, the team wasn’t able to request that people begin using cannabis when they didn’t already.) Fifteen minutes after having consumed their cannabis product of choice, each participant was asked to complete a creative exercise. In the first study, the exercise was to name as many uses for a brick as could be imagined, while the second study had participants think up marketing ideas for a generic local band. These same exercises were completed again at least 12 hours after each participant’s last use.
Many famous artists have been said to use cannabis to “boost creativity.” (Photo: Jessica Pamp/Unsplash)
Once the exercises had been completed, the participants were asked to evaluate the creativity of the ideas they generated. A panel of judges (consisting of subject matter experts and fellow researchers) also evaluated each idea’s level of creativity. When they were high, participants judged their own ideas quite generously; when they were no longer under the influence, the same participants doled out less favorable judgments. Meanwhile, the panel found no fluctuation in creativity level between cannabis-fueled ideas and sober ones.
So cannabis doesn’t actually make people more creative; it just makes people think they are. But why? The researchers believe that cannabis highs, which generally come with feelings of happiness and relaxation, reduce the harshness with which users judge their own ideas, causing them to feel as though they’re experiencing enhanced creativity in that moment. In actuality, they could’ve come up with the same ideas sober—they just wouldn’t have appreciated those ideas as much.
For some people, the truth of cannabis’ effect on creativity might be just as convenient as the alternative, long-standing assumption. Many writers, musicians, visual artists, and other creative people hesitate to execute their ideas because they view them poorly. Receiving those ideas more graciously might help creative folks bypass their fear of failure or harsh judgment and act on their creative notions anyway. In fact, that could be what famous cannabis-using artists have been doing all along…but that’s a study for another day.
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