Dear Dabby: Musings on Cannabis & Creativity
Comedian Ngaio Bealum answers questions about how cannabis and creativity walk hand-in-hand together, from making art to developing growing techniques to enjoying other artists’ creations.
Does cannabis really make you more creative? — Tab U. La Raza
Yes… um, unless it doesn’t.
I mean, for every Steve Jobs — “the best way I would describe the effect of the marijuana and the hashish is that it would make me relaxed and creative” or for every Lady Gaga — “I smoke a lot of pot when I write music,” there’s a Salvador Dali — “I don’t do drugs. I am drugs.”
Some people feel more creative after smoking a joint, that’s for sure. In general, cannabis removes mental barriers to being creative (like self-consciousness) and can create a state of “micro-focus,” allowing someone to hone in on a particular task for however long it takes.
It may not be that cannabis makes someone more creative, but that cannabis brings creativity to the forefront: Think about the crazy snacks that stoners create when they are the grip of the serious munchies. It’s not that making a sandwich out of toaster waffles, bacon, honey, semi-sweet chocolate chips and peanut butter is outlandish, it’s that cannabis allowed you to make that sandwich with no fear.
Back in the day, all the alcoholic writers used to say: “Write drunk. Edit sober.” Change “drunk” to “high” and it still makes sense.
What are some fun ways to enjoy cannabis and art? — Van Gozeer
Hit all the museums! For serious. Get high and go. I’m sure your town has at least one museum. Whether it be modern art, or the automobile museum or whatever. Read all of the tiny notecards. Examine every inch of a sculpture. Drink coffee. Have fun. If your town has one of those “Second Saturday” or “First Friday” type deals — you know, where all the art galleries in a neighborhood stay open so folks can wander around and look at stuff — hit it up.
Hell, you can get stoned and draw. You don’t have to be any good, just have fun. Get high and watch Bob Ross. Smoke a jay and play with clay. Practice rolling unusually shaped joints. Have a jam session at your house. Get high and go to a comedy show. Learn to do papier-mâché — the possibilities are endless.
Weed and art go together like weed and art. Get high and do something. Bring snacks.
I want to grow weed, how do I get started learning the art of cannabis cultivation? — Greg Ormendel
Grow some plants. That’s the best way. You can read books — Jorge Cervantes and Ed Rosenthal each have good ones — but really the best way is to set up a garden. Start small and be sure to add extra time to your day-to-day schedule to take care of your new family. Cannabis is easy to grow, but it requires a daily commitment. Blue Dream is an accessible strain to grow for beginners. So is Odyssey or Hash Plant. Once you have a few good grows under your belt, expand your garden. Have fun.
Currently, 44 states have legalized pot in one form or another… so what’s taking Congress so long to legalize it nationally? — Pass the Puck (via Twitter)
When you put it like that it, seems like legalization would be a very simple thing to do. However, since when has a Congress controlled by the right wing done anything “for the people?”
Expecting the U.S. government to use common sense about cannabis is not a good bet. In June, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said he was “surprised” at the backlash he received when he said that he would maybe start to go after cannabis businesses in legal states.
Surprised! How can he be surprised when recent polls show that 57 percent of Americans would like to see cannabis legalized? It’s not a surprise, it’s willful ignorance. And just because a majority of Americans want legal weed doesn’t stop a small but powerful minority (think about all the money evil rich folks would miss out on if private for-profit prisons and cheap prison labor were no longer a thing) from fighting against common sense.
The right-wing Heritage Foundation recently published a screed on how the DOJ could go after legal cannabis businesses — and I am fairly certain that Jeff “Too-racist-to-be-a-federal-judge-in-the-’80s-but-okay-to-be-the-Attorney-General-now” Sessions listens to the Heritage Foundation more than he listens to a majority of the American people.
However, all is not lost. The current stopgap budget gives the DOJ no money to go after cannabis businesses in legal states, and there is also other promising cannabis legislation on the horizon. Make sure to call your congressperson when positive cannabis reforms appear in order to ask for their support.
Originally published in Issue 27 of Cannabis Now. LEARN MORE
TELL US, do you think cannabis and creativity go hand-in-hand?
