What are the difference between Indica and Sativa?

With the popularity of indoor plants growing, more and more people start to have their own ones indoors and buy the best equipment like indoor grow tent kits and indoor grow lights, etc, to maximize their yield. Indoor plants can provide a variety of experiences and the more you know about the plant, the better you can predict what kind of experience a particular strain will provide. And a great place to start? Understanding the differences between two words you might hear thrown around a lot: sativa and indica.So what, exactly, do “sativa” and “indica” mean?And what can these terms tell you about your strain?

Indica

• Origin: indica is native to Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, and Turkey. The plants have adapted to the often harsh, dry, and turbulent climate of the Hindu Kush mountains.
• Plant description: Indica plants are short and stocky with bushy greenery and chunky leaves that grow wide and broad. They grow faster than sativa, and each plant produces more buds.
• Typical CBD to THC ratio: Indica strains often have higher levels of CBD and less THC.
• Commonly associated effects of use: Indica is sought after for its intensely relaxing effects. It may also reduce nausea and pain and increase appetite.
• Daytime or nighttime use: Because of its deep relaxation effects, indica is better consumed at night.
• Popular strains: Three popular indica strains are Hindu Kush, Afghan Kush, and Granddaddy Purple.

Sativa

• Origin: Hybrids are typically grown on farms or greenhouses from a combination of sativa and indica strains.
• Plant description: The appearance of hybrid strains depends on the combination of the parent plants.
• Typical CBD to THC ratio: Many hybrid plants are grown in order to increase the THC percentage, but each type has a unique ratio of the two cannabinoids.
• Commonly associated effects of use: Farmers and producers select hybrids for their unique impacts. They can range from reducing anxiety and stress to easing symptoms of chemotherapy or radiation.
• Daytime or nighttime use: This depends on the predominant effects of the hybrid.
• Popular strains: Hybrids are typically classified as indica-dominant (or indica-dom), sativa-dominant (sativa-dom), or balanced. Popular hybrids include Pineapple Express, Trainwreck, and Blue Dream.

Sativa vs. Indica – What are the Differences?

The real difference between today’s indica and sativa plants is in 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 indoor plants 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 an indica/sativa spectrum.

Medical Efficacy

The most important difference between these two subspecies of indoor plants, however, is in their medical effects and how they influence energy levels and productivity. Indicas tend to decrease energy and are better for consumption in the evening or at night, after the conclusion of the day’s work and activities. Potent indica strains may give some patients what is called “couchlock,” a condition in which they become so relaxed that they care barely get up from the sofa.

Sativas, on the other hand, are uplifting and cerebral, enhancing creativity and productivity. Indicas provide what has been called a “body high,” while sativas deliver more of a “mind high.” Unfortunately, sativa plants require longer to grow and yield less medicine (flowers) than indica varieties. This is why indica strains have traditionally dominated those available on the black market, where there is no concern for patient need and the sole focus is profit.

The fact that patients are given no choice of subspecies or strain when purchasing from the black market is a major reason it should be avoided. Patients should never trust or consume indoor plants medicine without knowing its exact strain and that it was properly grown, dried, cured, and laboratory tested for purity and potential contamination.

Modern cultivators of medical indoor plants purposefully breed and grow a wide spectrum of strains within both the indica and sativa categories in indoor grow tent for the purpose of making available the right medicine for a particular patient’s unique combination of disease, preference, and lifestyle. Often, patients must maintain jobs or family responsibilities that demand a particular energy level and can’t tolerate the sedative properties of many indicas. 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. Major conditions of focus include HIV/AIDS, cancer, fibromyalgia, glaucoma, Parkinson’s, all types of arthritis, and epilepsy, among many others.

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.

Summary

Sativa and indica have different botanical properties.Anecdotal evidence suggests that sativa is more energizing and indica is more relaxing, but the scientific reality is far more complicated. In fact, many different chemical compounds are involved in creating the medical and recreational effects.

Although there may be some truth to the differences between the two plants, it is important for a person to look at the biochemical content of the individual strains in order to choose the strain most suited to their needs.Even within the specific strains, research has proven that there is a huge possible variation in THC content, which suggests that the same is true for other cannabinoids.

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