“Do you want a more clear headed, energetic and creative high? Or do you not want to leave your couch?”…Hmm…Tough choice. I hear some form of this ridiculous sentiment expelled from the mouths of budtenders across the state and it hurts me every time. For people just starting off buying cannabis, this is a terrible introduction to the world of weed and to those who have been smoking indicas for years (and can still function in the world day to day) it’s a little insulting.

 

Sure, there are differences between the two and identifying which type is an important tool for budtenders and growers to label and describe their product. But, the truth is nowadays there is so much gene manipulation, back-crossing, and cross-breeding that many indicas are bred with sativa qualities and vice versa.

For growers, indica and sativa are great ways to help identify important aspects of growing. If someone was just starting a grow and wanted to know what would work best indoors or outdoors or whether to grow in hydro or in soil, Indica and Sativa can be a quick and easy way to categorize the flowering time, plant structure and plant height. However, most people at the retail level have no clue what that means, nor do they care for the most part. Like coffee or wine the origin and flavor notes (or terpenes in the case of cannabis) are a lot more useful than the structure of the plants; especially from the consumer standpoint.

Terpenes are a much more viable way to identify what kind of high someone is looking for and should be the primary tool retailers should base their recommendations. Terpenes determine everything from smell to type of high. They’re found all around us and are the main reasons we have always been able to relate cannabis to other scents so easily. Pinene smells like pine needles, caryophyllene smells like black pepper, limonene smells like lemon Pledge, linalool smells like lavender, etc. There are dozens of different terpenes in cannabis and each one adds a different aspect to the high. The combination of terpenes and their interaction with the cannabinoids is really what determines your high more than THC percentage or indicating flower as indica, sativa or hybrid.

Indica and sativa is such a black and white, archaic way to categorize such a varied and nuanced product.  There are no terpenes exclusive to indica or sativa and if you only base your decisions on these two options, you’re going to miss out on some great American weed! I know a lot of smokers get stuck in their ways and don’t like change… I know some people will read this and say “psh whatever, this Jonny guy is crazy, I know it’s all about the sativa hybrid 37 percent THC! He’s full of it!”  to those of you I have a little challenge… Go out and buy some of those 99 percent THC rocks and dab them without any terpenes introduced and tell me with a straight face it was an enjoyable high.