What is the difference between sativa and indigo

As marijuana use for both medical and recreational purposes becomes legal in more and more states, there is a growing interest in the different effects that various types, including indica and sativa, can produce. Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica are two species of cannabis. This means that they share many similar features but have specific and distinct differences. Although anecdotal evidence and some marijuana dispensaries claim that indica is more calming and sativa is more energizing, some experts say that such statements are misleading.

Many more factors are involved in creating the recreational and medical effects of marijuana than strain alone. In this article, learn more about the differences between each strain, as well as the effects that indica and sativa can produce. Botanists use physical differences — such as variations in height, branching patterns, and the shape of the leaves — to identify different strains of plants. Indica plants are shorter than sativa plants, and they have a woody stalk, not a fibrous one.

Indica plants also grow more quickly than sativa plants. There is some disagreement regarding what caused these physical differences between strains. Some researchers say that these differences are due to humans breeding different varieties, while others say that a mixture of evolving adaptations and geographic isolation is responsible. Tetrahydrocannabinol THC and cannabidiol CBD are two of the most studied and discussed elements, or cannabinoids, present in different strains of marijuana.

However, researchers have identified at least different cannabinoids so far. Knowing whether a cannabis plant is from the indica or sativa strain does not always provide much information about the relative amounts of THC or CBD it may contain, as people tend to believe, but it can be helpful. It is also important to note that THC and CBD are only two of the hundreds of chemicals that create the varying effects of different strains of marijuana.

The sections below provide more information on these two chemicals. Medical experts say that THC has psychoactive properties. In , around the time Schultes and Anderson were making their claims, Ernest Small and Arthur Cronquist argued the existence of only one central cannabis species, which they labeled C. Human intervention, they contended, subsequently created two subspecies: C.

Today, we're still making cannabis discoveries that reshape our taxonomic framework. Since the mids, botanists have diverted from Small and Cronquist's taxonomy, arguing that sativa and indica subspecies may have predated human intervention. We've also begun to recognize the importance of terpenes in shaping the cannabis experience — something previous taxonomists never took into account. Bottom line: these terms were created for botanists and not pharmacologists.

Botanists use these terms to classify plants on the basis of shared characteristics, not on their effects on the human body. Almost immediately upon their inception, the terms indica and sativa were used to identify cannabis plants based on the shape and size of their main leaves and the amount of fiber they produced. Today's cultivators use them for roughly the same purpose: separating plants into indica and sativa according to their growth traits and physical makeup. Growers use indica, sativa, and hybrid to categorize plants based on their growth traits and resulting chemical profiles.

Retailers may then market cannabis to consumers by categorizing strains under these terms — however misleading those categorizations may be. In other words, indica and sativa are still around because they still serve a purpose for cultivators, and old habits die hard among retailers. Bottom line: if the indica and sativa taxonomy is for anyone, it's for the cultivators.

Unsuspecting consumers, on the other hand, may find them a bit misleading. Human intervention has dramatically changed the chemical makeup of the cannabis plant since the days of Linnaeus and Lamarck.

And as we'll learn, the effects of indica and sativa plants in the s probably aligned more closely with their physical classification than they do today. The real difference between today's indica and sativa plants is their observable traits during the cultivation cycle. Indica plants tend to grow short with thick stems and broad, deep-green leaves. They also have short flowering cycles and grow sufficiently in cold, short-season climates.

Sativa plants have longer flowering cycles, fare better in warm climates with long seasons, and usually grow taller with light-green, narrow leaves. For the last 50 years of cannabis cultivation, crossbreeding has been the name of the game. As a result, there's virtually no such thing as a pure indica or sativa anymore. Every flower you've ever come in contact with has most likely been a hybrid of some sort. Classifying a particular cultivar or strain as indica or sativa usually means that it tilts to one side or the other of the indica-sativa spectrum.

The indica vs. When researching strains online , you'll likely see sativas described as cerebral, heady, uplifting, and energizing while indicas are described as relaxing, sedating, full-bodied, and stoney.

It's still perfectly valid to describe effects as sativa-like or indica-like so long as we remember that sativa- or indica-like effects don't necessarily coincide with a plant's sativa or indica lineage.

Patients should never trust or consume cannabis medicine without knowing its exact strain and that it was properly grown, dried, cured, and laboratory tested for purity and potential contamination. Other times, patients must seek the most potent non-opiate painkiller possible. Given the choice of chronic pain or the mellowing effects of a strong indica of a particular strain known for its medical benefits, most patients will choose the latter.

Because cultivators and dispensaries are sensitive to the subjective efficacy of particular strains for different patients, they grow and make available as many strains as possible for targeted ailments.

In terms of particular ailments, sativa strains tend to be better for psychological disorders like depression, PTSD, and anxiety.

Indicas are often the best for pain and inflammation and, thus, are beneficial for patients with arthritis, fibromyalgia, and cancer. However, because so many diseases are accompanied by side effects like depression and insomnia, a patient must consider treating both their core disease and also its daily symptoms. In the end, each patient will favor multiple strains that will likely fall within the categories of sativa, hybrid, and indica.

When it comes to aroma, indica strains tend to emit musty, earthy, and skunky odors, while sativas smell sweet, fruity, or spicy. This difference in aroma is the result of terpenes, the molecules within the plant that are cousins to cannabinoids like THC and CBD.

While these chemicals provide sometimes stunningly pungent odors, their greatest benefit to patients is actually their medicinal efficacy. Hybrids are simply new and unique strains that are bred from parents of different types. A hybrid theoretically possesses many or most of the beneficial medical properties of both its parents. Indica plants typically grow faster and often have a higher yield than the sativa variety. Indica strains are often used by clients at nighttime. Cannabis Sativa plants are the opposite of the Indica strains and grow tall and thin with narrow leaves.

Sativa plants are also generally a lighter shade of green than their counterpart, the Indica strain. Sativa strains take longer to grow, mature, and require more light.