The Choice Between Indica and Sativa Is Increasingly Meaningless (and How to Pick Your Weed)

There is a lot of discussion about the effects of different strains in the cannabis industry. The secret is that some of it is meaningless and the rest is less than iron-clad because of the unique nature of any given cannabis plant.

The way we group cannabis has its roots in unscientific weed lore and was molded and popularized by potheads operating in the shadows of stigma and prohibition. The original classification of the plants as two different species of plants can be attributed to growing conditions. Different strains have different effects due to the conditions under which they were grown.

The drug can have different effects in different people and on different days and hours. The last time you ate, the amount of water you drink, and the amount of alcohol you drink all affect how you feel when you consume it.

In the flower world, classification is used as a sales pitch, with other types of cannabis, the "strain" is even less important. It's done to drive growth and make manufacturing more consistent. It is about much more than choosing from columns A, B, or C.

The strains of cannabis are super broad. A lot of hybrid can lean towards one or the other, while some can have effects that people attribute to the Indica. The classifications are misleading due to this inconsistency. Is it worthwhile to favor one type over the other? Many cannasseurs say no even though they offer a few pointers.

Different smokes for different folks

Khalid Al-Naser, head of product at large-scale California operator Raw Garden, has been dancing with the cannabis plant for a long time, and he thinks that in the modern era of the drug, the plant's genetics aren't as important as they used to be.

Al-Naser told Lifehacker that we are left with a high degree of hybridization in most of the modern cannabis.

It means that the "indica" you are buying may have been cross- and hybrid-bred many times over, or that the "sativa" you are smoking has some hybrid parentage.

We only have to look at our demands for our own cannabis plants, they need to be small enough to fit in my closet, and they need to be okay in with intense light and heat. The plant has accommodated these requests but at what cost. It is more difficult to discern the effect based on an Indica or Cannabis label.

The binary contributes to the industry’s dishonesty

The cannabis consumer can easily be tricked into thinking they know what they're smoking when they don't.

The marketing of cannabis, especially in the grey market, often relies on buzzwords, strain names, and potentially counterfeit packaging, and can confuse even experienced cannabis consumers. In the weed world, as many a bar repackages crummy vodka into top shelf bottles, so it goes, but these practices are not as common in the world of regulated sales.

Sarah El Sayed is a cannasseur in every type of market. She told Lifehacker that even though they are used to describe strains inaccurately, they don't mean as much in the legacy market. After being passed through many hands, the flower that you are buying has probably been renamed and re-packaged, and the genetic cross and origin is rarely considered or passed down to the consumer.

El Sayed said that the old binaries didn't cover how different the plant's effects can be. Indica and Sativa reduce the effects of cannabis into two buckets, when I don't feel like I'm getting beat. If I were to base my purchase decision on the effects I want, I would rather hear more descriptive words.

So what will actually help you pick a strain?

New footing is being found by brands here. "We shifted to looking at aroma profiles as a key indicator for effect." The primary, secondary, and tertiary aromas are listed on the packaging. There are many substances in the cannabis plant that influence these factors.

When you visit the dispensary, you will be presented with a label that describes the cake as having a lot of sugar, fruit and dough notes. While this communication standard is not perfect, it pushes consumers closer to a process of evaluation that is familiar, and ultimately more meaningful. Most people have a relationship with aromas and understand how they affect their moods and energy levels.

A sea of possibilities is waiting to be engineered and legislated into surety. There is no reason why your cannabis product does what it does. I'm sorry! If you like the way it smells and tastes, you'll like it. It is fun to try a lot of different things.

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