Sober cannabis users scored higher on creativity measures than non-users, but this advantage disappeared once their higher levels of openness to experience were accounted for.
Read this if you believe cannabis makes you more creative or want to understand the science behind the "creative stoner" stereotype.
Cannabis users' creativity advantage disappeared entirely when personality was controlled
What the researchers found
This study tested 412 sober cannabis users and 309 non-users on both self-reported and objective creativity measures to determine whether cannabis use is associated with enhanced creativity.
At first glance, the results supported the creative cannabis user stereotype. Sober cannabis users reported higher creativity and performed significantly better on a test of convergent thinking (the ability to find a single correct solution to a well-defined problem).
However, when the researchers controlled for personality differences, specifically cannabis users' higher levels of openness to experience (a personality trait associated with curiosity, imagination, and appreciation for art and ideas), these creativity advantages disappeared entirely.
The finding suggests that cannabis users are not more creative because of cannabis. Rather, people with more open, creative personalities may be drawn to cannabis use. The creativity is an artifact of personality, not a product of the drug.
Why it matters
The "creative stoner" is one of the most persistent cannabis stereotypes. This study provides a clean test of that idea by measuring creativity while users were sober and statistically controlling for the personality trait that actually drives the association.
The numbers in context
412 sober cannabis users vs. 309 non-users. Cannabis users scored higher on openness to experience, self-reported creativity, and convergent thinking. All creativity advantages disappeared when openness to experience was controlled.
How the study worked
Cross-sectional study comparing 412 sober cannabis users and 309 non-users on measures of cannabis consumption, Big Five personality traits, self-reported creativity, and objective convergent thinking performance. Statistical analyses controlled for personality differences.
What this study cannot tell us
Cross-sectional design cannot definitively establish the direction of causation (openness leading to cannabis use vs. cannabis use enhancing openness). The study tested convergent thinking but not divergent thinking (generating multiple novel ideas), which is another important creativity dimension. All testing was done while sober, so acute cannabis effects on creativity were not assessed.
How to read the evidence
Cross-sectional study with appropriate statistical controls. Preliminary because it does not experimentally test whether cannabis causes or changes creativity.
When this study was published
Published in 2017.
The bigger picture
This study illustrates a common research pitfall: confusing correlation with causation. Many perceived effects of cannabis may actually reflect the characteristics of people who choose to use it. Understanding this distinction is essential for accurate public health messaging.
Questions still open
- Does cannabis enhance divergent thinking (idea generation) even if convergent thinking advantages are personality-driven? Could long-term cannabis use actually increase openness to experience over time? Does cannabis alter creative processes in the moment, even if baseline creativity is personality-driven?
Common questions
Does cannabis make you more creative?
What is openness to experience?
Read the original research
Inspired by Mary Jane? Mechanisms underlying enhanced creativity in cannabis users.
Consciousness and cognition, 56, 68-76
Citation
LaFrance, Emily M; Cuttler, Carrie. (2017). Inspired by Mary Jane? Mechanisms underlying enhanced creativity in cannabis users.. Consciousness and cognition, 56, 68-76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2017.10.009
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