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Both indica and sativa are commonly used and intensely debated terms. If you’re new to cannabis or a seasoned user, you’ve undoubtedly heard of an indica’s alleged “body high,” a sativa’s “cerebral rush,” or the different effects of a combination. These words are difficult to forget. You’ll find all sorts of cannabis strains, or cultivars, with one of these three labels on any well-stocked pharmacy shelf. But how useful are they, and when can the distinction between indica and sativa be misleading?

Welcome if you’re interested in learning more about the debate over indica and sativa strains, the roots of these words, and whether they’re still useful to cannabis consumers. This is the guide you’ve been looking for.

Where do indica and sativa come from?

We need to go back into botanical history to understand the roots of the indica vs. sativa controversy. Since the mid-1700s, the words indica and sativa have been used to describe cannabis strains. In his work Species Plantarum, Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus described psychoactive cannabis plants as Cannabis sativa in 1753.

After studying the physical characteristics of India’s cannabis plants, French biologist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck described Cannabis indica as a distinct species 32 years later. C. indica plants, according to Lamarck, have dark green, broad leaves, while C. sativa leaves are light and narrow.

Dmitrij Janischewsky, a Russian botanist, described Cannabis ruderalis as the third subspecies in 1930. This time, it wasn’t because of uncommon physical characteristics, but rather because of odd characteristics in the plant’s flowering period. While most cannabis plants flower as a result of changes in available sunlight, ruderalis plants started flowering automatically 20 to 40 days after sprouting, according to Janischewsky.

You certainly haven’t yet heard your neighbourhood budtender recommend a fantastic new ruderalis strain. This is due to the fact that botanists have never been able to agree on a definitive cannabis taxonomy.

In the mid-to-late 1970s, American biologists Loran Anderson and Richard E. Schultes suggested that there are three cannabis species: C. sativa, C. indica, and C. ruderalis. This was a watershed moment for our modern taxonomy. Anderson and Schultes separated plants based on the ratio of the cannabinoids THC and CBD, departing from Linnaeus and Lamarck in several respects.

They discovered a distinction between cultivars high in THC but low in CBD (C. sativa), high THC and CBD (C. indica), and cultivars with a high CBD to THC ratio (C. indica) (C. ruderalis).

Ernest Small and Arthur Cronquist claimed in 1976, at the time Schultes and Anderson were making their arguments, that there was only one central cannabis species, which they called C. sativa. They stated that human activity resulted in the development of two subspecies: C. sativa (low-THC hemp) and C. indica (high-THC hemp) (high-THC cannabis cultivated for intoxication).

We’re also discovering new cannabis species that are reshaping our taxonomic system today. Botanists have been deviating from Small and Cronquist’s taxonomy since the mid-2000s, claiming that sativa and indica subspecies may have existed before human interference. We’ve also begun to understand the role of terpenes in shaping the cannabis experience, which was never recognised by previous taxonomists.

Bottom line: botanists, not pharmacologists, coined these words. These concepts are used by botanists to describe plants based on shared characteristics rather than their impact on the human body.

How are these terms used now?

The terms indica and sativa were coined almost immediately to distinguish cannabis plants based on the shape and size of their main leaves, as well as the amount of fibre they provided. Today’s cultivators use them for a similar purpose: classifying plants as indica or sativa based on their growth characteristics and physical makeup.

Growers classify plants as indica, sativa, or hybrid based on their growth characteristics and chemical profiles. Retailers can then sell cannabis to customers by categorising strains using these terms, regardless of how misleading these categorizations are.

In other words, indica and sativa are still in use because they serve a function for farmers, and retailers’ old habits die hard.

In the end, the cultivators are the ones that profit from the indica and sativa taxonomy. Unsuspecting clients, on the other hand, can be fooled by them. Since the days of Linnaeus and Lamarck, human activity has drastically altered the chemical composition of the cannabis plant.

