Cannabis has been an integral part of the counterculture as much as it’s become a cultural icon post-legalization throughout many states in the US. Cannabis is known for fueling creativity and many artistic mediums have incorporated the iconic bud like the popular trend in the form of weed posters.
Here’s everything you need to know about the connection cannabis shares with art and creativity and where you can get your unique cannabis art for self-expression.
What is a Weed Poster?
A weed poster is a poster-sized piece of art featuring the notorious green plant in some stylistic way. They come in practically every art style you can imagine and make for fantastic wall art in stoner sesh pads. Weed posters have existed since the anti-marijuana movement and have fueled cannabis counterculture ever since.
The first weed posters to exist were anti-marijuana including the Devil’s Harvest poster, the Reefer Madness poster, and other vintage propaganda posters. Ever since cannabis art has gone in various directions and intermingled with an array of artistic disciplines. While weed posters were a form of propaganda in the past, these days, they’re just an expression of creativity, freedom, and a love of art.
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What’s So Cool About Weed Posters?
Weed posters have always been cool. Just like any other art print, cannabis posters are decorative pieces of wall art that help us feel more comfortable and allow us to express ourselves in a visual sense. Art encourages people to talk about art, creating a dialogue and a better understanding of each other, especially in your own home. Art also plays a huge role in helping us validate our emotions, stretch boundaries, and remind us of what’s possible.
Furthermore, cannabis art or cannabis posters can help tie a room together and give it a certain vibe or mood. For a stoner, setting the mood for an upbeat or relaxing and blissful session is one of the most important parts of the experience. You’ve probably noticed that every pothead you hang out with has cannabis wall art designed to complement the room and set the tone for the sessions.
More than that, art, in general, is good for your mental health. Art reduces stress in your environment, however, the flip side is also true. It’s also shown that it can help enhance your problem-solving skills, stimulate the imagination, make you more observant, and boost self-esteem.
Aside from that, humans have been making and sharing art since the dawn of time. Weed art is just another way for us to connect and immerse ourselves in the culture that surrounds us. Weed posters are made by people involved in cannabis culture. They’re a great way to support small artists and encourage more creativity and connection in the industry, which are two things that fuel us on a visceral level as humans.
Cannabis and Creativity
As we mentioned, weed posters are an expression of the self and the human experience. But why weed? While weed is a feature incorporated into many different art mediums, there’s a good reason so many artists center around weed, and that reason is that cannabis itself inherently spurs creativity.
Think about all of your favorite musicians, bands, artists, comedians, and actors. While not everyone who creates art, in any form, uses cannabis, you’ll find that many of the greats have been cannabis users throughout their lives and even credit cannabis as a means to help encourage their creativity.
Hundreds of years of anecdotal accounts support a huge cultural link between cannabis and creativity. Jimi Hendrix, Louis Armstrong, Bob Marley, Snoop Dogg, and dozens of others who have mastered their crafts thank cannabis to that creative flow. Even comedians like Seth Rogan and scientists like Carl Sagan agreed that cannabis was special and played a part in their successes.
Cannabis has been portrayed as a way for us to connect with our deepest selves and with others for decades. It’s allowed us to open up to each other, create art, music, movies, and tell jokes, while also helping us to better relate to each other. Cannabis and creativity are deeply intertwined and bound in culture.
You can find weed art in cannabis packaging, on storefronts and murals, and of course, on weed posters all over the world. Cannabis art even extends to hand-blown glass bongs and dab rigs used in the sessions directly. These days, you can even attend puff and paint classes which encourage us to create and connect while enjoying some quality bud.
There is scientific, coincidental, and anecdotal evidence highlighting the connection between cannabis and creativity. Weed art is a lot more than stoner paraphernalia and weed smoking art, it’s a cultural representation and a journey into the mind.
How Does Cannabis Boost Creativity?
Since there has been so much personal evidence indicating a potential correlation between cannabis and creativity, science has also taken steps to validate this question scientifically. The first tests on cannabis and creativity date back to 1992 when scientists found that using cannabis increased blood flow to your frontal lobe, which is the part of the brain that is responsible for creative thinking. The frontal lobe was found to become more active with cannabis use. Scientists in 2002 repeated the study and further solidified the findings.
However, cannabis use didn’t just create creativity where there was none. These studies were focused on divergent thinking, which is the way scientists measure creativity. Divergent thinking takes a look at all the different variables that make thinking creatively unique. Divergent thinking is a spontaneous, free-flowing expression that is used to solve problems, imagine new ideas, free-write, and brainstorm.
All of the pieces that make up divergent thinking occur in the frontal lobe. All of your divergent thinking and problem solving takes place in this section of the brain that was found to function a little better with weed in the mix. Creativity is one aspect of divergent thinking. All of these processes are on a spectrum as there are many ways to apply creativity. Whether you’re trying to come up with ways to make money or thinking about what to write about, you’re engaging in divergent thinking.
