Extracts and concentrates can blur the lines even further .
Concentrates Conundrum
Often , I found myself purchasing concentrates from my local dispensary . As a grower and as someone knowledgeable about the chemistry of cannabis , I was always puzzled by the dispensary employees asking if I was looking for an indica or sativa . This may make sense when purchasing flowered cannabis , but it has no application when it comes to concentrates . Concentrates are typically 70 to 90-plus percent THC , which is why they hit you like a ton of bricks . There simply are not enough diverse cannabinoids in concentrates to have any meaningful effect unless they are re-infused after the fact . Even though the concentrate you are buying may come from a distinct indica , like Afghani Kush , by the time it makes its way into concentrated form , it has lost all the properties that made it an indica in the first place . Chemically , a concentrate of an indica or sativa will bear very little similarity to the plant from which it was derived other than perhaps the flavour . Growers are always looking for ways to improve their yields and the quality of their plants . Sometimes they ’ re looking to create new strains with specific properties . To achieve these goals , they often turn to breeding , which is the combining of strains with the goal of creating a new one . Some states are legalizing medicinal cannabis yet requiring THC quantities to be below a certain level . This takes some creative breeding . Can you imagine Gorilla Glue with only 10 percent THC ? When you breed cannabis strains to produce lower or higher amounts of any cannabinoid , you are fundamentally disrupting the ratios of THC , CBD , and the other cannabinoids that define it as a sativa or indica . When you walk into a cannabis dispensary , many times you will see strains labelled “ hybrid ” accompanied by a cross-percentage such as 70 / 30 indica or 60 / 40 sativa . This is referring to the levels of indica or sativa in the breeding process , not necessarily referencing any potential levels of THC or CBD . A great example of this is Blue Dream .
Testing and labelling can help verify cannabinoid content .
Blue Dream first appeared in Santa Cruz and came from an unknown breeder . It is a 60 / 40 sativa-dominant hybrid bred from Blueberry F5 and Santa Cruz Haze . It has moderate to high levels of THC and only around two percent or less CBD . By traditional understandings it is considered sativa-heavy or dominant . On the other hand , something like Purple Kush , an indicadominant hybrid , can have THC levels as high as 35 percent yet has next to no CBD . The comparison between these two strains clearly indicates that the labels of indica and sativa as descriptive terms referring to cannabinoid levels simply have no meaning .
“ Do the terms indica and sativa still apply to what we are seeing in the recreational and medicinal cannabis markets today ?”
While we have general understandings of cannabinoids and their effects on the body , it is an imperfect science , and we all have a lot to learn . There have been no real scientific studies done showing the relationship between cannabinoids on a large scale in order to try to figure out how each component of cannabis affects the body . Part of the problem with coming to any scientific conclusions is that we are all different . We all have different metabolisms and tolerances , therefore attempting to come up with a one-size-fits-all explanation on how various ratios of cannabinoids affect us would appear to be a losing battle .
So , the next time that you find yourself in a dispensary seeking out that one strain that is perfect for you , forget about everything you know regarding the science behind it and go with what you can trust : your own senses . Touch it , smell it , experience it for yourself . That is the only way you will ever find the cannabis strain that is right for you . Forget about the scientific mumbo jumbo and the labels we like to place on everything . At the end of the day , whether we call it an indica or a sativa , the reality is that in the modern era of cannabis they are all hybrids with their own characteristics and your decisions surrounding your own cannabis use should not hang on the labels we want to apply to them because for the most part they simply have no meaning .
20 Maximum Yield