As we’ll see, the results of indica and sativa plants were probably more closely associated with their physical classification in the 1700s than they are today.

What are the differences between indica and sativa?

The only difference between today’s indica and sativa plants is the characteristics that can be observed during the growing process. Short, thick stems and large, deep-green leaves characterise Indica plants. They also have short flowering periods and can survive in cold, short-season conditions.

Crossbreeding has been the name of the game in cannabis cultivation for the past 50 years. As a result, pure indica and sativa strains are becoming increasingly scarce. Any flower you’ve ever seen was most definitely a hybrid of some kind.

Sativa vs. indica effects

The indica vs. sativa paradigm has sparked debate, and rightly so. Sativas are described as intellectual, heady, uplifting, and energising while studying strains online, while indicas are described as calming, sedating, full-bodied, and stoney.

It’s always perfectly acceptable to refer to effects as sativa- or indica-like as long as we keep in mind that sativa- or indica-like effects don’t always correspond to a plant’s sativa or indica lineage.

Hybrid strains have become as common as, if not more so, than indicas and sativas. The hybrid term may either complicate or simplify matters, depending on your point of view. Although hybrids offer a more complex taxonomic fact, they lack a mark that accurately defines the effects a consumer may expect from a cultivar.

This is particularly valid now that we understand how our bodies respond to cannabis in different ways.

Have you ever sat down to unwind with some indica only to be thrown into a high-energy mental haze? Have you ever attempted sativa-dominant strains that you learned were good for efficiency only to end up in a full-body couchlock? The reality is that your body can’t always rely on indica or sativa flower to produce indica or sativa-like results.

You and your buddy may both be smoking the same bud and have entirely different experiences.

The good news is that marijuana advertising is increasingly catching up with reality. Since hybrid is a more accurate descriptor, more cannabis products are being branded as such. On a professional basis. While all modern cultivars are hybrids, the plants we officially identify as hybrids are deliberate crossbreeds of indicas and sativas with unique qualities and effects in mind.

Hybrids are commonly recommended by budtenders due to their highly specialised effects, tastes, and aromas.

Bottom line: indica and sativa are useful adjectives for explaining those effects, but don’t expect items branded with those words to reliably produce those effects.

How do indicas and sativas change your high?

The model of indica vs. sativa = relaxation vs. exhilaration is obviously obsolete, if not entirely wrong. So, where do we go from here? What, if any, significance do the words indica and sativa have, and how will they affect your high?

The solution isn’t as bleak (or as obvious) as you might assume. Each strain has an impact that is as special as the person who uses it, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make well-informed decisions on which strains to try.

Cannabinoids and terpenes are even more specifically linked to the benefits you get from cannabis strains. THC, the most well-known cannabis compound, is one of several cannabinoids present in the plant. Each cultivar has its own unique cannabinoid profile and impact.

The most common strains on the adult-use market appear to have some of the highest THC content. Terpenes, the organic compounds responsible for a plant’s flavours and aromas, have a major impact on the character and effect of a cannabis plant, as well as its therapeutic potential.

The terms indica and sativa were coined centuries before we knew how important terpenes were to a cultivar’s overall impact.

Knowing the difference between indica and sativa effects is a good place to start. However, once you start paying attention to the cannabinoid and terpene content of each plant, you’ll be able to make far more informed decisions when buying cannabis. It’s easy when you shop at approved retailers that have detailed lab results.

You can even try to see if the flower you want to purchase passes the smell test. Do you think it smells good? If this is the case, your body is likely to respond well to the dominant terpenes.

Information comes from practise, as it always does. External stimuli have different impacts on different people’s bodies. It just takes a little practise and the right knowledge to figure out what works best for you. Finally, the best resource for deciding which cannabis products can achieve the desired results is you.

Bottom line: trial and error is the best way to figure out which cannabinoid and terpene profiles work best for you. Keep track of what you’ve tried and liked (or didn’t like) to make the process go faster.