A study published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science has found that chronic cannabis users are motivated and exhibit willingness to carry out tasks that require effort, contrary to the stereotype that stoners are lazy.
The study queried 260 cannabis consumers five times per day over a period of seven days. Using a method known as experience sampling, participants were asked to report their experiences and behaviours at random times throughout the day. This method provides a snapshot of daily life and reduces the bias often found in retrospective reporting.
Participants were over 21 years of age, living in the US or Canada, and used cannabis at least three times a week for recreational purposes.
Those taking part in the study completed an initial baseline survey that recorded information about their cannabis use, personality traits, and other psychological measures. Once they began the experience sampling phase of the study, participants received five surveys daily through their mobile, sent randomly between 10a.m. and 11p.m.
“The cannabis literature, historically, tended to focus a lot on the negative medical consequences of chronic use,” said Michael Inzlicht, a professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough involved in the study. “There is a stereotype that chronic cannabis users are somehow lazy or unproductive.”
“Part of the motivation for this study is to take a neutral, clear-eyed approach to see how cannabis affects chronic users in their everyday lives.”
Researchers studied the participants’ willingness to exert effort in completing a task while high on cannabis. They found that people were willing and motivated to exert the same amount of effort while high, even when compared to when they were not.
They also found that cannabis users experienced a boost in positive emotions such as awe and gratitude, and a reduction in negative emotions such as fear and anxiety after consuming cannabis.
The study noted that when participants reported being high they exhibited certain behaviours linked to self-regulation, such as being more impulsive, less thoughtful and less orderly.
“These things can detract someone from getting stuff done, but we didn’t find it made them less hard-working, responsible or able to focus,” Inzlicht said.
