Please Stop Asking About Indica and Sativa

Please Stop Asking About Indica and Sativa 

Indica and sativa have long reigned as the supreme means of cannabis categorization. You can ask your local budtender which one to choose. But if you’re trying to figure out how a strain will make you feel, the answer won’t be helpful. The truth is indica and sativa are a minor part of the equation. And that’s if they actually play a role at all. 

Thanks to the media, reinforced hearsay, and a lack of research, most believe this distinction predicts side effects. Scientifically, it doesn’t. Terpenes and cannabinoids play a much bigger role. Even bigger is the entourage effect. So let’s say an indica-heavy strain is more likely to put you in-da-couch. When you blend this with a terpene like pinene, you’d still get a more nuanced outcome. 

Here’s how to move on from antiquated labels and get the right cannabis for you. 

Why is the indica vs sativa belief so popular?

While many still assume divergent effects in indica and sativa, no concrete proof exists. The distinction between indica and sativa derives from their physical plant structures. While indicas are short and believed to originate from the mountains of Pakistan, sativas are tall and associated with the tropics. How does this play out once  ingested? Theoretically, it doesn’t. Science is still uncertain about their influence over outcomes. Sure, this doesn’t disprove anything, but cannabinoid and terpene reactions are proven. 

Elements you can trust 

How, then, can you predict your cannabis experience? Fortunately, there are a few reliable methods -- 1. cannabinoids 2. terpenes and 3. freshness. THC and CBD are the best-known cannabinoids. Yet, they’re far from the only ones out there. In fact, almost 100 others have been identified at this point. Terpenes play a major role in the outcome of your cannabis experience. In short, they’re aroma compounds found in almost all plants. As cannabis consumers, we all have our own preferred terpene profiles. The evidence thus far about terpenes role in shaping the psychoactive element has been profound and undeniable. How fresh the herb is also plays a major role in the psychoactive experience you get from each strain. A freshly cured bud with all of its trichomes still intact will give you much more potent and prominent effect than say a 3 month old dried up plant that was sitting on the back of the shelf at your local dispensary.

Blending it all together 

According to Jeffrey Raber, a chemist with a PhD from University of Southern California and the scientific director of Bellevue's WERC Shop cannabis lab, "You can't extrapolate too far from what basic science has done with only one terpene. It's really whole cannabis compositions that we need to start to understand better...By itself it might have one response that the rat or rabbit has in a lab, but together with many other terpenes and cannabinoids it's a very different physiological response."

In other words, don’t believe anyone attributing side effects to one component. That’s the first thing experts agree on. Likewise, they assert that the indica-sativa debate is outdated. After all, it’s an incredibly simplistic perspective. The combined effect of cannabinoids and terpenes are the most accurate predictor. Not to mention, the specific individual and time of consumption are incredibly important.  

What can you do moving forward? Dabble in some research, keep track of your reaction to specific strains, and experiment as you feel comfortable. And the next time a budtender asks if you want indica or sativa, see what else they know. If they’re truly informed on the subject, you’ll get more insight.