Creativity is not improved through cannabis use, claims study

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Some people believe that smoking cannabis boosts creativity. But a new study by researchers from Leiden University in the Netherlands claims this is not the case; smoking cannabis may even hinder creativity.
Marijuana
Researchers claim the belief that smoking cannabis improves creativity “is an illusion.”

The research team, including Lorenza Colzato of the Cognitive Psychology Unit at the Institute of Psychology at Leiden University and the Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, recently published their findings in the journal Psychopharmacology.

Cannabis, or marijuana, is the most commonly used illicit drug in the US. According to a 2012 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 7.3% of individuals aged 12 and over had used cannabis in the past month.

Some cannabis users claim the drug enhances creativity. As the researchers point out, Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple, once stated: “The best way I could describe the effect of the marijuana and hashish is that it would make me relaxed and creative.”

Such effects have previously been attributed to the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis - tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The researchers wanted to test how cannabis - with different doses of THC - influenced creative thinking.
Enhanced creativity from cannabis use ‘is an illusion’

The researchers enrolled 59 healthy regular cannabis users (52 males and seven females) to the study and divided them into three groups.

One group was given cannabis with high THC content (22 mg, equivalent to three joints), another group was given cannabis with a low dose of THC (5.5 mg, equivalent to one joint), while the remaining group was given a placebo.

The team notes that none of the candidates were aware of what they were being given.

All participants were then required to complete a series of cognitive tasks that measured two forms of creative thinking: divergent thinking (coming up with ideas by exploring as many solutions as possible) and convergent thinking (finding the only correct answer to a question).

The researchers found that cannabis with high-dose THC significantly impaired divergent thinking among participants, compared with low-dose THC and a placebo. “This is reflected in the decreased scores for fluency, flexibility, and originality of responses of participants in the high-dose condition,” the researchers say.

Furthermore, they found that participants who smoked cannabis with low-dose THC did not significantly outperform those who smoked the placebo when it came to divergent thinking.

Low- and high-dose cannabis appeared to have no effect on convergent thinking among participants.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/283718.php

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It’s like booze then. You don’t drive better when you’re drunk, you just THINK you drive better…

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They had to waste $$$ for a study on this? Seriously? Just sit in a room with a stoner for half an hour and you know that both creativity and IQ take a hit after you listen to them talking.

Gawd.

10-96

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There are going to be a lot of skeptical people out there about this study. I want to see if others can validate the findings by replicating it and having a bigger population. 59 is too small.

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Sorry, Skims, but count me as validating it. I have sat around with so many people on cannabis or even smack. Not one of them ever once under any circumstances said anything that was not trite, boring or trivial. They thought they were brilliant, creative, hilarious etc, but they were completely. deluded.

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LOL, I so agree

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The movie A Scanner Darkly does a fantastic job of highlighting the absurdity of most stoner conversations. They make sense when you’re stoned, but when you’re not, it’s a massive case of, “WTF was I thinking?!?”

10-96

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(1) To those saying it was a waste of $$$- unless you believe we are all all knowing geniuses there will always be stuff obvious to some and not to others. Knowing it anecdotally and proving it scientifically are two different things. (2) Agree about the small sample size and that it needs to be replicated with a larger sample.

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There are some things that are really REALLY obvious. In the meantime we have people without healthcare and people starving on our streets. To me it’s a matter of priorities.

10-96

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Thank you for posting this. There was a creative writing teacher (yep… a teacher) who TOLD my 17 year old sis that she needed to either smoke a joint or drop some acid to get the stick out of her butt and let the creativity flow.

My sis isn’t the only one he told this too. If there are “educators” out there who believe that one needs drugs to write better or live more creatively… they are going to need more studies like this.

Yes my sis and the others fought back, the teacher got reprimanded and I haven’t seen him on the campus since.

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It sounds like the butt is where said creativity is flowing from. I mean, really, you haven’t lived until you’ve been treated to a three hour treatise on the cosmic significance of dryer lint. Life is too short to waste listening to weed epiphanies.

10-96

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That is a great statement. I like it… :smile: I myself have sat through and spouted off some long stupid weed epiphanies. So GLAD that chaos is no longer any where near my life.

That teacher was just off his rocker. He really thought he was cool. The sad thing is… pot is legal in our state now… (bitter sweet news)

I’m glad that a poor dumb kid with a few joints in his pocket isn’t going to end up with a life ruining criminal record… :thumbsup:

But on the other hand… the people who like to push… now feel they are justified. :thumbsdown:

I’ve actually heard some people who I used to think were pretty bright say… “legalizing it is just further proof it’s good for you”

Really? With that argument we can say that cigarettes and alcohol are also good for you.

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