The medical value of cannabis is hard to ignore. It's all but a given that you know someone who has experience using cannabis to treat anything from common ailments to serious diseases. But conversations focused on medical cannabis, though useful, aren't always fun.
Fortunately, as useful as cannabis is as medicine, it's undeniably enjoyable to explore the creative side of cannabis. Since its earliest appearances in our history, it has been used as a means of accessing otherworldly experiences.
Cannabis has been an inspiration for some of the greatest and most thought-provoking creative minds throughout history, including some surprising entries in the "I did inhale" category. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates found inspiration in frequent cannabis use, and it's widely known that Albert Einstein liked to chain smoke the medicinal mindbender while thinking about space and time (and perhaps science groupies).
Before Carl Sagan ever blew the world's collective mind with his understanding of the cosmos, he was lighting up his frontal lobe with cannabis and unlocking the secrets of the universe for all of us to enjoy during our own cannabis-fueled pontifications of outer space.
Not down to earth enough for you? Dylan, Marley, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, and nearly every musician following has at least tried cannabis while creating. The soundtrack of your most recent smoke session was probably belted out after a deep puff or ten of magical cannabis.
It should come as no surprise that there are plenty of good reasons you and all these other groundbreakers have gotten creative on cannabis.
The short story: Cannabis can excite thought and expression while inhibiting your inhibitions.
The long story: Cannabinoids in cannabis temporarily alter the chemistry of your frontal lobe, specifically the areas that govern things like thought, focus and expression. THC also influences how we perceive and experience time and the five senses. It also has a substantial effect on our internal reward system, aka the pleasure center of your thought box. It increases dopamine and serotonin levels, making us feel good for no other reason than ... "Yay cannabis!"
But if you're planning a creative session soon, pump the breaks, Picasso. According to a 2014 cannabis and creativity study published by Psychopharmacology, dosing matters.
The Netherlandian (it's a word!) study compared measures of creativity after consumption of high dose cannabis, low dose cannabis and a placebo. The findings were interesting, if not revealing. Participants who used low doses of THC (5.5 mg) performed better creatively than both the placebo and high dose users (22 mg).
What does this all mean?
It could be that lower doses diminish the inhibitive function of the frontal lobe just enough to strip away fears and light the creative flame, but not so much that you lose the ability to express yourself. With all studies, especially those about cannabis, the results aren't entirely conclusive and require further investigation.
We recommend discovering whether cannabis can boost your creativity (we think the evidence is unimpeachable) with some extensive self-study. Rair Co. offers a wide selection of flower, pre-rolls, vaporizers and edibles—plus a ton of knowledge about cannabis that could help you unlock some creative thinking and expression.
Worst case: You'll get to experience some otherworldly cannabis.
Best case: You'll get to experience some otherworldly cannabis while creating something no one has ever seen, heard or experienced before.
Even the naysaying Netherlandians have to admit that's a win-win.
To learn more about Rair Co., find one of our locations, and explore our menu of mind-bending products, be sure to visit our website.
Courtesy of Rair Co.
