The late David Foster Wallace perfectly characterized this phenomenon in his highly acclaimed novel, Infinite Jest, in which the protagonist is addicted to weed (or as he calls it, Bob Hope): This is why smoking marijuana can make you temporarily obsessed with an idea, or lead your mind to go off on long, strange tangents. But cannabinoids prevent this from happening in certain areas of the brain, amplifying your imagination and giving your thoughts a runaway-train effect. Usually, neurons in the brain become temporarily inactive after firing, almost as if they’re taking a quick break. And the best part is, there’s actually science behind those “high-thoughts” that keep you up at night. Smoking marijuana turns us all into temporary philosophers.
