Pubdate: Thu, 18 Dec 2014
Source: Westword (Denver, CO)
Copyright: 2014 Village Voice Media
Contact: http://www.westword.com/feedback/EmailAnEmployee?department=letters
Website: http://www.westword.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1616
Author: William Breathes

WHAT'S ALL THIS ABOUT POT STIFLING CREATIVITY?

Dear Stoner: I saw something the other week about marijuana not being 
good for creativity. It seems like it should have come from The Onion 
or National Report, since pot seems to help people be more creative - 
but it was real. WTF?

P. Nutbag

Dear Nutbag: We thought it was a joke, too, but apparently scientists 
in the Netherlands claim it's true. Of course, their "study" was 
extremely narrow and, ironically, limited in creativity. Scientists 
gathered three groups of tokers in a lab and gave each group edibles 
- - some had 22 milligrams of THC, some had 5.5 milligrams of THC, and 
the losers got no THC at all. Whomp. The test itself was to come up 
with as many uses for a pen as they could in five minutes, and to 
find the link between the words "hair," "time" and "stretching." (We 
posted the answer below so you can test yourself later while stoned.) 
That's it. No word on if the test subjects considered themselves 
creative types in the first place or even if cannabis helped increase 
creativity in people in other realms - like music, visual arts, 
dance, coding or writing. And who knows what type of herb they gave 
the test subjects? Some strains are only good for melting into a 
couch. Of course, we're also not saying that an artist in a creative 
slump can do a dab and instantly create a masterpiece - but to deny 
the link between cannabis and creativity is pretty absurd.

To quote the late, great comedian Bill Hicks: "You see, I think drugs 
have done some good things for us. I really do. And if you don't 
believe drugs have done good things for us, do me a favor. Go home 
tonight. Take all your albums, all your tapes and all your CDs, and 
burn them. 'Cause you know what? The musicians who made all that 
great music that's enhanced your lives throughout the years were real 
fucking high on drugs. The Beatles were so fucking high they let 
Ringo sing a few tunes." [Answer: LONG]

Dear Stoner: Hey, I've got a few questions about weed, like growing 
it and stuff. Thanks.

Jimmy, left on our potline

Dear Jimmy: Put down the pipe, gather your thoughts, and then call us 
back and leave said questions on the potline message line so that we 
can actually answer them. In the meantime, we'll tell you what we 
tell anyone thinking of becoming ganja-independent: Go get Jorge 
Cervantes's Marijuana Horticulture and Ed Rosenthal's Marijuana 
Grower's Handbook, and start reading the forums on icmag.com.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom