Differences Between Sativa and Indica Marijuana

What are the differences between sativa and indica? Cannabis sativa and cannabis indica are both part of the cannabis genus. Cannabis hybrids are genetically selected and bred from combining cannabis indica and cannabis sativa parent plants.

Differences between sativa and indica

There are some broad generalities that you will find when comparing sativa and indica marijuana strains. Cannabis sativa tends to be a taller, leaner plant with higher THC content and lower CBD content, which contributes to experiencing cerebral/head highs. Cannabis indica is a shorter, broader and fuller plant with lower THC and higher CBD content, which tends to yield body-centric highs for pain relief and sleep.

There is also the cannabis step-cousin, cannabis ruderalis, which no one seems to pay much attention.

Hybrid Marijuana

Hybrid marijuana refers to recent man-made, genetically selected and crossed marijuana strains. These hybrid plants are bred from cannabis sativa and cannabis indica genetic parent plants.

To generalize the characteristics of “hybrid marijuana” is impossible, because each hybrid strain varies greatly on the relative percent of sativa versus indica in your particular plant’s parent genetics. Early hybrid strains like “Skunk” were created in the United States, while the practice of genetic cross-breeding continues to evolve in Holland (the Netherlands). Breeding hybrid marijuana is now experiencing a renaissance in the United States with the arrival of state medical marijuana laws.

Strain Names

One very amusing component of the cannabis culture is dealing with some outrageous cannabis strain names. Some of my favorite ridiculous marijuana strain names (not necessarily the weed, just the name) are: Blue Bastard (hybrid), Buddha’s Sister (indica), Cat Piss (sativa), Chocolope (hybrid), Deathstar OG (indica), Jack Herer (sativa), Purple Urkle (indica), Russian Rocket Fuel (hybrid), Wonderwoman OG (indica), Wonka’s Bubbilicious (hybrid), Yoda OG (indica) and Yumbolt (indica).

So how do these names come to be? The creator and grower of any new marijuana cross-breed strain can give their new strain any name they choose. Strain names often reflect properties of the plant, such as taste, color, smell, or the origin of the variety, however some names can only be explained by asking the grower.

 Sativa, Indica and Hybrid Generalized Comparison Table

This table should give you a good grounding into the differences between sativa, indica and hybrid marijuana.

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