The Choice Between Indica and Sativa Is Becoming More and More Meaningless (and How to Choose Weed)
There is a lot of talk in the consumer cannabis industry about the effects of different strains – indica and sativa, calming or energizing, this strain increases focus, this strain promotes creativity, and so on and so forth. But here’s the secret: some of them are nonsensical, and the rest are less than ironclad, because the uniqueness of any given cannabis plant, combined with the varying complexity of each human body taking it, makes most attempts to classify strains broadly. wasted exercise.
Even the basic way we divide cannabis into either cannabis indica or cannabis sativa (or a hybrid of both) is rooted in unscientific weed lore and has been shaped and popularized by fools operating in the shadow of stigma and prohibition, and has not been say as much as we think it does. Modern analysis of the preparation has shown that sativa and indica plants are identical at the molecular level , and their different appearance, which contributed to their original classification in the 18th century as two different types of plants , can be explained by growing conditions. Similarly, the effects of different strains are likely to differ depending on the conditions under which they were cultured.
The categorization of cannabis is also lacking in nuance, because the effects and taste of the drug can vary from person to person, and on any given day or hour. How you feel when you use it depends as much on what kind of stress you take as on your vital signs: when you last ate, how hydrated you are, and whether you are taking any medications. or other substances (even caffeine, nicotine and alcohol). can change the experience of cannabis use, regardless of variety).
While in the flower world, classification is used as a sales pitch, with other types of cannabis consumed, “strain” is even less important as a qualifier, as growers tend to use a purified THC distillate. This is done to stimulate growth – it makes large-scale production more consistent and controllable for manufacturers. But for people looking for a varied weed experience, there’s a lot more to it than choosing from columns A, B, or C.
As categories, indica, sativa and hybrid are very broad. Many hybrids can lean towards one or the other, while some sativas can have the effects that people attribute to indica and vice versa. This discrepancy makes these general classifications misleading at best. Should one type be preferred over another? Many cannasers say no, even offering a few tips to keep in mind when choosing products.
Different cigarettes for different people
Khalid Al-Nasser, product manager at major California operator Raw Garden, has been dancing with cannabis for a long time and believes that in the modern drug era, indica and sativa, once used to indicate a plant’s genetic lineage, are not as beneficial to consumers or producers.
“Now, with overlapping lines and continuous blending of multiple landrace genetics over a long period of time, we are left with a high degree of hybridization for most of our current cannabis strains,” Al-Nasser told Lifehacker.
This means that the “indica” you are buying could be multiple crosses and hybrids, or that the “sativa” you are smoking is of some hybrid origin, making the label less accurate.
“For some examples of how and why this happened,” said Al-Nasser, “we only need to look at our requirements for our own cannabis plants: they need to be small enough to fit in my closet (indica), they need to be ok with intense light and heat (sativa), i need the plant to ripen quickly (indica), i need bright scents like lemons and oranges (sativa), i want strong resin production (indica). Surprisingly, the plant granted these requests, but at what cost? The effect has become harder to distinguish from the indica or sativa label.”
Binary contributes to industry dishonesty
An ignorant cannabis user can easily be fooled by this general classification system into thinking they know what they are smoking and talking about.
Cannabis marketing, especially in the gray market, often relies on buzzwords, popular cultivar names, and potentially counterfeit packaging that can confuse even seasoned cannabis drinkers. Just as many bars repackage crappy vodka in top-shelf bottles, that’s how it goes into the weed world, although these shady practices are not as common in the world of regulated sales.
Sarah El Sayed, a New York-based content creator and cannabis marketer , is a longtime connoisseur of all types of market. “Forget how sativa and indica are used to describe strains inaccurately; they also mean even less when you’re in a legacy market,” she told Lifehacker. “After going through dozens of hands, the flower (or cartridges) you buy has probably been renamed [and] repackaged, and genetic crossbreeding and parentage is rarely ever considered or passed on to the consumer.”
According to El Sayed, this old binary just doesn’t capture how varied the plant’s effects can be. “Sativa and indica halves the effect of cannabis, where I rarely feel “uplifted” or “down” from a particular strain. I’d rather hear more descriptive words and terms like productive, mood-enhancing, soothing, creative, stress-relieving, if I’m basing my buying decision on the desired effects I’m looking for.”
So what will actually help you choose a strain?
Brands find new footing here. Raw Garden, for example, has taken a more interactive approach to guiding people to the right choice: “We’ve moved on to looking at scent profiles as a key indicator of effect. We now list primary, secondary and tertiary flavor descriptors on our packaging,” Al-Nasser said. All of these factors are influenced by many of the substances that make up the cannabis plant , including terpenes , which are increasingly being mentioned in marketing.
Now, instead of wondering what it means why it’s called “Margarita Cake”, when you’re at the pharmacy, you’ll be presented with a label that describes that it has sweet, citrus, and doughy notes. As Al-Nasser noted, “While this communication standard is an imperfect method, it pushes consumers closer to an evaluation process that is familiar and ultimately more meaningful. Most people have an attitude towards fragrances and their own understanding of how these fragrances affect their mood and overall energy level.”
Cannabis is, in a sense, a sea of possibilities just waiting to be engineered (and legalized) as a guarantee. So no, there is no clear reason why or how your cannabis product does what it does. (Sorry!) Currently, the best practice is that if you like the smell and taste of it, you will most likely like the way it feels. It’s also fun to try a bunch of different kinds and see what you like.