Indica Vs Sativa High - Is it really a thing?

[GalacticUser]

Granted, I've grown mostly hybrids, and have probably never had a pure sativa. But if an indica or indica dom hybrid can give me ALL the highs, then is trying a sativa really necessary? Doesnt that just disprove it?

That's not how hybrids work my guy. Even with a sativa dominant hybrid, you're still getting the lethargic effects mixed in from the indica side.

My experience with weed spans 3 decades, I've had hybrids and landrace sativas. There is a reason people don't smoke pure sativa before bedtime, and PLENTY of reason to smoke a heavy indica. I speak from experience and know of other people's experience.

Smoke a pure kush from the middle East in the morning and let's see how much you get done in a day, then compare that to a wake and bake with an African sativa. There is no placebo effect with those; the difference in high is extreme.
I can't believe this is even up for debate, decades of experience and expertise by professional growers documented for all to read do exist.

 

[Chief_Broom]

Living in a prohibition state like I do I’ve never had the opportunity to sample a range of various “types” of cannabis. Today there is way more of a selection available on the black market than ever before but that selection is still always limited. So this alone may somewhat explain my belief on this subject, but still…

Ive never noticed any difference in the nature of the high I get from cannabis. In fact the experience to me is the same from back when I first smoked back in the mid 80’s. The only difference I’ve been able to tell is strength or potency. To me cannabis is like alcohol. The intensity of the experience is based on how much you imbibe an how strong that which you imbibe is. Want to get knocked on your ass drinking? Drink liquor. Want a less intense buzz? Drink beer. Cannabis for me has always worked the same in that the nature of the high is the same and how it effects me depends on how much or how strong the potency of what I have happens to be.

 

[lusidghost]

I can't believe this is even up for debate, decades of experience and expertise by professional growers documented for all to read do exist.

Growers believe all sorts of dumb stuff. Scientists on the other hand get off on being buzz kills.

 

[xtsho]

Look up ACE genetics. Proper landrace breeding happening there!

ACE is the place for your....

I love ACE.

I'm working through as much of their stuff as fast as I can. I make more seeds with each run. I'm doing either the Guatemala or Honduras first run after summer when I start the flower tent back up. Both are long flowering lanky sativa's so it's going to be a wild ride in a 4x4 tent. But I'm used to it. I'm hoping to harvest by March.

 

[lusidghost]

Living in a prohibition state like I do I’ve never had the opportunity to sample a range of various “types” of cannabis. Today there is way more of a selection available on the black market than ever before but that selection is still always limited. So this alone may somewhat explain my belief on this subject, but still…

Ive never noticed any difference in the nature of the high I get from cannabis. In fact the experience to me is the same from back when I first smoked back in the mid 80’s. The only difference I’ve been able to tell is strength or potency. To me cannabis is like alcohol. The intensity of the experience is based on how much you imbibe an how strong that which you imbibe is. Want to get knocked on your ass drinking? Drink liquor. Want a less intense buzz? Drink beer. Cannabis for me has always worked the same in that the nature of the high is the same and how it effects me depends on how much or how strong the potency of what I have happens to be.

I agree with this. I've been saying the term "couch lock" is a negative campaign against indica, run by Big Sativa lobbyists. They know that stoners don't like being shamed for laziness. No one complained about being "stoned" back in the day.

Take a hit for "energy." Take a bunch for "relaxation." Beware of The Fear.

 

[drsaltzman]

Which is why I like and grow hybrids.
Sativa is not for me.
I'd rather smoke an Indica if I only had a choice between the two.
But with all the hybridization in cannabis today (which I think is a good thing though there are purists who will disagree) I can always find the high that I personally enjoy ... right smack dab in the middle or just leaning one way or the other.

 

[ComfortCreator]

Myrcene is the defining trait in Indicas. The presence of a significant quantity of myrcene makes a plant part of the indica family.

To even ask the original question tells volumes about the state of things today.

Everybody and their brother has crossed strains thinking A x B = AB...as if crossing 2 strains means you get the best parts of both.

Mediocre hybridized dogsxxx named things like Sour Platinum Creme Brulee or the incredibly foolishly named strains like Putang and Glory Hole (yeah bro u are a fool) which do nothing like they describe.

