People grow it because they want to get the effects of marijuana, but with different qualities. So it helps to learn about the different marijuana strains to make sense of all those qualities. The different marijuana strains are essentially variations in the plant’s phenotype, with different combinations of its oils and terpenes.
Different types of cannabis produce a range of effects on an individual. Some people use medical marijuana for chronic pain management or appetite stimulants. Recreational users usually enjoy cannabis for its relaxing or stimulating effect on the mind and body. Regardless of which type you prefer, it’s important to know what you’re getting into when you buy your next product from your neighborhood dealer.
How Many Strains Are There?
There are three main types of marijuana strains: Indica, Sativa, and Hybrid. Strains are how people categorize plants to make it easier to find what they want. Each type will get you high in a different way.
- Indica Strains
Indica strains are the source of marijuana’s sedative, relaxing high. The feeling is often described as deeply physical, warm tranquility that can also include a slight tingling sensation. Indica strains are most popular with people who use marijuana for pain relief or to help them sleep.
Indica plants grow short and bushy, with wide leaves. They produce short, thick flowers, usually between the size of your thumb and your first finger, that are dark in color. The plants have dark, often purple stems and sometimes red or orange pistils in the flowers. Indicas are most often used to make hash or hash oil.
- Sativa Strains
Sativa strains, on the other hand, are more active and energetic. They produce a cerebral high that can focus your thoughts and may boost creativity. The sensations are often described as uplifting yet mellow. Sativas are most popular with people who use marijuana for its mood-boosting qualities or to stimulate their appetite.
Sativa plants grow tall and thin with light green leaves. The flowers, which tend to be lighter in color than Indicas, can be up to four inches across. And the plants have short, wide leaves and are usually bushy. Sativa’s buds are usually covered in trichomes that give them an almost shiny look.
- Hybrid Strains
You may also hear about hybrid strains, a term that has multiple meanings depending on your appearance. For example, when people grow a crossbreed of Indica and Sativa, they call the product a hybrid. Also, people sometimes use the word to describe any marijuana strain with characteristics of both strains.
Which Combination Works Best?
Most commercial marijuana growers and seed companies now label their products with their effects. For example, some companies label their strains as an “Indica-dominant” or “Sativa-dominant” variety. However, it’s not known how much one source dominates over another. It could simply be a matter of the plant’s genetics, or it may be as simple as how each plant has been grown.
Many people think that hybrids are just a combination of two varieties, but they’re completely individual strains of cannabis. It can make choosing your ideal strain difficult because you might not know if you like Indica or Sativa until you try both. And even if one is appealing to you, you may want the other in a different form.
Marijuana Strains Popularity
Formerly, cannabis was classified in the United States as a dangerous drug and was grouped along with drugs like heroin and LSD. That made it difficult to study and access for many researchers. But thanks to recent advances in the law, marijuana is being redefined as a serious medicinal substance that can be used for everything from treating cancer to relieving pain.
Now that cannabis is becoming more popular as a medicine for people suffering from different diseases, the need for strains with balanced ratios of THC and CBD has become much more important. Due to this, many dispensaries and dispensaries in Canada are getting better at explaining the types of marijuana strains that will help you find the best results.
When it comes to choosing marijuana strains with balanced ratios of THC and CBD, there are two main criteria that you want to consider: their effects on your body and what their effects are like after you’ve smoked them.
Creating Marijuana Strains
Marijuana strains are created by mixing one type of strain with another. A good example is smoking marijuana and a tobacco product such as a joint. This combination can produce some interesting effects because it’s mixing two very different compounds in the same way that they work in the body, even though they have opposite effects.
CBD Strains
Many cannabinoids are present in marijuana, each of which has unique effects. One of these is Cannabidiol, which is advertised as a major ingredient in marijuana used for medicinal purposes. However, CBD does not get you high at all and has no psychoactive effects. Another very important type of cannabinoid is Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, which causes the high feeling that recreational users like to experience after smoking cannabis.
When you check the cannabinoid profile of a marijuana strain, including THC, and CBD, the strain is called an Indica-dominant strain. Some strains, called a Sativa-dominant strain, might have a higher ratio of THC to CBD.
THC vs. CBD
THC is the psychoactive compound that gives you the feeling of being high. It affects chemicals in your body, resulting in an altered state of mind. For example, when you smoke marijuana, this compound is absorbed into the bloodstream and acts on certain receptors in the brain to produce a high.
CBD is another cannabinoid, like THC, that affects chemicals in your body, but it does not produce the same feeling of being high. Rather than binding to parts of your brain that produce euphoria, CBD works with receptors in the body that affect certain types of pain.
Conclusion
The marijuana strains are an important part of the availability you get to explore when you have access to different cannabis. It’s well recognized that CBD strains are better for pain relief and other medical conditions, while THC strains are healthier for recreational use.
