Can You Use Cannabis As A Study Aid?

This article was originally published on Cannabis.net and appears here with permission.

Marijuana is widely used in college campuses around the country.

Being in university has become a time when teens and young adults experiment with drugs, and cannabis is no doubt the most popular drug of choice. Even for students in post-graduate school, cannabis has proven to be an essential drug for many reasons, and one of those is to help them study, as well as help relax from all the academic stress.

Increase In Cannabis Consumption Among US College Campuses

A new study, which was released in September 2021, revealed that almost half of the college-age students around the United States admitted to consuming cannabis within the last year. Though it isn’t sure if the rise in cannabis consumption was driven by the pandemic, the highlight of this is that it has helped to curb booze consumption.

“The pandemic seems to have actually made marijuana into an alternative to escape the monotony of isolation,” explains Nora Volkow, the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA)’s director. “It’s made life become more boring, more stressful. So if drugs let you experience that completely different mental state, I wonder if that would be a factor that leads people to use them.”

The study, entitled, Monitoring the Future, was funded by the NIDA and has been analyzing drug use among university students as well as noncollege students since 1980, focusing on the age group of 19-22 years old. They found that 44% of college students admitted to using cannabis in 2020, a dramatic 38% increase from 2015. They also noted an increase in “daily or near daily” use.

While the study did not examine the reasons behind the uptick in consumption rates, it can be hypothesized that students are turning to cannabis instead of alcohol or other dangerous study drugs to deal with the stresses of academic life, study better, and relax safely, not to mention the fact that we are living in a pandemic.

However, many doubt the use of cannabis as a study aid. Consumers have been stereotyped as lazy stoners, making people think that it can’t help you be productive. In fact, cannabis can actually help you focus and even make you more creative, enhancing your ability to do many activities better including studying or work.

The Right Dosage and Strain

We have to emphasize the importance of selecting the right strain and dosage when it comes to using cannabis as a study aid. Be sure to choose a sativa, or a strain that you are already familiar with that helps keep you alert and focused, before you dive into hours of study.

Going with an indica or indica-dominant strain is famous for causing mental and physical highs that can put you straight to bed. This is not recommended if you want to get the most out of your studying. Additionally, a controlled dosage is always recommended for the best focus. For this reason, low-dosage edibles (under 10mg depending on your tolerance), microdosing, or vaping are great administration tools that can help you study.

If you are prone to anxiety over a big exam, you may want to consider CBD or a CBD-dominant strain. CBD has been proven to help curb anxiety while increasing alertness and concentration at low doses.

Improving Thinking Capacity

There is no doubt that certain cannabis strains can boost creativity.

Studies show that cannabis is effective in enabling unconscious thoughts as well as obscure ideas that you may not think of tangibly while sober, arise while high.

That’s why there’s no surprise that cannabis is widely used by artists and creatives before a creative or brainstorming session. It can even be used to fight writer’s block, and your inspiration for a thesis or paper may even come after a few tokes. Furthermore, it could also be used to help you brainstorm with other students even better when it comes to group projects.

Stress Reduction

Any college student can tell you that school alone is extremely stressful and hectic. Various levels of stress will inevitably be experienced by students, with the combined pressure of finishing your degree. Oftentimes, this can make it difficult to relax and get proper sleep – and the irony is that you NEED proper sleep in order to be at your best mentally the next day.

Having cannabis by your bedside can be extremely helpful in reducing stress and helping you go to sleep. In this case you will want to have some indica strains to take the edge off and go to bed.

Conclusion

If you’re interested to learn more about how cannabis can help you study better, you can visit the nearest dispensary provided that you’re of legal age to use it. An expert budtender can make great recommendations when it comes to strains and products to use that will have a good chance of being a study aid for your specific needs.

Using cannabis as a study aid may not be for everyone, as there will always be others who prefer to do so sober or with caffeine, but it’s certainly much safer compared to ADHD drugs such as Adderall which are also widely used as study aids despite the dangers and risks. Due to the shortage of studies on how cannabis can be used best by students, there is anecdotal evidence so it’s best for you to experiment and see which ones work best for you.