Sativa vs Indica High
The two major types of cannabis plants are Indica and Sativa. Each strain has it’s own range of effects on the body and mind resulting in a wide range of medicinal benefits. Indica strains generally provide a sense of deep body relaxation. Sativa strains tend to provide a more energizing experience. Indica vs Sativa Buds – how to choose?
Indica vs Sativa Buds
There are two major types of cannabis: sativa and indica. Indica vs Sativa is a personal choice and both can we used for optimal results in different circumstances.
The big difference between the two types of cannabis is that they have opposite effects once consumed. So whether you are consuming cannabis for recreational or medical reasons, you will want to use the a strain that causes the desired effects. It is also worth noting that cannabis effects individuals slightly differently based on your weight, your consumption frequency, the source of the strain, and many other factors. Here are some cannabis basics to get you on the right path.
Sativa Weed
Physically speaking, a true sativa plant will be tall, usually between 8 and 18 feet high, with thin leaves. Sativas originate from the warm climates of Mexico, Central America, and Southeast Asia and they thrive outdoors in the heat.
When you consume a sativa strain you might feel: energized, thoughtful, focused, generally awesome and uplifted, with a stimulated head high. Sativas also have a lighter, more fruity aroma. In other words, if you want to be social, clean your house, have brilliant ideas, or manage to accomplish anything at all, sativas are your go-to.
Indica Weed
Indica plants are typically short and stout and have full-figured, wider leaves. Indicas are native to Hindu Kush range in the Himalayas, so they are much more tolerant of cold and inclement weather than sativas. To protect itself from the cold weather of the Himalayas, the plant developed the ability to product cannabinoid-dense resin to protect itself. This resin is also the reason that indicas have high levels of THC and can be very potent.
On the other hand, if you consume an indica, a.k.a “in-da-couch” you might feel sleepy, relaxed, pain relief, and it can also reduce nausea, increase appetite (munchies) and fight depression. If you are trying to watch a movie, eat a Costco-sized bag of Sun Chips and have the best slumber of your life, indica is where it is at.
Cannabis Indica High
Typically, cannabis Indica plants are short, bushy plants with wide leaves. Indica plants typically grow faster and have a higher yield than the sativa variety. Medicine produced from cannabis Indica plants have higher CBD and lower THC counts.
Cannabis Sativa High
Cannabis Sativa plants are opposite of the Indica strains and grow tall and thin with narrow leaves. Sativa plants are also generally a lighter shade of green then their counterpart, the Indica strain. Sativa strains take longer to grow, mature, and require more light. Medicine produced from cannabis Sativa plants have lower CBD and higher THC counts.
Everything is a Hybrid
Just like wine, there’s complexity in cannabis and, thanks to creative people who love genetics, the world of cannabis is awash in Hybrids. Not only between Indica and Sativa, but also crossing CBD (hemp) and THC (cannabis). Here are examples:
- Indica x Indica
- Indica x Sativa
- Sativa x Sativa
- Sativa x Indica
Now, mix in THC by CBD and you can get something like this:
| Indica (THC) | Sativa (THC) | Indica (CBD) | Sativa (CBD) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indica THC |  | | | |
| Sativa THC | | | | |
| Indica CBD | | | | |
| Sativa CBD | | | | |
Sativa Indica Hybrid High
With more than 1,000 strains of cannabis having been bred during the past several decades, it is critical that patients are aware of the different types of efficacy available to them in terms of cannabis medicine. Some varieties of cannabis are most appropriate for particular diseases and ailments, but not others. Choosing the right strain is critical to ensuring that patients receive the best therapy possible.
Cannabis Strain Comparison Chart
| SATIVA | INDICA |
|---|---|
| · Plants are Taller and Slimmer · Leaves are Longer and Thinner | · Plants are Shorter and Bushier · Leaves are Shorter and Wider |
| Head High: Alertness, Uplifting and Euphoric, Creativity and Increased Energy | Body High: Relaxation, Appetite Stimulator, Sleep Aid, Pain Relief |
| · Anti Anxiety | · Increase mental relaxation |
| · Anti-depressant | · Muscle relaxation |
| · Treats chronic pain | · Decreases nausea |
| · Increases focus and creativity | · Decreases acute pain |
| · Increases serotonin | · Increases appetite |
| · Increases dopamine | |
| Best for Daytime Use | Best for Nighttime Use |
Landrace Cannabis Strains and Heirlooms
Landrace strains are those that evolved naturally within their native environments. Because they weren’t bred and aren’t hybrids, landrace strains offer a very pure example of sativa or indica, with no interference from humans. In fact, landrace strains are typically 100 percent indica or sativa, the result of tens of thousands of years of inbreeding in a particular weather climate and geography.
Heirlooms are landrace strains that have been grown outside of their native environment, such as plants or seeds professionally grown in Illinois that originated on the other side of the world. While sought for their pure indica or sativa characteristics, such strains lose some of their unique characteristics when grown outside the climate in which they evolved.
Examples of landrace strains include Durban Poison, a sativa from South Africa; Afghan Indica, from Afghanistan; Malawi Gold, a sativa from Southeastern Africa; and Panama Red, a sativa from the country that bears its name.
Landrace sativas appear in Asia, Anatolia, and Northern Africa. These climates provide the long summers and intense sun in which such strains have evolved and adapted to thrive. Indicas are located in Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan. Such strains will not reach their potential if grown within indoor or outdoor conditions that don’t match those of their native environment.
Eastern Europe, the Himalayan region of India, and Siberia are home to ruderalis landrace strains and are among the least desired of these naturally evolved plants. Often, as in the Himalayas, such plants are used to create traditional hand-rolled hash, with impoverished villagers in such regions subsisting on black market sales of the concentrate that eventually appears in smoking cafes throughout Europe.
What Determines Sativa or Indica Buds? It’s all about the terpenes!
Readers have already learned that the sometimes pungent aromas produced by many strains of cannabis are the result of terpenes, the special molecules in the herb that are similar in many respects to cannabinoids like THC and CBD.
While many might guess that a particular strain of cannabis is categorized as indica, sativa, or hybrid based on the presence or absence of a particular cannabinoid, or a cannabinoid in a particular volume, it is actually a terpene that determines this important status of a strain.
Myrcene, the most common terpene in cannabis, is known to help patients sleep, battling conditions like anxiety and insomnia. If present in a specific strain in a volume greater than 0.5 percent, the strain is considered an indica. If the amount of myrcene is under one half of one percent, then the strain is deemed a sativa.
This dynamic is a good example of the entourage effect, a theory that cannabinoids and terpenes work together in harmony to deliver medicinal efficacy to patients. Many terpenes buffer or enhance the effects of major cannabinoids like THC.
Indica vs Sativa Buds – Now What?
Do you want to learn more about Indica and Sativa? Would you like to get up close and personal with some cannabis plants? Join Happy Travelers Tours and Book your Wine-and-Weed Tour now!