For the uninitiated, there is a lot of confusion when it comes to Sativa and Indica. These are essentially two different kinds of strains of the marijuana plant.

This article includes everything you need to know about Sativas and Indicas, what they are and how they are different from each other.

 How do they differ from each other?

Most herb fans know that there are two different kinds of marijuana plants, Sativas and Indicas.  However, do they know what the difference is? Maybe not. So, let’s find out. 

The real question is that what’s so distinct about the two and how can you tell the difference between the high you get from consuming sativas and the high you get from indicas?

Sativas vs Indicas – Origins and Physical Differences

• Origins: The Sativa strains are known to have originated in warmer equatorial climates like Thailand, Southern parts of Africa and in Mexico. The indica strains are known to have originated in the Indian Subcontinent and the Central Asian region.
• Cultivation: Sativa strains take usually about two to three months to flower making them ideal for outdoor growing in warm climate conditions. Indica strains take about one and a half to two months to flower. They produce better yields and are more suitable for indoor growing conditions.
• Bud Features: The buds of the sativa strains sometimes have hints of red and orange color, they are lighter than indica buds and they have very subtle fruity smells. Indica buds are a bit heavier, they have pungent smells mostly and they can sometimes become purple.
• Plant Characteristics: Sativa plants are all very tall and they have thin leaves. Indica strains are a lot shorter than sativas and are bushy with wider leaves.

The sativa and indica strains are both psychoactive forms of the marijuana plant. That means both of them can get you high. It’s just that the kind of high you get from sativas vs indicas is different. This is mostly to do with where they have originated from.

The Sativa strains have originated in much warmer climates while indicas found their origins in colder mountain climatic conditions.

While the two strains are different from each other, the prospect of cannabis breeding being done now and how modern technology has helped to recognize the fact that the strength of a marijuana ‘s plant can differ because of the genetics has resulted in the formation of literally thousands of different hybrid strains bringing together combinations of different sativas and indicas.

This means that the comparison now is no longer between sativas vs indicas. Hybrid strains are there in the mix as well.

Sativas vs Indicas

Sativas

Best known for the incredibly invigorating highs they give. The mental activity goes into overdrive and the high you get from sativa strains is happy, uplifting and energizing.

This makes sativa strains more than ideal for socializing with a lot of people as it gets you chatty. It is also perfect for inducing the flow of more creative juices. Individuals who have creative genes and pursue things like art and music. They find that the high from sativa strains help their creativity.

Sativa strains usually are very tall with thin leaves. Found more in the sunny climatic conditions and they thrive on the sunlight and warm conditions. Sativa strains grow between 12 to 8 feet in height. They can grow taller than that as well if the conditions are good enough for them.

The sativa strains take their time when it comes to flowering. Anybody growing sativa strains will have to practice a lot of patience in comparison to someone growing indica strains.

If you’re growing sativas indoors. The costs for managing the lighting to make conditions ideal for sativas make them more expensive to grow indoors.

The high you get from sativa strains is invigorating, stimulating and energizing. This makes it the ideal kind of weed to smoke early in the morning to get you going. Click here to find out what the best sativa strains are for 2018!

Indicas

Indica strains are best known for their ability to give you a full body high and can put even the most energetic person in a state of rest. Indica high is more of a relaxing sedative.

Usually, the marijuana connoisseurs who prefer smoking indica strains are the kind of people who want to smoke it up and just sink into their couch for as long as the high lasts. They are ideal for people looking to just relax and unwind after a very long day at work.

Whether you want to watch a movie, listen to some music or just stare at paint drying on the wall, indica strains are going to make it a much more relaxed affair.

Indica strains are shorter, stubbier and bushy with wider leaves. They’re more used to the cold and harsh climatic conditions of the mountains in Afghanistan and when you compare sativas vs indicas, the indica strains are much better at producing high yields of hash.

When you’re considering the flowering time in the sativas vs indicas comparison, the indicas are more favourable for the impatient grower. They are more prone to growing and flowering faster than sativas because they need to grow and flower for harvest before the winter chill sets in.

Is There a Real Difference in Sativas vs Indicas?

Plenty of stoners don’t regard the two different kinds of strains to be very different from each other. To them, it’s just all about getting high. The point of view isn’t all that misplaced or flawed because of the increasing number of hybrids now available. Most people are smoking hybrids nowadays, making it difficult to place which camp they belong to in Sativas vs Indicas.

With most of the strains available to everybody being hybrids of different kinds, there is very little for people to discern which strain they’re smoking.

Unless you go to a weed provider who has plenty of knowledge about the wares they are selling, you will not be able to know which strains favour sativas or indicas. Nowadays, it’s scarce to find strains that are either pure sativas or pure indicas. There are only hybrids that are sativa dominant or indica dominant.

So the final verdict is that with all the hybrids now available in the market, there’s not much of a difference left. There are only combinations of these plants available for purchase. these have been bred to bring the best of both indicas and sativas together.

The sativa vs indica matter is not a debate about which is better. Now with more and more hybrids coming into the market, their differences are getting blurred.