title: Cannabis and creativity: highly potent cannabis impairs divergent thinking in regular cannabis users.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cannabis users often claim that cannabis has the potential to enhance their creativity. Research suggests that aspects of creative performance might be improved when intoxicated with cannabis; however, the evidence is not conclusive.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to investigate the acute effects of cannabis on creativity.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined the effects of administering a low (5.5 mg delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol [THC]) or high (22 mg THC) dose of vaporized cannabis vs. placebo on creativity tasks tapping into divergent (Alternate Uses Task) and convergent (Remote Associates Task) thinking, in a population of regular cannabis users. The study used a randomized, double-blind, between-groups design.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants in the high-dose group (n = 18) displayed significantly worse performance on the divergent thinking task, compared to individuals in both the low-dose (n = 18) and placebo (n = 18) groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings suggest that cannabis with low potency does not have any impact on creativity, while highly potent cannabis actually impairs divergent thinking.
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Psychology Unit, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, PO Box 9555, 2300 RB, Leiden, The Netherlands, m.a.kowal@fsw.leidenuniv.nl.
authors.forename: Mikael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Kowal
authors.forename: Arno
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hazekamp
authors.forename: Lorenza S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Colzato
authors.forename: Henk
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: van Steenbergen
authors.forename: Nic J A
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: van der Wee
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Durieux
authors.forename: Meriem
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Manai
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hommel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D063386:Cannabinoid Receptor Agonists / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D003405:Creativity; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D013759:Dronabinol / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008385:Marijuana Smoking / Q000523:psychology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects*; D013850:Thinking / Q000187:drug effects*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D063386:Cannabinoid Receptor Agonists; D013759:Dronabinol