Hey folks, welcome back to another blog post! We all know that when we’re high, sometimes great ideas come to us. Sometimes these great ideas are in reality idiotic ideas masked by the smoky haze of cannabis’ filter, but other times those ideas can be profound. Now, to be clear I’m not talking about that time you had the idea to melt queso cheese onto a Hershey bar and the result was shockingly tasty, I’m referring instead to those ideas and thoughts that have some real heft and tend to be born of that liminal space between genius and madness that most of us only ever flirt with. When those ideas pop out of our brains during a session of imbibing some ganja, it’s easy to see why so many cultures used cannabis as a means to enhance their ability to find deeper meaning in the worlds within and around them. So, this week we’re going to be taking a look at some of the different cultures and personages in history who have used cannabis to enhance their perception of the universe in order to find deeper meaning.
I’ve got my thinking cap on, let’s do this thing.
There’s that patented Circa 1818 enthusiasm! Albert Einstein famously once said, “No problem can be solved by the same level of consciousness that created it.”. This is an Einsteiny way of saying that sometimes you need to alter your perception to get a better look at your problem. While no one is able to absolutely confirm that Einstein was a pot head, he dropped plenty of hints during his life that he endorsed a lifestyle that included imbibing mind altering substances in order to provide a new perspective.
Speaking of physicists with bad hair, Carl Sagan of Cosmos fame was a steadfast advocate for the consumption of cannabis as a means to open up one’s mind to new and unorthodox ideas. Fun story: back in the 60’s Sagan wanted to write an essay promoting cannabis and calling for its legalization due to its myriad benefits and potential. However, this being the “good ol’ days” he was worried about being blacklisted in academic circles or possible legal ramifications and so wrote the essay under the pseudonym “Mr. X”. This is the same guy who helped select the information being placed on the golden disk on the Voyager space probe (if you don’t know what that is, look it up, it’s awesome.) and also hosted probably the most popular science show of all time, Cosmos. If there’s a better example to hold up that dispels that myth that cannabis makes people idiots, I can’t think of one.
Those are simply two examples pulled from the modern world, if you were to look back at history there are entire cultures that used cannabis in various forms as a means to elevate their philosophical debates or to open their mind for religious ceremonial purposes; even the roots of Christianity contain references to cannabis oil being used for religious means.
So, weed makes you smart?
Well, let’s not get carried away here. If you are already kind of a dum-dum, smoking a big fatty will probably not suddenly turn you into a genius. As many artists and great thinkers will attest though, it helps you to think around corners by opening your mind up to ideas that normally aren’t conducive to the somewhat rigid nature of the way most of us think.
So, next time you’re stuck on that really sticky problem that you can’t quite solve, try some cannabis! It might just be the inspiration you were looking for.
Looking for your smarty pants strain? Check out our menu or come into the store so we can help you find the best product to help you think outside the box!
