Is marijuana a creative fuel or an obstacle for artists and creators?
Story and illustration by John Garvey
A lot of conspicuously accomplished creative people are stoners. If you think weed can help creative people live more productive and expressive lives, you may look to Louis Armstrong, Paul McCartney, Amy Winehouse, Woody Harrelson and Snoop Dogg. When I set out to write this article, I was of the opinion that cannabis was, in fact, a creative stimulant.
There remains a theoretical but decent argument for this, which I’ll get into shortly. But as with so many other things cannabis-related, the accepted narrative about cannabis and creativity is mainly bullshit. When you look in depth at the clinical and real-world evidence, the relationship between cannabis and creativity looks more like the relationship between alcohol and sex:
• It makes it more likely to happen – up to a point
• It can make it occur in what feels like a more spontaneous, free-wheeling and innocent way
• But it doesn’t make you better at it
• And beyond a certain point, it tends to keep anything whatsoever from actually happening
There’s room for exploration and debate about weed and creativity. Cannabis was conspicuously present during several eras of musical innovation in the U.S., such as the early jazz era, the groundbreaking rock and folk music of the Vietnam era, and the emergence of hip hop. Cannabis may help some silence their inner critic, or give them a sense of playfulness and spontaneity, enabling them to actually do things rather than just thinking about them.
But a more likely explanation for the stereotype of the creative stoner is the trait of openness. Openness to experience, one of the Big 5 personality traits, is strongly correlated to creativity and can also help explain an affinity for substance use. In fact, it is easier to make the case that coffee is a creative stimulant than cannabis. Coffee, more than cannabis, has been beloved and widely used by countless Western artists from Beethoven to the impressionists to the beatniks.
Alpha states and creativity
In his book “12 Notes on Life and Creativity,” legendary music producer, artist, author (etc.) Quincy Jones wrote about the importance of tapping into “alpha states” for creative expression.
“I’ve decided that I don’t believe in writer’s block,” he said. “It’s not a block; rather, it’s the need to move into an alpha state so you can hear what your heart is trying to tell you. Only then can you quiet your conscious mind and tap into your subconscious, which helps you think more clearly without internal judgment.”
Jones also says that “whenever I’m producing for other artists, I make sure to schedule our sessions late in the night when the musicians are getting sleepy, just so they can’t overthink when recording their parts.”
There’s something to this that ties indirectly to substance use. Consciously or not, we often use drugs to try to tap into that alpha state.
This may be why the “Quarter Gummy Solution,” my approach to microdosing, works so well for me. I am considerably annoyed that there aren’t more studies on cannabis microdosing in general. Drawing from my own experience, and some clinical evidence, I think sporadic cannabis use and microdosing can aid creativity.
But so do other things, such as exposure to different cultures, periodic sleep deprivation, ADHD, and a daily walking habit. I credit each of these things, more than any substance, for my creative drive. So do many people far more creatively accomplished than I am. And although it doesn’t make headlines, most artists have either no relationship or a moderate relationship with drugs.
Creativity also requires a surprising amount of discipline, if you want to do it consistently and skillfully. And cannabis doesn’t lend itself to discipline. I drew a drawing a day for the entire year in 2023, and cannabis didn’t benefit the quality or the quantity of my art. It was really a blend of stubbornness, love, discipline and rage.
Finally, cannabis use causes you to have a less active dream life. That too is a strike against it as creativity goes.
Weed will not make an uncreative person creative. It does have a tendency to accompany creativity that merits further investigation. But there are better established and more effective ways to nurture creativity.
Eureka!
Speaking personally, my Eureka! moments simply come to me when my guard is lowered – when I’m in an alpha state – or when I encounter something unusual. Speaking generally, creative breakthroughs tend to occur in the shower (as the cliche goes), on walks, during conversations, and most inconveniently just before you go to sleep.
The most important thing you may ever hear about creativity is this:
Just as you will love well when you treat love as a verb (something you do) rather than a noun (something you experience differently day-to-day), your creativity will flourish when you treat it as a habit rather than a gift.
John Garvey is a storyteller, freelance writer, illustrator, and nerd. You can see more of his creative ventures at clippings.me/johngarvey and CreativeFollies.com.
This story is in our July-August print issue. Click here to read the full magazine.