The Science Behind Indica vs Sativa
Photo by Outer Elements Photography
Even if you are new to cannabis you might have heard the terms Indica and Sativa. These terms refer to two species of cannabis. While still hotly debated, many people accept that cannabis has three species: Indica, Sativa, and Ruderalis. The three species are defined by the way in which they grow aka their plant morphology.
Cannabis Indica: short stature, dense female flowers, broad leaves
Cannabis Sativa: tall and lanky, loose female flowers, narrow leaves
Cannabis Ruderalis: not much flower development and therefore not widely consumed
In cannabis culture, Indica and Sativa have taken on meaning beyond growth patterns. Many people believe Indica and Sativa correlate to specific, consistent experiences. In this school of thought, Indica varieties consistently produce a relaxing, body high while Sativa varieties consistently produce an uplifting, euphoric experience. Despite this widespread belief, unfortunately, this is not scientifically accurate nor is it a valid way to predict experience.To assume that the way a plant grows determines the type of experience it will produce when consumed is flawed logic.
To fully understand why Indica and Sativa cannot be used to determine experience, we must examine the history of cannabis classification.
In the 1700’s, people began to question that the church had all of the answers for the phenomenons of the natural world. This time period is often described as the ‘Age of Enlightenment’. Philosophers and pioneers of this age would go on to create the scientific method and other schools of thought that would eventually lay the foundation for Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution proposed in the mid 1800’s.
Carl Linnaeus was one of the great minds of the Age of Enlightenment. He is deemed the father of modern taxonomy as he created the taxonomic classification system we use today. He saw the need to group organisms based on shared characteristics so that we could better understand the world around us. The man to originally classify hemp with the genus Cannabis and the species Sativa is Carl Linnaeus. In 1753, he identified a single species of hemp, Cannabis sativa, and noted its morphological characteristics - grows tall and skinny, has loose female flowers, and has a narrow palmate leaf structure. In his description of the species, Linnaeus never mentioned the plant’s purported effects once consumed.
In 1785, a taxonomist by the name of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck traveled to India where he came across a cannabis plant. This cannabis plant however did not look like Linnaeus’ original classification. It instead grew short and squat, had dense, compact female flowers, and had a broad palmate leaf structure. Due to the distinct morphological differences that Lamarck saw between this plant and the Cannabis Sativa species, Lamarck proposed two separate species of cannabis. Since Lamarck was in India when he came across this plant, he decided to name this new species Cannabis indica. Like Linnaeus, Lamarck made no mention of the Indica species effects when consumed, and instead only defined the species by the way in which it grew.
Photo by Outer Elements Photography
Cannabis indica and Cannabis sativa were originally classified as different species based on their distinct morphological characteristics. The definitions of the terms Indica and Sativa are rooted in the way in which the plants grow. They have nothing to do with how they will make someone feel after they are consumed. Therefore, it doesn’t really make sense to use Indica and Sativa to determine the experience a patient might have.
Even if Indica and Sativa did at one point produce consistent experiences when consumed, most varieties on the current cannabis market are hybrids - a genetic mix of both Indica and Sativa species. This is further justification for moving beyond the Indica/Sativa dichotomy to predict experience for patients.
So if we can’t use Indica and Sativa, what should we use instead? To best predict the experience someone might feel from cannabis, we must look at what patients actually consume - the concentrations of compounds found within cannabis’ matrix.
At Mosaic+, we analyze the cannabinoid and terpene concentrations of every batch of cannabis on our shelves. We use scientific evidence regarding the compounds’ therapeutic effects to make an educated guess as to how that particular variety of cannabis might make someone feel. Then we categorize the variety on a spectrum of experiences often initiated by cannabis consumption.
When you shop at Mosaic+, you’ll have the opportunity to explore different varieties of cannabis along the spectrum and chat with our trained staff to find the right products for your intended experience. We want our patients to leave our shop with the confidence that what they’ve purchased will give them the experience and therapeutic value they seek. We accomplish this by moving beyond the antiquated Indica/Sativa binary and adopting a personalized, scientific approach that allows us to incorporate an evidence-based practice when assisting patients.