Indica, Sativa & Hybrid

We have all heard these terms before. Indica is supposed to give sedative effects of being “in-da-couch.” Sativas are labeled as giving the opposite effects, offering the giddy-up that some of us lack. And then there is the hybrid, which claims to be a mix of both. To say that a flower “leans” one way or the other is again said to dictate if the product will be more sedative or energizing.

Sorry guys, but these terms are frankly misleading. Sativa and indica can be

used when describing the physical attributes of how the plant grows and looks to

the naked eye. But these terms have little to do with what is actually in the plant,

chemically speaking.

I have spoken to many inquirers on the subject, and they are amazed when I tell them that THC was only a portion of the story when it came to their beloved “Sativas.” I explained that it was the terpenes, such as pinene or limonene, that gave them the uplifting feeling they craved with their high.

While on the subject of what’s in a name, I’m going to push you a bit farther. Do not put too much stock into a strain’s name. You could take three separate grams of Purple Punch, from three different locations, and the odds are that they would all have different profiles. By profiles, I mean the concentration of different cannabinoid and terpene amounts from the test results.

Hell, I’ve named strains before myself. I was presented with a cross of Granddaddy Purple and a Durban Poison and asked what it was called for proper entry into the system. The response I got was a shoulder shrug and “what should we call it?” So, I deemed it Granddaddy Durban, and so it was.