Cannabis affects divergent thinking and can make it easier to solve problems and inspire some of the artistic or creative ideas in your mind to spring to life.
Many studies have been conducted trying to pinpoint exactly how this works and the results are all over the place, varying widely from person to person. Since everyone has different lived experiences and a unique, genetic signature, there are a lot of variables involved. Regardless, the evidence did point out that cannabis and creativity are connected.
In 2012, a study found that you’re more likely to experience a creative boost from cannabis use if you’re not already a divergent thinker. People who were already creative didn’t see a huge difference, though people who weren’t very creative did notice a difference in their divergent thinking patterns.
In 2014, a similar study was conducted that sought to determine whether the size of a dose had any notable effects on the level of creativity or divergent thinking. They found that the effects of THC on divergent thinking depended upon whether you’d taken a large dose or a small one. Low doses of THC improved divergent thinking while higher doses frequently inhibited it.
Cannabis can boost creativity, under certain circumstances, though there are many factors at play. Your age, tolerance level, creative abilities, and body types all affect how cannabis use improves creativity. Too much THC can hinder a creative boost while smaller doses tend to improve it.
Ultimately, cannabis doesn’t make creative people more creative, it just helps release inhibitions to make creating come more naturally, flowing freely. Lots of creatives, such as artists, writers, musicians, and actors are regular cannabis users and agree that it can aid in their creative flow, allowing them to make more cannabis art.
[Also read What Happens When You Mix Xanax and Weed?]
Why Do You Need Cannabis Art?
Cannabis art is a great way to boost your imagination and creativity while you use cannabis. If you’re not a super creative person, being surrounded by art can help you slip into your creative flow and help you solve problems. Having cannabis art around can boost your ability to think divergently while using cannabis. It’s also a great way to immerse yourself in cannabis culture, boost your mood, and make your house feel more comfortable.
Since art comes in all different shapes and sizes, you can find weed posters for every decorative style, mood, vibe, or interest under the sun.
Who Designs Popular Weed Posters?
Weed posters are made by artists. Just like art itself, every artist has a unique style and medium, so there are a ton of unique pieces of cannabis art out there. Weed posters can be made by digital artists, mural artists, painters, sketch artists, collage-makers, graphic designers, vintage artists, movie poster artists, and so much more.
All it takes to make a weed poster is enlarging a copy of the art and creating poster-sized prints. Sometimes these can be purchased directly from the artist, and other times you can find them for sale in stores to adorn your home or sesh spot.
Where to Find Weed Posters
Weed posters come from all different walks of life and celebrate the experience of cannabis. You can find them all over the world in headshops, but they can also be found in record stores and other culturally relevant places, like movie theaters, vintage stores, art galleries, and the like. Cannabis has been fueling creativity in every aspect of media for years, so it can be found nearly anywhere creativity is encouraged and sought after.
If you’re on the hunt for a unique piece of cannabis art, be sure to start your search online. You’ll find a ton of different artists and you’ll typically be able to purchase directly from the artist to support them. If you feel like making a day of it, you can always explore the local headshops and cultural stores in your area. These days, cannabis prints can even be found at dispensaries and smoke shops as well as retro shops and curio stores. Your best bet is to browse online headshops first if you’re looking for weed-themed art.
10 of the Best Weed Posters for Sale Online
There are thousands of different pieces of cannabis art to choose from in every style under the sun. If you’re looking for some art to boost your creativity and get your stoner pad to pass a vibe check, here are a few of our favorite weed poster styles and designs:
- Best Vintage Weed Poster — If you’re looking for a vintage retro weed poster, check out this cannabis cup poster.
- Best Pop Art Weed Poster — If pop art is your favorite art style, check out this pop art poster featuring weed in all its glory.
- Best Cannabis-Themed Weed Poster — Weed-themed posters cover everything from weed joints to bowls, bongs, nugs, and concentrates. This one is our favorite.
- Best Decorative Weed Poster — Decorative weed posters make a great addition to any stoner pad. This one looks great in every space.
- Best Blacklight Weed Poster — Blacklight posters are cool for dark chill spots and lava lamps. This one has a ton of color to it.
- Best Trippy Weed Poster — Trippy weed posters are all across the map with melty and visual effects. This one is our favorite.
- Best Cultural Weed Poster — If you’re immersed in the new-age scientific take on weed culture, check out the A to Z weed poster.
- Best Movie-Themed Weed Poster — All kinds of movies feature weed, but you can’t go wrong with the artist’s take on the Reefer Madness poster or the Devil’s Harvest poster.
- Best Music-Themed Weed Poster — If music and weed are your therapy, check out this beautiful music poster featuring weed.
- Best Weed Poster with a Saying — Cannabis culture and art has come a long way and have covered a ton of different slogans during the prohibition and post-prohibition era. Our favorite is the weed the people poster.
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