3 ms·

> The study found that cannabis intoxication leads to small to moderate cognitive impairments in areas including > making decisions, > suppressing inappropria

by tibbar 5y ago

> The study found that cannabis intoxication leads to small to moderate cognitive impairments in areas including > making decisions, > suppressing inappropriate responses, > learning through reading and listening, > the ability to remember what one reads or hears, and > the time needed to complete a mental task. I've no first hand experience here, but I can imagine there being tradeoffs. For example, I think creativity is somewhat negatively correlated with memory. Or, I'm often more productive when I'm tired because it's easier to focus. So going into an altered state of consciousness might still be beneficial or preferred even if it has tradeoffs.

flats 5y ago
I have a decent amount of first-hand experience myself, and while I agree with you (there are definitely benefits!), the sort of creativity that cannabis can induce is of a particular variety. Specifically, cannabis-induced creativity for me, while tons of fun, tends to be very myopic. I focus more on minutiae and more immediately rewarding things like satisfying textures than on a overall composition and development. How appropriate that is for any given creative task and whether it’s worth the downside described in this paper (which are pretty obvious and also very real) are difficult questions if you enjoy it. Personally, the output of cannabis-induced creativity often ends up being less rewarding for me in the long run.
- cthalupa 5y ago
  I would generally agree that it does focus me pretty specifically on minutiae type details, which is sometimes exactly what I need. Other times I find myself in a "stoner revelation" moment, which is not some groundbreaking breakthrough into the underlying fundamentals of how the world works, but instead where I will have something that I know, and is generally well known, but because it's so well known, not something I ever give much thought. The impaired state I'm in will force me to think about it at a more-than surface level, and sometimes those things that I normally take for granted get that surface stripped away and I'll end up with a useful thought. I've definitely had some successful changes to both my personal relationships and work organizational processes that have come about because smoking pot put me in the right state of mind. And, obviously, pot was never a requirement for those thoughts to be possible - they just didn't occur to me in my normal mode of operation. And, of course, I've had plenty of "stoner revelations" that upon further inspection while sober, were completely stupid.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
callesgg 5y ago
That is my thoght to. One function (like some type of memory)goes down in performance cause it’s performance was based on a trade of with some other aspect of thinking. For example performance on learning through reading could be a local maximum for that function but part of a local minimum for some type of larger scale thinking like creativity or imagination.

by tibbar 5y ago

flats 5y ago

I have a decent amount of first-hand experience myself, and while I agree with you (there are definitely benefits!), the sort of creativity that cannabis can induce is of a particular variety. Specifically, cannabis-induced creativity for me, while tons of fun, tends to be very myopic. I focus more on minutiae and more immediately rewarding things like satisfying textures than on a overall composition and development. How appropriate that is for any given creative task and whether it’s worth the downside described in this paper (which are pretty obvious and also very real) are difficult questions if you enjoy it. Personally, the output of cannabis-induced creativity often ends up being less rewarding for me in the long run.

cthalupa 5y ago
I would generally agree that it does focus me pretty specifically on minutiae type details, which is sometimes exactly what I need. Other times I find myself in a "stoner revelation" moment, which is not some groundbreaking breakthrough into the underlying fundamentals of how the world works, but instead where I will have something that I know, and is generally well known, but because it's so well known, not something I ever give much thought. The impaired state I'm in will force me to think about it at a more-than surface level, and sometimes those things that I normally take for granted get that surface stripped away and I'll end up with a useful thought. I've definitely had some successful changes to both my personal relationships and work organizational processes that have come about because smoking pot put me in the right state of mind. And, obviously, pot was never a requirement for those thoughts to be possible - they just didn't occur to me in my normal mode of operation. And, of course, I've had plenty of "stoner revelations" that upon further inspection while sober, were completely stupid.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]

callesgg 5y ago

That is my thoght to. One function (like some type of memory)goes down in performance cause it’s performance was based on a trade of with some other aspect of thinking. For example performance on learning through reading could be a local maximum for that function but part of a local minimum for some type of larger scale thinking like creativity or imagination.