Get a quality Thai hybrid that is mostly thai and experience Sativa. Maui Wowie contains Thai and Mexican strains and is the closest many people get. Soaring happy euphoria.

Get a quality Afghani strain and experience indica. Profoundly stoned and in some cases all kinds of amazing feelings. Relaxed almost like opium, if you have had the pleasure.

It is the quest for pretty, high thc and fast flowering strains that has pushed almost all commercial grows to indica and indica hybrids.

Lazy. Cheap. Catering to the lowest common denominator.

You see, when an amazing Sativa is grown, it doesnt always have the same bag appeal due to it's natural characteristics. Combine that with taking longer, yielding less and taking up more space, you have a recipe for a vanishing facet of the market.

It is self fulfilling, people THINK they know what is good, because that's all they know.

If the next 50 people through the door at a dispensary were given a hit of pure thai, they would either have a nervous breakdown or think it was the best thing they ever smoked. There is no real adventure anymore it's like cigarettes and tobacco, they are dumbing it down to the most profitable market.

 

[drsaltzman]

There will always be a craft market for cannabis.
Yes, you will pay more for the quality, but that is in everything mankind produces.
Just like in the wine world.
A Cabernet from Modesto for the uninitiated, vs. one from Bordeaux or Napa for the enthusiasts.

 

[ComfortCreator]

There will always be a craft market for cannabis.
Yes, you will pay more for the quality, but that is in everything mankind produces.
Just like in the wine world.
A Cabernet from Modesto for the uninitiated, vs. one from Bordeaux or Napa for the enthusiasts.

If this were true in practice I would be all over it. I have yet to see a craft facility with superior quality selling to the public. I certainly hope it is out there but I know of none!

 

[Millo]

ACE is the place for your....

I love ACE.

I'm working through as much of their stuff as fast as I can. I make more seeds with each run. I'm doing either the Guatemala or Honduras first run after summer when I start the flower tent back up. Both are long flowering lanky sativa's so it's going to be a wild ride in a 4x4 tent. But I'm used to it. I'm hoping to harvest by March.

Very nice collection mate, best of luck with your project!

 

[Chief_Broom]

. There is no real adventure anymore it's like cigarettes and tobacco, they are dumbing it down to the most profitable market.

you make a compelling argument for this, and I don’t disagree, but this doesn’t fit my experience.

I started smoking cannabis back in the mid 80’s. Back then the terms indica an sativa weren’t used (at least not where I was at). High Times was talking about those distinctions but the big thing then was sensimillia. People would say something was panama red, Colombian gold, or Thai stick (shit was actually tied to a stick?) but you were just taking them at their word. Back then I remember getting cannabis that was just as strong as what you can get today (talking about flower here and not concentrates which were not a thing back then). It’s was rare to get that really good stuff but it was out there and it would knock you on your ass when you smoked it. The average cannabis then was worth smoking but there was a clear distinction between it and the good stuff (big price difference too). Maybe there were times when we would get a true sativa or indica but if so I never noticed a difference. I distinctly remember what it was like to get high back then and honestly it isn’t any different than what I experience today. I don’t say all this to argue maybe we just got crummy cannabis?

 

[drsaltzman]

If this were true in practice I would be all over it. I have yet to see a craft facility with superior quality selling to the public. I certainly hope it is out there but I know of none!

50 years ago when people were drinking Schlitz, Reingold and Schaefer and thought it was the shit, Anchor started brewing craft beers with interesting hops and new yeast strains and created a market that still exists.
People get tired of the same old same old.
It will happen with cannabis too.

 

[drsaltzman]

you make a compelling argument for this, and I don’t disagree, but this doesn’t fit my experience.

I started smoking cannabis back in the mid 80’s. Back then the terms indica an sativa weren’t used (at least not where I was at). High Times was talking about those distinctions but the big thing then was sensimillia. People would say something was panama red, Colombian gold, or Thai stick (shit was actually tied to a stick?) but you were just taking them at their word. Back then I remember getting cannabis that was just as strong as what you can get today (talking about flower here and not concentrates which were not a thing back then). It’s was rare to get that really good stuff but it was out there and it would knock you on your ass when you smoked it. The average cannabis then was worth smoking but there was a clear distinction between it and the good stuff (big price difference too). Maybe there were times when we would get a true sativa or indica but if so I never noticed a difference. I distinctly remember what it was like to get high back then and honestly it isn’t any different than what I experience today. I don’t say all this to argue maybe we just got crummy cannabis?

