10 Times Star Trek Depicted Addiction

In ancient Greek mythology, the Muses were the goddesses of inspiration. In the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode The Muse, Jake Sisko is seduced by a different kind of muse,  an alien woman named Onaya. Onaya promises to unlock his creativity just as she helped other famous writers including the English poet John Keats, the Roman poet Catullus, and the alien poet Tarbolde. 

Onaya's abilities do draw out Jake's creativity. However, she drains some of his life energy as she helps him. After several hours, Onaya insists that Jake rest and sends him home. Unfortunately, he ends up in the infirmary, his overstimulated brain on the verge of synaptic collapse.

Jake and Onaya's relationship is similar to both steroid abuse by athletes looking for a short cut to victory and the persistent belief that drugs such as LSD and marijuana increase creativity. According to the New York Department of Health, while steroids can help increase lean muscle mass, they can cause serious health problems including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, liver damage, mood swings, and violent behavior.  As Heidi Moaward, MD explains, studies have shown that LSD and marijuana actually impair creativity.

Later, confronted by Ben Sisko, Onaya admits that her process for helping artists unlock their potential kills them but she gives them immortality through their art. 

After Jake recovers from his ordeal, he shows his father what he wrote, although he feels it's not really his work. Impressed, Sisko tells Jake that the words were there, Onaya just helped bring them out. Likewise, Dr. Moaward explains that artists are creative despite their psychoactive drug use, not because of it.