Almost every dispensary menu sorts flower into three groups: indica, sativa and hybrid. They're useful shorthand, but they don't tell you everything. Here's how to think about them.
Where the words come from
Indica and sativa started out as botanical terms describing how cannabis plants grow. Indica plants tend to be shorter and bushier, while sativa plants tend to be taller with narrower leaves. Hybrids are crosses between the two, and today most cannabis on the market is some kind of hybrid.
How menus use them
On a menu, the labels are often used as a rough guide to the kind of experience customers tend to describe. People commonly associate indica with feeling relaxed and sativa with feeling more uplifted, with hybrids somewhere in between.
Why that's only part of the story
Two products with the same label can feel quite different. Experiences depend on many things, including the strain's mix of cannabinoids like THC and CBD, its terpenes, how much you have and your own body. That's why we treat indica, sativa and hybrid as a starting point rather than a promise.
What to look at as well
- THC and CBD amounts on the label. Our guide to reading a cannabis label explains them.
- Terpenes and aroma: notice which smells you enjoy.
- Your own notes: keep track of what you tried and how much.
Let's figure it out together
When we open in Magnolia, tell a budtender what you're looking for and we'll help you look past the label to find a good fit, starting low and going slow.