Microdosing Cannabis for Creativity
Tags: Creative Process, Cannabis, Creativity, Creative Writing, Writing Tips

Microdosing With Cannabis for Creativity

The less-is-more approach to embracing weed and making art.

Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

The relationship between cannabis and the creative community is long-standing. It is no secret that many artists and creatives throughout history have embraced cannabis and incorporated it into their creative processes.

As a long-time creative, I’ve spent plenty of time seeking out a place for cannabis within my creative process. Considering how many creatives use cannabis when they work, it seems likely that there might be some kind of benefit that cannabis can bring, but it might take less than you think. In this post, I will explore microdosing as an approach to cannabis use with creative work.

What It Means To Microdose Cannabis

Microdosing is a fairly common concept that has gathered more awareness due to its growing popularity with LSD and magic mushrooms in Silicon Valley. In a really basic sense, it just means using small amounts of a drug to experience some of the smaller effects rather than the psychoactive ones. It’s using drugs without the goal of getting high. In fact, if you are getting high, you’re definitely not taking the right amount. So, how does this work?

Choosing Your Dose

Finding the right dose for your process is something that you have to find out for yourself, which is what can make it a little iffy at first. Microdoses are usually small, like 2 to 4 milligrams small. But for some people, they might be smaller. Many companies make edibles or consumables that can be added to tea or coffee at this size.

The goal is simply to explore smaller amounts to yield the desired effects without some of the haziness that cannabis can bring if you use a higher concentration. You’ll have to feel it out for yourself and take notes to find what works for you.

How Cannabis Influences Creativity

Scientists are always trying to better understand creativity and there are a lot of studies on drug use and creativity. Cannabis is no exception. In fact, plenty of people have found good results in these areas. Studies seem to suggest that cannabis can enhance divergent thinking, which is often linked to creative output. As a professional creative, you can see the appeal. For writers and artists of all kinds, being able to unlock creativity is important — and it isn’t always easy.

So, Why Microdosing?

For ages, artists have been known to smoke a bowl and start creating. Painters, musicians, and plenty of others have found a place for weed in their creative process. If getting a little high before making art is what works for them, why should we try to change that?

Well, current research shows that microdosing can yield some pretty great benefits. In fact, some of the studies conducted show that microdosing can be more effective than higher doses in the long run because lower doses don’t offer the same impairment. While this is primarily being applied to pain management and other issues, it seems likely that it might also be able to influence the creative process.

More importantly, microdosing gives you back some of the control that higher amounts of THC can leave you without. It allows you to be more aware while still embracing the relaxation and energy that a lot of cannabis users look for. With smaller amounts, you can maintain full awareness and strike that balance between being in full work-mode and actually being high.

A Personal Case-Study

Like any other cannabis lover and creative, I’ve spent my fair share of time using cannabis and creating at the same time. For me, using concentrated amounts always seems to be fairly hit or miss depending on my mood, what I’ve eaten, or even how much caffeine I’ve had. Sure, I’ve read my writing after a high writing session and thought damn, that’s actually really good, but I have also read notes the next day that end with me writing I’m high, so I’m just going to watch tv instead byeeeee.

As a creative professional, I’m not really looking to get high while I work. But, microdosing has proven to be a great way to strike a balance for me. I can feel relaxed and let my thoughts flow more easily without fear of judgment, but I’m also not giggling uncontrollably or staring off into space (not any more than any other writer does on a regular basis, at least). Using lower doses of cannabis, I find that I can retain my sober clarity and unite it with my calmer and more creative self too.

Does cannabis make me infinitely more creative? Probably not. But, in the same way that a good glass of scotch can help the words to flow by removing inhibitions, a small amount of THC seems to go a long way too, especially if I find myself frustrated with what I’m working on.

At the end of the day, only you can choose what is right for you. But hey, you might not need as much weed as you think you do, so why not give microdosing a try and save a little money in the meantime?