by Dr. Lorin Bradbury
Question: I have friends who have almost convinced me that there are many benefits, besides pleasure, in using marijuana. One of the things they stress is the creativity that results, particularly from regular use, and they claim that is a fact backed up by research. Is there any research that supports increased creativity from use of marijuana?
There was a study that was published in the October 7, 2014 Psychopharmacology online on the relationship between marijuana use and creativity. The study was conducted at Leiden University in the Netherlands—a country that has had marijuana shops for some time. Participants were 36 regular marijuana users, and they were divided into groups. (1) Administered a placebo, (2) administered a low dose of THC, and (3) administered a high dose of THC.
No difference was found in creativity between the placebo group and the low dose group, indicating that a low dose of THC did not enhance creativity. In contrast, those who were administered a high dose of THC performed less well than the low dose and placebo groups. Researchers concluded that the frequently reported feeling of heightened creativity among individuals intoxicated with THC might simply be an illusion.
Lorin L. Bradbury, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist in private practice in Bethel. For appointments, he can be reached at 543-3266. If you have questions that you would like Dr. Bradbury to answer in the Delta Discovery, please send them to The Delta Discovery, P.O. Box 1028, Bethel, AK 99559, or e-mail them to [email protected].
