Prominent Ghanaian writer and satirist Kwaku Sintim Misa, also referred to as KSM, has cautioned artists against drug use.
Speaking in a recent Joy FM documentary, veteran actor and comedian Kwame Dadzie pointed out that while the ability of drugs to spark wildly creative ideas is the biggest argument in favour of drug use among industry players, it is risky to rely solely on drugs for any kind of creative endeavour.
“When you get on any drug, it can give you some amazing energy and some creative geniuses that can give you the boost. However, trust me, if you rely on the natural, and you give yourself enough time, you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish.
The deception is that that one gives you an immediate thing that you can do, and you think this is the way out. But the more you do it, the more you destroy that capacity. So you can be the greatest creative and everything but later on you realize that it brings you down again, very, very fast. So my advice is, don’t depend on any external high to get creative because it will give you just the boost but you can’t depend on that boost,” he said.
KSM acknowledged using drugs in the past and gave an explanation, saying he did it to see if it would actually improve his creative abilities.
“I did it to see how best it can help me be creative,” he said, adding, “and the ideas that I got were all very wild and wow, this thing is amazing, it can give you ideas and things.” to further clarify. However, as it begins to fade, you realise that these were foolish ideas rather than original ones. You do not care, though, at that moment. For me it doesn’t work.”
“I think there is something called the natural high.” He continued, “Those creatives who stay true to themselves and rely on their natural high are always more successful and have longevity than those who rely on the quick high thing.”