My New Article “Cannabis: An Underrated Tool for Mind Enhancement” published by Reality Sandwich
More than half a century ago, astronomer and science popularizer Carl Sagan, one of the most renowned scientists in the US at the time, smoked a joint and took a shower. His friend Lester Grinspoon, a Harvard Associate Professor of Psychiatry, later published Sagan’s report on his shower experience without disclosing Sagan’s identity in his landmark book Marihuana Reconsidered (1971). Sagan wrote:
“I can remember on one occasion, taking a shower with my wife while high, in which I had an idea on the origins and invalidity of racism in terms of Gaussian distribution curves. (…) One idea led to another, and at the end of about an hour of extremely hard work, I found I had written eleven short essays on a wide range of social, political, philosophical, and human biological topics. I can’t go into the details of those essays, but from all external signs, they seem to contain valid insights.” [1]
I like to contrast Sagan’s experience with a shower story of an acquaintance of mine, who also went under the shower after smoking a joint. There, he reached out for a plastic bottle and poured some of the liquid content over his hair to shampoo himself. He told me it felt awkward, like motor oil, and the liquid neither foamed nor washed off. He looked at the bottle again; it really was his shampoo. It felt like an eternity to figure out what had just happened. At some point, he looked up to find the cause of his confusion: he had forgotten to turn the water on.
So, what is it, then? Can cannabis elevate our minds and lead us to profound insights, or does it leave us feeling dazed and confused, as depicted in the movie of the same name?
Seeking to be Dazed and Confused
Many factors influence the psychoactive effects of cannabis. The plant contains more than 100 known cannabinoids, over 200 terpenes, 20 flavonoids, and varieties differ significantly in their phytochemical profiles as they contain different quantities and ratios of these substances.
Some varieties tend to be more sedative and sleep-inducing, whereas others are more uplifting and energizing. Some have stronger effects on the body; others are reported to have “dreamy effects,” generating winding, visual trips at large doses. Additionally, the spectrum of psychoactive effects depends on the dose taken, the method of application, the mindset and setting, the age of the plant material, and other factors.
In my guidebook The Art of the High: Your Guide to Using Cannabis for an Outstanding Life, I argue that during the long years of prohibition, we have seen the evolution of a vicious dynamic system in which many stressed users lacked access to information about the many enhancing effects of cannabis (…).
Read the full article here.
Let me know what you think! Have you experienced some of the mind enhancements named in my article?
