I’m a huge fan of stoner ideas.
Ideas that are so creative that they surprise you. A solution for a problem you didn't know you, or anyone else in the world, had.
A friend told me that smoking weed for inspiration is like playing the slot machines - you pull the lever, and maybe you get a winner. He seemed to think “highdeas” are a game of chance.
Maybe he’s right. Perhaps wondering why sex shops don’t have self-checkout or if bags of dog food should have toys like kid's cereal is a waste of time.
But sometimes, people win at slots. That’s the point, right? Little old ladies in Vegas make a living playing the slots. They watch until a machine hasn’t cashed out for a while, then swoop in, do a couple of spins, and hit the jackpot. Apparently, it’s part numbers, part experience, and part good old-fashioned witchy intuition.
So, maybe weed is like the slots - sometimes it takes you waaaaay off course, and you get lost obsessing over some greened-out idea that only makes sense to you and your dog. But a bunch of artists out theremake a living off stoner thoughts.
For example, I’d bet a lot of money Snoop’s creative process has weed involved. The first song I ever got high to was “Drop It Like It's Hot,” and I remain convinced it was recorded for that purpose.
We would be missing out on a bunch of goofy jokes without Seth Rogan. And apparently, Carl Sagan and Stephen King also have burned a couple down in their day.
To be fair, I couldn’t find a record of these people saying Sour Diesel was their muse. Nor would I say smoking is a surefire way to success.
But, from my experience, a pinner doesn’t hurt. The trick, like those ladies hustling the slots in Vegas, is knowing the right moment to spin. And sometimes, it takes a couple of spins to win.
Now, I’m not here to tell you how to smoke weed. My ideas might not work for everyone. I’m pretty sure last week I gently gave permission to get high at work. And maybe being blazed all day does work for you. That’s fine, I’ve been there.
But the point here is that cannabis for creativity can also be optimized for the right moment.
For example, I like to use weed when I’m stuck on something. I’ve got a story that cannabis changes my mental state enough to see problems from a new perspective.
There is some legit research pointing to getting high making you more creative too. If you feel like nerding out about paralimbic brain regions and marijuana, go nuts - science has your back here.
But you don’t need to be a neuroscientist or A-list celebrity to get the benefits of what Bob Dylan called “bending your mind a little bit.” Because as much as I like rap music and stoner flicks, I’m really more interested in what cannabis brings to our lives.
And how we create a life with cannabis is an individual journey - maybe you need the energy boost of a sativa or to just relax into new ideas with CBD gummies. Whatever works. Maybe even supplement your insights with some mushrooms.
Relax, not the magic ones! We are talking functional mushies like Lion’s Mane and Cordyceps to amp up your neurons when you want to expand your creative horizons into the Multiverse. Creativity has no rules, so just use whatever gets you into that flow. You might surprise yourself.
And one thing I know for sure is that cannabis enthusiasts are an innovative bunch.
Ever smoked Chemdawg out of a papaya? How about vanilla ice cream and soy sauce?
What about seeing the humour in a situation you otherwise would have missed? A new spin on how you really feel about a situation? I think that counts as creativity.
These are the connections cannabis creates for us - new ideas, art projects that change society or fresh perspectives that change our little world. And figuring out how to smoke weed out of random objects is cool, too.
But for me, cannabis can pretty reliably make me see life from a unique angle. It’s probably what I use it for the most and has actually led to real transformation. And while I can’t say it’s for sure where my “good ideas” come from, I’m having fun looking for them.