I'm old enough to have smoked Thai Stick. Hard to get but it was a treat when we could.
And back then you mostly either got Columbian or "Hawaiian", which wasn't Hawaiian, just green weed rather than the brown.
And you bought from a dealer, in a school yard or park, selling joints 6 for $5 for Columbian and 3 for $5 for Hawaiian.
Or if you wanted it loose to roll your own, you could buy trey bags for $3, plus nickels and dimes.
The most interesting experience was buying weed in Coney Island at the Green Door on Mermaid Avenue.
You'd walk into an old bodega that was empty.
A can on a wire would come down through a hole in the ceiling and you put your $5 in it.
The guy would haul it up, put the nickel bag in the can and lower it down.
Take your weed and be on your way.
I'd like to hear anybody top that as far as weed buying experiences.

 

[xtsho]

Myrcene is the defining trait in Indicas. The presence of a significant quantity of myrcene makes a plant part of the indica family.

To even ask the original question tells volumes about the state of things today.

Everybody and their brother has crossed strains thinking A x B = AB...as if crossing 2 strains means you get the best parts of both.

Mediocre hybridized dogsxxx named things like Sour Platinum Creme Brulee or the incredibly foolishly named strains like Putang and Glory Hole (yeah bro u are a fool) which do nothing like they describe.

Get a quality Thai hybrid that is mostly thai and experience Sativa. Maui Wowie contains Thai and Mexican strains and is the closest many people get. Soaring happy euphoria.

Get a quality Afghani strain and experience indica. Profoundly stoned and in some cases all kinds of amazing feelings. Relaxed almost like opium, if you have had the pleasure.

It is the quest for pretty, high thc and fast flowering strains that has pushed almost all commercial grows to indica and indica hybrids.

Lazy. Cheap. Catering to the lowest common denominator.

You see, when an amazing Sativa is grown, it doesnt always have the same bag appeal due to it's natural characteristics. Combine that with taking longer, yielding less and taking up more space, you have a recipe for a vanishing facet of the market.

It is self fulfilling, people THINK they know what is good, because that's all they know.

If the next 50 people through the door at a dispensary were given a hit of pure thai, they would either have a nervous breakdown or think it was the best thing they ever smoked. There is no real adventure anymore it's like cigarettes and tobacco, they are dumbing it down to the most profitable market.

It's hard spending 20 weeks flowering a good true sativa but it really pays off in the end. Most people are looking for the quickest flowering strain. Some of us are willing to take the time to grow something special.

Now a true sativa isn't for everyone. Especially those prone to paranoia or are unable to deal with some of the psychedelic effects a good sativa can bring. They're not for everyone but if you can handle and enjoy the effects there is nothing else like it.

I like that I can wake up and get stoned without wanting to go back to bed. If I smoke something like Night Nurse my day is over. If I smoke some Oldtimers Haze at 6:00 AM I'm ready to take on the day and get things done.

Now I do like a good couch lock strain due to having issues with insomnia and waking up in the middle of the night unable to go back to sleep which leaves me tired later in the day. But that damn Night Nurse does the job every time so I always have a variety of different strains on hand. Some stuff is good for the middle of the day when you're done with your tasks and want to relax but doesn't make you want to take a nap.

There's nothing like waking up and smoking a bowl of a high THCV strain like ACE Ethiopian and feeling your muscles relax while not being put back to sleep.

50 years ago when people were drinking Schlitz, Reingold and Schaefer and thought it was the shit, Anchor started brewing craft beers with interesting hops and new yeast strains and created a market that still exists.
People get tired of the same old same old.
It will happen with cannabis too.

Which Schlitz are you talking about? That Malt Liquor Bull stuff was just plain nasty. But it got you drunk. It was like Old English 800 which we called "The Bomb". Many a night was spent puking into the bushes outside a house in my teen years. Good times.

