The terminology, when it comes to cannabis, has changed wildly over the past say…40 years or so? As I have said before, when I was younger back in my late teens, there was basically bud, shake, joints, pipes and bongs. The “buyers” were not that picky about whether it was an Indie Kush or a California Sinsemilla. Many just wanted to make sure it was “bud” or flower, as many call it today.

But now? Wow, you better have your cheatsheet handy when you start looking into what to buy and how to consume it. We already discussed “how to get this goodness in me” in a previous post where we talked about all the ways people now consume cannabis, but I feel we should just spend a moment talking about strains.

The 3 big categories you need to really understand are sativa, indica and hybrid. Then, once you understand those, you will get a better grasp of how “strains” fit within one of those 3.

So to just set the stage again, sativa’s are more for those wanting an uplifting experience mixed with some nice euphoria. It’s great for those suffering from depression or who have trouble focusing etc. Then indica’s offer sedative experiences and tend to be used to relax at the end of a day. People choose indica when they need help sleeping or suffer from muscle pains. Then there is a hybrid which couples sativa with indica and can either be a hybrid that is sativa dominant or indica dominant. The different seed genetics that are combined determine which will be more dominant, the sativa or the indica?

Once you really get that understanding, then the rest is more like clothes shopping. You know you want a sweater, so you head to the sweater area of the store. Once you are there, you then search for the style and brand that makes you happy. The same when it comes to cannabis. You know you want a sativa for your own personal reasons, so you narrow your search down to the “sativa section” of the store, so to speak.

This is where things get more fun and interesting, in my opinion. Now that you know what you want from an overall experience, the other factors that will play into your decision will be taste, smell and also how the product delivered. Did it have the effects you were looking for? Some indica’s can make you feel a little couch locked while others just help you drift off to sleep with overall body relaxation. Some sativa’s make someone feel happy while others experience a little paranoia. Your experience will be unique. So that means some trial and error (even though there is not much error) will need to take place.

So maybe you choose a King Dosi (my personal indica fav) which is a cross of the Do-Si-Dos strain and King Louis XIII strain. Maybe you like how the terpenes taste and smell. So that part of the experience is great for you. But maybe you decide the overall effect made you feel not exactly as you were hoping for the reasons you use cannabis. So maybe next time you decide to go for a Hybrid and you choose a Girl Scout Cookies strain which is a combo of the Durban Poison strain (sativa) and an OG Kush strain (indica).

My advice to you is that you let the strains, especially if it is a hybrid, do the talking as far as the effects go. Many users offer opinions on sites where you can read reviews etc about strains. I have seen reviews of what was supposedly a sativa dominant hybrid and some said it gave them energy while others said it was great for sleeping. This is why I said picking your product is more like clothes shopping. Everyone has their favs and styles and opinions. Not everyone’s opinion is the same, as you know, and that applies to cannabis for sure.

Your body type, what you ate last and when, even your mood can play into how cannabis effects you. So someone’s review of the effects of a certain strain may not be what you experience at all. Maybe you like a certain strain more for it’s taste and how it intakes, more so than the effects. While someone says one strain smells and tastes amazing, you may find it less than pleasurable.

So I say…get out there and try. Try a Sativa and make notes on how it effects you and how you liked the taste and smell. Do the same with an indica and a hybrid. And before long you will already be able to pick out your fav strains and your experience will just get better and better.

Questions? Comments? Leave them below and we will appreciate your interaction.