One of the more sensational topics is Sagan's use of cannabis. Some of the press and other reports involving Sagan's usage of drugs for inspiration have been blown out of proportion, misinterpreted, or outright false. Poundstone writes
Grinspoon [David Grinspoon's father] affirms that Sagan truly believed he got many of his scientific inspirations under the influence of the drug. After Marihuana Reconsidered appeared, people sent Grinspoon unsolicited gifts of marijuana. One time someone sent a particularly potent batch. "You've got to give that to me," Sagan told Grinspoon, only half-jokingly. "I've got some work to do." The use of drugs to enhance the creative process is not uncommon in the arts. Writers ranging from Allen Ginsberg to Stephen Sondheim have credited cannabis as inspiriting some of their best work. In the hard sciences, though, this is rare. It is probably fair to assume that the drug could only amplify talents already present in Sagan's makeup, notably his much-commented-upon ability to look at problems from novel perspectives. Sagan used the high for generating "crazy" ideas, then sober reason for skeptically examining and winnowing. Of course, scientific ideas are further winnowed by their ability to account for evidence better than competing theories. A verified hypothesis is independent of its source. (p. 103)
Comment