With the multitude of medical cannabis products available, how do you determine which is right for you?

In our last blog post we went over the different types of administration methods for cannabis. This post will go over the different categories products and strains are placed in, which should give you some insight regarding their prospective effects, benefits and even where the plants originated.

Similar to how you’d kick-start your day, let’s begin with Sativa strains. These plants are known to have a flowering time of 60-90 days and are naturally found in warmer climates between 0-30 degrees latitude. This results in tall plant structure with long, narrow leaves. The flowers or “buds” are typically lighter in color and less dense than indicas. The effects of a sativa are more uplifting, energetic, and have a more cerebral focus. The most common terpenes found in sativas consist of Limonene, Caryophyllene, and Alpha-Pinene, so you can expect most sativa strains to have a crisp citrus taste and smell, with notes of cloves, hops and pine.

On the opposite end of the spectrum we have Indica, or what some refer to it as what puts you “in da couch”.  These chill plants take approximately 45-75 days to flower and are naturally found in cooler climates between 30-50 degrees latitude. Unlike their counterpart, indica plants are short in stature with wide, broad leaves. The flowers are typically darker, sometimes purple in color and more compact or dense. As previously mentioned, the effects of an indica are more whole-body focused and offer a relaxing experience. Indicas are also well known for their sedative properties thanks to the terpenes Myrcene and Linalool, which give these plants their sweet, herbal, and floral presence.

Right in the middle, we have our Hybrids, some of the most overlooked strains. These are a result of growers breeding Sativa and Indica strains together to isolate the best traits of both parent plants. Some hybrids exhibit more prominent relaxing or uplifting effects, these would be classified as Indica-Dominant or Sativa-Dominant hybrids.

You can find more information about cannabis on the blog and Cannabis 101 sections of our website.