 

[drsaltzman]

The beer that made Milwaukee famous of course!

Re: straight sativa ... it's too uppity for me.
And the only time I smoke in the morning is Sundays during football season.
My weed consumption begins after 5:00 in the afternoon.
That's why I'm a hybrid guy.

 

[Autodoctor]

I personally think it depends on how much you smoke. I can’t tell a diff. I just know I’m f***ked up either way

 

[lusidghost]

I recently chopped a Malawi dominant cross early because I needed to move my next crop into the flowering tent. I noticed a racy high. Maybe the uppity buzz is from harvesting early. How often are sativas grown all the way out? Tons of the threads on here are from growers feel they are about a week or two from harvest when they are closer to 4 to 6 weeks. Most of the sativa people are talking about is from back in the day. That means they were probably from clandestine outdoor grows. I imagine a lot of those old growers were trying to not get busted / make their money before the plants were fully ripe.

 

[lusidghost]

I forgot to add that I've also noticed the same raciness with other early harvested buds I've smoked. The high is almost always racy and doesn't last long.

 

[ComfortCreator]

you make a compelling argument for this, and I don’t disagree, but this doesn’t fit my experience.

I started smoking cannabis back in the mid 80’s. Back then the terms indica an sativa weren’t used (at least not where I was at). High Times was talking about those distinctions but the big thing then was sensimillia. People would say something was panama red, Colombian gold, or Thai stick (shit was actually tied to a stick?) but you were just taking them at their word. Back then I remember getting cannabis that was just as strong as what you can get today (talking about flower here and not concentrates which were not a thing back then). It’s was rare to get that really good stuff but it was out there and it would knock you on your ass when you smoked it. The average cannabis then was worth smoking but there was a clear distinction between it and the good stuff (big price difference too). Maybe there were times when we would get a true sativa or indica but if so I never noticed a difference. I distinctly remember what it was like to get high back then and honestly it isn’t any different than what I experience today. I don’t say all this to argue maybe we just got crummy cannabis?

Man I swear we are friends and just dont know it. I went through the exact same set of experiences.

I think the reason it WAS good and not just our earlier smoking days is how it was grown. Mexico didnt have a little home grow in a basement somewhere. They setup fields so big they were like our corn crops. And when they went for it big and upped the quality it had a huge effect for sure.

Same for whatever was jamaican gold columbian gold, Panama red, whatever sxxx they were shovelling it sure was better than the original brick which was a solid buzz but by todays standards might actually kill one of the new generation after 1 hit lol...it was so moldy/compressed sxxx etc lol

Remember when you did your first hit of something someone brought back from Amsterdam? Wow it was like Xmas, literally.

HT always had the beautiful Humboldt grows highlighted and it was like seeing the future.

 

[ComfortCreator]

It's hard spending 20 weeks flowering a good true sativa but it really pays off in the end. Most people are looking for the quickest flowering strain. Some of us are willing to take the time to grow something special.

Now a true sativa isn't for everyone. Especially those prone to paranoia or are unable to deal with some of the psychedelic effects a good sativa can bring. They're not for everyone but if you can handle and enjoy the effects there is nothing else like it.

I like that I can wake up and get stoned without wanting to go back to bed. If I smoke something like Night Nurse my day is over. If I smoke some Oldtimers Haze at 6:00 AM I'm ready to take on the day and get things done.

Now I do like a good couch lock strain due to having issues with insomnia and waking up in the middle of the night unable to go back to sleep which leaves me tired later in the day. But that damn Night Nurse does the job every time so I always have a variety of different strains on hand. Some stuff is good for the middle of the day when you're done with your tasks and want to relax but doesn't make you want to take a nap.

There's nothing like waking up and smoking a bowl of a high THCV strain like ACE Ethiopian and feeling your muscles relax while not being put back to sleep.



Which Schlitz are you talking about? That Malt Liquor Bull stuff was just plain nasty. But it got you drunk. It was like Old English 800 which we called "The Bomb". Many a night was spent puking into the bushes outside a house in my teen years. Good times.

I felt like an idiot typing into Google, Night Nurse strain, wondering if I was going to be Rick rolled. Lol I see it sounds legit lol that's how to name a strain properly!