According to cannabis enthusiasts, craft weed is slowly growing into a trend, much like craft beer. These artisanal strains will be characterized by strength, smell, taste and of course, the high it induces. However, before that becomes our reality – and it may be years yet – there are two main strains of cannabis that anyone interested in cultivating hemp should be aware of before getting your first grow kit.
Despite the fact that marijuana, whether indica or sativa, are essentially one plant and can be interbred for various reasons such as yield, high – much like how wild plant domestication is practiced – which creates various un-pure strains that may share two or more characteristics from its parents, all marijuana can be said to have come from these two pure and naturally occurring strains: indica and sativa.
The shape and size
First off, the shape of sativa is weedy and thin, as opposed to its cousin indica which looks much fatter and is often used as the emblem for weed representation. Sativa is a tall plant that can grow up to fifteen feet tall and requires at least thirteen hours of light every day to keep it growing. Meanwhile, indica is a lot shorter than indica, only growing up to a maximum of six feet, it is a bushy plant that contains higher amounts of both THC and CBD. THC is the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis that causes one to feel lightheaded or high. On the other hand, CBD is being used in many health supplements as it is said to be able to treat sleep disorders to anxiety. A rising trend in recent times, CBD has branched into oils, tablets and is legal in a lot of states. For instance, Utah allows the production and distribution of products with less than 3 percent THC and all CBD products are deemed legal.
Geographic location
While sativa came from Eastern Asia, it is now found in all parts of the world, although they might be hybrids rather than pure sativa as it is unable to survive harsh conditions. Indica originated from India and is also gaining popularity due to its small size, making it ideal to grow indoors.
The effects of smoking it
Sativa is the more productive of the two, where indica will encourage procrastination and binge eating, those who are experienced with both will know that they can get a lot more done if they are smoking sativa as it provides more of an energetic boost whereby the other strain will leave you lazy and lethargic.
A true savant will be well versed in the many different strains of marijuana, but indica and sativa is the two main branches that you should get to know first as new strains range from the lemony OG Kush to up and coming dessert inspired strains such as Vanilla Frosting and Cookies. With those two basics you can begin to create your own strain but of course, make sure it’s legal where you’re from before setting it up because it can be quite costly to start planting cannabis.