How can cannabis be prescribed as medicine when there are hundreds of cannabinoids that affect each individual differently ?”
from the EDITOR
TG Toby Gorman
Traditionally , if you wanted a strain that would keep you alert , focused , and productive , you ’ d go with a sativa . If you wanted some couch time , chances are you ’ d go with an indica . But what properties of the cannabis plant determined this ? Is it the earthy ( indica ) or sweet ( sativa ) aromas ? Terpene profiles ? The level of psychoactive cannabinoids ? At one point , sativa and indica were used to describe two distinct species of cannabis . They certainly had different physical characteristics . But after generations of hybridization is it still relevant to distinguish the two ? “ 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 ,” writes long time MYC contributor Cory Hughes in his article
“ Are Indica and Sativa Labels Still Relevant ?” on page 18 . He goes on to write that each person has different metabolisms and tolerances , so “ attempting to come up with a one-size-fitsall explanation on how various ratios of cannabinoids affect us would appear to be a losing battle .” That ’ s true . But it also poses a problem for the cannabis industry , especially on the medicinal side . How can cannabis be prescribed as medicine when there are hundreds of cannabinoids that affect each individual differently ? Even strain names can be confusing as strains with similar names aren ’ t necessarily genetically similar .
Abandoning the sativa and indica labels would be a good start , while labelling strains with the quantities of key compounds , terpenes , aromas , and THC and CBD levels might help consumers through the trial-anderror process much faster and direct them to strains that work best for them .
8 Maximum Yield