What I mean is this paper finds that people who are more open to experience are more likely to use cannabis and people who use cannabis are going to be more open to new experiences . 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 .
But given the varied effects of cannabis and THC that we talked about earlier through all that complex signaling stuff , you can imagine that there will also be other studies and in fact , there are where divergent and conversion thinking and creativity is not assisted by cannabis and might even be reduced by ingesting cannabis . However , if one considers that divergent thinking is absolutely crucial to the creativity process and the range of things that one will explore will be enhanced by openness and by reduced levels of anxiety . So a willingness to explore different options , some of which might seem completely crazy and cannabis increases the personality types and the re reduces the anxiety that create that sense of openness .
First of all , they did yes , see evidence for enhanced creativity . And when I say enhanced creativity , I mean within the context of this divergent thinking thing that I talked about a moment ago and when I say enhanced , I mean , significantly greater than in non users . So people that don't use cannabis .
So let's now return to the question of whether or not cannabis and its different components increase creativity . And when you look at the literature on this , you find studies that very clearly point to a yes , it increases creativity . And it's not surprising therefore , that cannabis can increase dopamine transmission , that is dopamine levels in certain brain areas , in particular brain areas involved in thinking and planning .
But this study has some unique takeaways that I think are really interesting . First of all , they did yes , see evidence for enhanced creativity . And when I say enhanced creativity , I mean within the context of this divergent thinking thing that I talked about a moment ago and when I say enhanced , I mean , significantly greater than in non users .
