A Guide to Enhancing Your Creativity With Cannabis
Posted: July 26th, 2021
In our struggle to keep up with the demands of work, family, and newly rediscovered social obligations it’s easy to lose track of those “me” moments we used to take for granted. Our spare time used to be sprinkled with writing for pleasure, painting, exploring nature, listening to music, or creating something of functional beauty for the home; grapevine bud vase anyone? We say it’s time to put down the screen, stretch, step out of the home office and create and reconnect with something beautiful. Whether you’re rekindling an old passion, or looking for that initial spark of imagination we’ve got tips, products, and ideas to let that creativity blossom.
But, I’m Not a Creative Person…
Creativity comes in many different forms and all of us can benefit from a boost. While most of us don’t pick up a paintbrush on a daily basis, we all deal with planning, problem solving, and that little voice inside our head that is constantly critiquing and second guessing our activities. Cannabis can help silence that voice, which Julia Cameron calls “the inner critic” in her popular book The Artist’s Way. Getting rid of one major creativity stifling hurdle allows your mind to relax and flow into a state that’s less judgmental, and more conducive to nurturing free thoughts and ideas.
The Science of Creativity
As with most higher functions such as problem solving, social behavior, and motor function, the seeds of creativity lie within our brain’s frontal lobe. Participating in creative activities increases activity in the frontal lobe and studies have shown that consuming cannabis increases blood flow to this region of the brain. In essence, cannabis gives the creative part of your noggin a little extra nudge. Cannabis also has been shown to increase dopamine levels in the brain. Dopamine is responsible for that warm, happy sensation in our head and when our levels are healthy we’re happier, more productive, relaxed, and ready to plan, problem solve, and create.
THC and Creativity: A Little Bit of Goes a Long Way
When it comes to using cannabis for creativity, less is more. In 2015 researchers from Leiden University in the Netherlands set out to test the effects of cannabis on creativity and their results were surprising. They found that lower doses of cannabis (5.5mg) produced a marked increase in creative thinking, while higher doses (22mg) actually impared creative thinking. So, before you start nibbling on too many Spiced Dark Chocolates, remember to take it easy. A dose of cannabis that allows you to drift peacefully into slumber, might not be ideal for churning out that short story you’ve been meaning to write.
What’s Right for Me?
When it comes to boosting creativity with cannabis, is there a difference between ingesting an edible or smoking flower? From a numbers perspective, the optimum creativity level or 5.5mg of THC seems like it should be the same regardless of the product, however, it’s a bit more complicated:
- It’s important to note that everybody reacts differently. The Netherlands study referenced above was conducted on regular cannabis users who’s tolerance might be higher, or lower, than yours.
- The effect of cannabis can vary depending on the level of psychoactive buffering CBD is in a product.
When in doubt start with a small amount, especially if you are less than confident.
Cannabis Products to Boost Your Creativity
If you’re new to cannabis and looking to start exploring its effects on the creative process Garden Society has a selection of hand crafted cannabis products to get you started.
Edibles
You might want to begin with an edible like our Milk Chocolates with Chai, which contain 1 mg of THC and 10MG of CBD per serving that will leave you clear headed and ready to focus. If you’re ready to try a little more, a half-piece of our Spiced Dark Chocolate with Chili contains the sweet spot of 5 mg of THC from Sativa hybrid Mendocino cannabis.
Remember that just as dosing is important, so is timing when it comes to edibles. When ingested THC is processed differently and can take up to two hours to reach full effect, so make sure you have a bit of time on your hands or start preparing for your creative session early.
Pre-Roll: Flower and Hash
If you’re looking for a quicker way to jumpstart your creative process, our Brighter Day Sativa pre-rolls might just be your ticket to a perfect Saturday afternoon creative session. We enjoy them before listening to music, hiking in the woods, or after a trip to the farmer’s market. If you love to forage, harvest, can or cook, cannabis can provide the perfect creative inspiration to elevate your menu and dining experience. One other perfect option is our High-CBD Calm & Focus hash-infused pre-rolls, which are crafted from our high-cbd flower and hybrid-hash, and designed for a calm cerebral high and have become our go-to product when we’re exploring nature, camping, or writing blog posts; which reminds us, it’s just about time to light one up.
It might take time to dial in your dosing and timing, but once you do we think you’ll find that cannabis is the perfect companion to enhance your creative activities, whatever they may be.
How do you use cannabis to spark your creativity? We’d love to hear from you. Drop us a note on Instragram or drop us a note here to be featured.
