Is Indica vs Sativa Just Too Simplistic?

Is Indica vs Sativa Bullshit?

indica and sativa just too simple

What if I told you everything you know about marijuana is bullshit! There is no Indica and there is no Sativa – it’s like “Who’s Line is it Anywhere?” where the rules are made up and the points don’t matter!

Well – according to some researchers there is only one “type” of cannabis and that is Cannabis Sativa L which, depending on different conditions – can express different traits.

Now some of you growers out there will say, “Hey Reginald! I grow weed and have seen the difference between Sativas and Indicas!” and of that I am completely certain that you did. However – when you look under the hood of the cannabis plant and compare Indica and Sativa on a molecular level – they are essentially the same thing. There is no noticeable difference between the two.

This means – at least genetically – the Sativa & Indica & Hybrid labeling system is not accurate and is actually a farce.

Where did Sativa - Indica dichotomy first appear?

This can be traced back to the 18th century to a French Biologist named Jean Baptiste Lemark where he proposed a naming system based on the physical appearance of cannabis plants from different regions. Most noticeably – he recognized that plants from India tended to be shorter plants with broader leaves – gaining the name “Indica” as a result. The other plants were tall, lankier and had thinner leaf – these were called Sativa.

While this was very simplistic in nature – it was the only classification system that was proposed at the time and so – people reluctantly started classifying cannabis as such. Now – within this framed approach to cannabis classification – researchers began ascribing different physiological effects to each of the “types” of cannabis – thereby splitting the plant even further apart.

Eventually – breeders, retailers and so forth adopted this system on a mass scale and by the time anyone came around to challenge the dichotomy – it had become so widespread that stopping the verbiage was next to impossible.

And so – to this day we walk into dispensaries asking for imaginary classifications of the same plant – and we’re all loving it!

Why keep on using this system then?

I don’t think that the Sativa/Indica classifications will remain as such forever. In fact, this will probably be considered as “categories of physiological effects” as opposed to a proper label of the plant itself. Most breeders are looking towards terpene ratios to more accurately identify the type of cannabis you are smoking.

This means – for now, the system will remain the same – but over time it will warp into something more specific. This is a good thing because the current system is lacking in relation to the ability to accurately describe what a particular marijuana strain will do.

“Cerebral high” is not a tangible description. What’s the level of euphoria you can expect to feel? Will this terpene-combination give you couch-lock or a boost of energy?

In all likeliness – we will need to re-develop a more accurate system – however, since we still don’t know too much about the plant we all love to smoke – this might take a time.

1 Strain: Two Spots

One of the major reasons why researchers believe that all cannabis is essentially is the same is because you can literally take two seeds from the same cannabis plant – plant one in California and one in Colorado – and based on exposure to sun, altitude, temperature, etc – the plants will produce different bud.

This means that if all cannabis is the same “model” – the strain making is no longer a question of genetics as much as how you can manipulate terpene/cannabinoid development over generations of plants. This also means that perhaps – at some point in time when AI is fully integrated with cannabis – we can create designer-strains aimed at providing specific effects.

Should the Dichotomy disappear?

I don’t think it will ever “disappear”. I think the Indica/Sativa/Hybrid dichotomy will remain as an “introductory” classification system for newcomers. If you don’t know anything about weed – you’re not going to want to hear about the different ratio-spread of the terpenoids and how the flavonoid profiles measure up against the cannabinoid profiles. This is far too complex for the average consumer.

It’s far simpler to ask for a hybrid with a heavier dominance to the sativa side of life. Perhaps from there we will need to break it down even further and introduce a new system - but for newbies the Sativa/Indica/Hybrid train still seems to be the best fit – even after 200 years.

However, for those who are looking at cannabis at a molecular level – we know that all cannabis is essentially the same. They might look different depending on where they are from – but weed is weed no matter where she grows.

Who knows what the future classifications of cannabis will be – maybe you can be the one to invent it?