Again , I'll just read uh from the paper because they said it better than I ever could quote . While mainstream media has propagated the idea that cannabis expands the mind and it enhances creativity . Our results show the link between cannabis and creativity is largely a spurious correlation , meaning that it's not the case that cannabis increases creativity but and I I inserted the the but in this quote but driven by differences in personality that are related to cannabis use , for example , openness to experience that are related to both cannabis use and augmented creativity .
So cannabis increases dopamine in these areas , elevated dopamine increases divergent thinking and divergent thinking is associated with creativity . And there are studies that support the idea that cannabis can increase creativity . However , there are at least as many studies that say that cannabis does not increase creativity , that cannabis increases consideration of multiple ideas perhaps through elevation of dopamine and related systems .
Um First author is Emily Lafrance and the title of the paper uh Somewhat amusing uh in its own right , which is it starts with a question uh inspired by Mary Jane . Of course , Mary Jane being one of the kind of old school versions of our ways of talking about cannabis or marijuana . Nowadays , people refer to it mainly as pot as other names too , of course .
And that combination of features , openness to experience and what that openness to new experiences brings enhances the convergent and divergent thinking that is characteristic of the creative process . So in short , cannabis increases creativity , but through changes in personality that tap into the creative process rather than directly impacting the neural circuits that for instance , turn on creativity . And I have to say this study is really important because by exploring cannabis users , not while under the influence of cannabis , they were able to tap into this very important what I believe to be fact because if you think about a study in which you would have one group using cannabis and another group not using cannabis , and then you give them some task that taps into creativity , you will see effects and very likely you'll see effects where cannabis might even increase divergent , convergent thinking and creativity that those results have actually been published many times before .
Yes , cannabis increases creativity makes people more creative than they would be otherwise . Well , this is interesting , we have to ask ourselves how that was accomplished and it turns out that one of the major ways in which it was accomplished is that cannabis users , even if they are not under the influence of cannabis are far more open to novel ideas . And they have a more explorative and sort of reduced anxiety or I should say lower anxiety mode of thinking when they explore novel ideas , which is essential for divergent thinking .
