Art and creativity, do they go hand in hand?
Although there are no studies that show a direct relationship between weed and increased creativity of the individual, over the centuries, artists around the world have used cannabis as a vehicle for the creative process.
Actors, philosophers, painters, musicians, sculptors and poets have used the ability of weed to “enhance” inspiration and have publicly advocated its use.
In the mid XVI, XIX, and XX centuries, artists such as Baudelaire, Shakespeare, among others, were found within the bohemian context of Western Europe, who admitted without any concealment the consumption of marijuana.
Outstanding examples such as the German writer Charles Bukowski and the astronomer, ex-biologist, astrophysicist Carl E. Sagan who sowed the suspicion that cannabis has an important role in the activity of the right side of the brain in his book “Dragons of Eden”. And yes, the right side of our brain is the most creative part.
Sagan is one of the greatest thinkers, for him it wasn’t just about smoking marijuana for inspiration. He explained that cannabis had the ability to take his mind away from recurring thoughts, making room for new perspectives. There are many smokers who experience similar changes in mental processes. Is it just coincidence that so many artists, writers and musicians have admitted to using cannabis? The number of famous creative geniuses claim that “flower power” gets creativity flowing.
Those whose exploration between substances goes to other levels should not feel strange at the idea that creativity increases after a good joint. Ancient civilizations such as the Native Americans and the Egyptians were fond of creating art and using psychedelic substances to do so.
At this point, we find an infinite number of examples. From writers and poets, to Morgan Freeman and Jimi Hendrix. In the rap world, Snoop Doog and Wu-Tang Clan have maintained their defense regarding consumption. In the world of music, Bob Marley is not the only one related.
Before we get excited about the potential of marijuana, we should warn that scientific studies have proven that overdosing could counteract creativity. At some point, it could become detrimental to the flow of ideas.
University College London conducted a study where two groups of people distinguished by their creative abilities (one group with low creativity and one with high creativity) in which regular marijuana users (those who smoked at least 10 joints a month) were also analyzed as a part of this study.
Some subjects were sent home to smoke, but were not tested in the lab; instead, they were given household chores both when they were sober and when they were stoned. The idea behind these two groups was to assess how cannabis affected the creativity of different types of people.
In the low-creativity group, divergent thinking was found to increase profoundly after smoking. In fact, it was considered just as creative as the other group when they were sober.
Unfortunately, for the high creativity group there was not much change. This means that basically if you’re already a creative person, it’s not the weed that helps you be more inspired. It’s you! However, if you’re not very creative, then a joint wouldn’t hurt at all and is likely to be the perfect tool to inspire you.
G13 Club is a private circle of cannabis consumers based in Barcelona and a multidisciplinary platform that develops and produces different activities mainly related to urban culture, music and art.