For decades upon decades, marijuana smokers have been praising its benefits high and low, and finally we’re seeing cannabis legalization and regulation across Canada and America.
THC doesn’t only tickle your brain and make things funny, but it also affects all of your senses in positive and beneficial ways. Weed can make you more sensitive to touch, which is awesome for hugs and kisses. It can make your tastebuds open up so you’re hungry and food tastes more delicious. It can help relax and focus your eyes so you can totally wig out while watching a gnarly 3D movie or enhance your video game playing experiences. And one thing the magic herb definitely does is affect your eardrums and make music sound way, way better.
As a musician myself, I can attest to this notion and enjoy nothing more than sitting back with my headphones on, sparking one up, and letting each note, beat, and rhythm soak into my brain. But why? Pour quoi? Por qué? Why does music sound so much better high? Well, I can’t say I have the answer for certain, but believe it or not, there is some science behind it.
Now, before I go breaking the bong or spilling the bowl, we should first acknowledge the general influence marijuana has had in music.
Name any genre of music, and there are a plethora of artists who indulge in the ganja, with some bands and artists even basing their whole personas around weed. The psychedelic stylings and rock that flooded the airwaves in the sixties and seventies was definitely made by stoners for the most part.
I mean Hell, why do you think Woodstock became a thing? Hippie culture and rock bands aren’t the only subsections of society to embrace the magical herb, as in the late eighties and nineties, Hip-Hop culture fully embraced Mary-Jane, arguably more than anyone else. This persists to this day with rappers writing whole songs and albums based on and inspired by weed. Most emcees even own their own companies and have strains named after them in 2023. Universally, marijuana is beloved by artists and musicians, and that translates through sounds that music listeners can dissect and ingest.
The reason music sounds better while high is due to multiple factors, both subjective preferences, and objective scientific truths.
Subjectively, when we’re high we’re more creative and imaginative, and listening to music can tell us stories and evoke visuals in our minds that only we can see and experience. Our minds are truly special and unique.
Nobody can think of or picture what’s in your head but you, and marijuana only enhances what you’re capable of conjuring up. Objectively speaking, there are universal truths as to why toking elevates the music listening experience. Weed often hinders or debilitates short-term memory in folk. Because of this, time intervals can expand over the course of one's high. Therefore, with time sort of “moving more slowly”, if you will, listeners are under the impression that they’re perceiving more musical information, whether their ears are trained for it or not. Every snare, kick, hat, baseline, sample, and guitar riff feels like it’s hitting you in layers.
That being said, it is all perception and time is not really slowing down, nor does weed make music better in a literal sense. In effect, cannabis seems to convince us of a heightened ability to discern musical notes and what not, and that is why music sounds better high.
Get Lost in a Musical Trance with these High THC Strains.
Smoke these hard hitters the next time you throw on some music or go to a concert.
Woody Nelson - Rainbow Driver Craft Flower
The Woody Nelson edition of the Rainbow Driver genetic was bred by Archive Seed Bank and grown in an indoor vertical farm using living soil. This high THC cultivar is also rich in terpenes, including trans-caryophyllene, farnesene and beta-myrcene, and smells of tropical fruits and gas. The plant's bright sticky buds are hand-trimmed and cured for a minimum of three weeks before packaging. Each glass jar includes whole flower and a Boveda humidity pack.
Cookies - GP20
GP20 is a coveted hybrid strain collab between Cookies and Powerzzz Genetics combining the strains Y-Griega and Snowman. This strain is known for having a very potent gassy smell. GP20 buds have minty green nugs with bright orange hairs and a coating of frosty white crystal trichomes.
Tribal - Galactic Runtz
Fresh off the exhale of Galactic Runtz the gasoline flavour and “High-octane" horsepower are noticeably intense from this potent indica-dominant strain. Parent genetics are Falcon 9 (Sunset Sherbet x Tina) and Runtz (Zktlz x Gelato). Expect a strong fuel flavour with fruity undertones. Tribal's Galactic Runtz is hang dried, slow cured and hand trimmed for final packaging in an air-tight tin can for ultimate freshness.
