Psychologists Debunk the ‘Lazy Stoner’ Stereotype

The stereotype of slacker stoner might not be so true after all, science has found.

People who regularly smoke cannabis aren’t as lazy or unmotivated as people tend to think, according to a new study in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.

In fact, having smoked weed appeared to have no impact on people’s motivation levels at all.

“There is a stereotype that chronic cannabis users are somehow lazy or unproductive,” study co-author Michael Inzlicht, a psychology professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough, said in a statement. “We found that’s not the case—their behaviors might change a bit in the moment while they’re high, but our evidence shows they are not lazy or lacking motivation at all.”

Around 200 million people use cannabis every year worldwide, many of who regularly smoke the drug. Upon consuming the plant, a person gets high due to the effects of several cannabinoid compounds, including tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). This high comes with sensations of euphoria, altered consciousness, and occasional anxiety, as well as other side effects.

In the paper, the researchers described how they studied the behaviors and emotional state of 260 chronic cannabis users, who smoked weed at least three times a week. They found that the participants were just as willing and motivated to complete a task when they were high as when they were sober.

They did find that the participants had lower levels of self-regulation when high, however. This is important for accomplishing tasks, as it affects a person’s impulsiveness and thoughtfulness.

“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,” said Inzlicht.

There was also no evidence of a “weed hangover,” with regular users having no decline in either emotion or motivation the day after getting high.

“Our data suggests that you can be hard-working, motivated and a chronic cannabis user at the same time,” Inzlicht said.

The researchers additionally found that people who regularly smoke weed had higher levels of positive emotions like gratitude, and lower levels of fear and anxiety, when they were high, but those who were on the highest end of chronic use experienced more negative emotions both when high and when sober.

Previous research into how weed can affect motivation mostly failed to consider variations among cannabis users and non-users, such as differences in personality, mental health, or the use of other psychoactive substances, the researchers noted. Accordingly, this study is one of the first to account for these differences.

“The cannabis literature, historically, tended to focus a lot on the negative medical consequences of chronic use,” said Inzlicht. “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.”

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