Cannabis, CBD, and Creativity: How the Flower Can Help Stimulate Your Creative Senses

Have you ever found yourself daydreaming about the lives of your favorite creative minds? Asking yourself, “how did this artist envision such a masterpiece?” or “how did this writer devise such an elaborate plot in their novel?” only to find your mind eventually wandering to the question, “wonder if the creative greats enjoyed cannabis as much as I do?”. While not all creative professionals utilize the effects of cannabis (or at least not all openly admit to it), researchers have become exceedingly interested in the potential effects that cannabinoids, namely THC and CBD, may have on our creativity. Let’s take a look into new data that may help us determine if our favorite flower can help stimulate your creative senses. 

Understanding Creativity

Like most things, creativity is, in a lot of ways, just like any other function of our brains. Given this, neuroscientists naturally sought out to figure out which region of the brain controls creativity. The majority of modern assessments around this topic have concluded that creativity is the result of the right-side of our brains. Of course, simply leaving the concept at this was far from enough to satiate the researchers in this field, which is why additional exploration through neural imaging has allowed neuroscientists the ability to pinpoint the frontal cortex as the region responsible for creativity’s origin. Naturally, the next step in the discovery process involved exploring how THC and/or CBD affect the frontal cortex region. 

THC, Creativity, and the Variable That Matters

If you are in the process of rolling a fat blunt because you’ve read the first paragraph and have already convinced yourself that “more is better” when it comes to THC’s potential to boost creative senses, we’re going to need you to take a deep breath and slow your roll. In fact, you may want to put the blunt away completely for this. The old adage, “the dose makes the poison” may be somewhat applicable when it comes to THC and creativity (not that THC is poison…you know what we mean!)

In a study published by the medical journal Psychopharmacology, researchers conducted a randomized, double-blind study to assess THC’s ability (or lack thereof) to potentiate creative performance and the results may shock you. Participants in the study were given either a dose of 5.5mg THC, 22mg THC, or a placebo (0mg THC). After vaping their respective doses, participants were then provided with various tests that assess multiple aspects of creative thinking. [1] 

The results of the study may not be what you would expect. The results expressed little to no effect on creativity in participants who received the placebo (0mg THC) or the low-dose THC (5.5mg). Even more surprising, data revealed that those who received the high dose of THC (22mg) suffered from an impaired ability in terms of divergent thinking. [1] 

Don’t toss your bud just yet though! While this study may not have rendered the results you had hoped for, there were several limitations that were highlighted by the researchers. Things like the lack of blood serum measurement of THC, and the fact that some of the testing may not have been capable of accurately identifying impairments are reasons why this topic needs to be studied further in a clinical, controlled setting. 

CBD’s Potential Role in Creativity

So, you’ve decided to save that blunt for a later date, but you still feel like there’s something missing as far as your creative juices go? Maybe you’re worried about all the tasks that you’ve been putting on the backburner like taxes, responding to those emails from your boss, or whatever other daunting to-do’s you’ve got going on. As you prepare to engage in your favorite creative outlet, you feel like there’s something preventing your mind from fully embracing its creative side. This is exactly where CBD may serve as a useful tool!

You see, there’s a common denominator between all of the potential things you’ve procrastinated about and that is our evil little friend, anxiety. Anxiety is not only a mental burden for a large portion of the population, but it can also become a debilitating distraction that keeps us from not only completing necessary tasks, but also from being able to stop and smell the roses, so to speak. 

While the verdict is still out around the question of CBD’s potential interaction with the brain’s frontal cortex (home of creativity), we do have data and anecdotal reports that suggest CBD’s potential to curb anxiety and stress. If you’ve tried THC without much success in the creativity department, maybe you should ask yourself if you feel anxious or stressed? If so, you may be a candidate for CBD as a stress reliever. As with anything, a low and slow approach is the best way to judge if and how CBD provides you with enough relief from life’s anxious moments to allow for a refined focus on your creative side. 

Making the Most Out of Cannabinoids and Creativity

This entire topic is one that researchers have only scratched the surface on. Ultimately, you know your body the best which means you also know (hopefully) your limits in terms of how much of a compound is too much for the task at hand. Thankfully, there is an enormous amount of research currently being conducted in this field and we expect that sooner than later we have a much clearer picture into cannabinoids and creativity. 

Until then, those who utilize THC and CBD to enhance creativity are likely left with resorting to trial-and-error dosages to see what works best for them. Of course, you should always consult with your medical provider before beginning any type of self-experimentation, but you know that already! We love to hear from our readers regarding the topics we discuss and this rings especially true for this subject. Let us know how you feel about THC and/or CBD’s potential in terms of creativity. What have you found works best for you? Any funny stories about a time when you realize you had overindulged? Let us hear it!

References:
1. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00213-014-3749-1