There are three main categories of weed you’ll find at your dispensary. Those categories are each divided into countless strains. There are hundreds of types of cannabis to choose from. These strains aren’t arbitrary. Each one has the potential to affect you differently. While indicas, sativas, and hybrids generally produce effects under the same umbrella, each individual strain is a tailored experience.
Some people use sativas to manage pain or stimulate their appetite. Other people choose sativas because they want the support of their strain when they’re trying to accomplish something that requires energy or creativity, like cleaning and redecorating their house or writing music and lyrics.
Picking a strain that’s commonly used to enhance what you want to do after you use the strain is the best way to achieve the perfect experience with weed. Don’t just grab the first thing you see and smoke it.
What makes sativa different from other kinds of weed?
The weed you find at your local recreational or medical dispensary will be listed under three main categories: sativa, indica, or hybrid.
Cannabis indica is a short, bushy plant with broad leaves that produces dense flowers. These flowers are known for their relaxing or sedating properties. People use them to promote better sleep and to manage pain symptoms.
Sativa is a tall, thin cannabis plant with dainty narrow leaves and fluffy flowers. Sativa strains generally energize and uplift their users, who turn to their favorite sativas when they have stuff to do. They appreciate the pick-me-up they get from their weed and use it to help them power through the day.
Hybrids are crossed strains. They’re a little bit indica and a little bit sativa. Each hybrid has a different ratio, with some close to perfectly balanced and others leaning more in one direction than the other. Hybrids allow you to dial in your experience and are often designed to allow certain effects to counterbalance each other. People like indica leaning hybrids when they want full-body relaxation but don’t necessarily want to feel sedated. People like sativa leaning hybrids for leisurely creative pursuits that don’t require a massive amount of energy.
Sativa’s effects:
Sativa is considered a daytime weed. This isn’t the kind of weed you can smoke and take a nap. The head high will kick in and your brain will start going. You’ll be inspired, for better or for worse. You could feel compelled to create the next masterpiece in your field of art. You could also decide that it should be your life’s work to create EDM remixes of lesser-known Elvis songs. Not every highdea is a winner, but you won’t really know until you try.
Sativa enhances your energy, mentally and physically.
When you use a sativa, you’re going to want to do something. That something largely depends on where your interests reside and what’s going on around you at the moment. Most people use sativa and an energizing mood enhancer before social events. It’s good for board game night, watching live music, or having a backyard barbecue.
Sativa hacks your brain.
If you feel creatively inhibited or if you’re dealing with a case of writer’s block, sativa can help fix that. Many people find that sativa allows them to explore their minds a little further and focus on tasks. If you’re attempting to write a song, a novel, or a comic book, sativa might help you become “unstuck” when you find yourself in a rut.
By encouraging inward thinking and stimulating the process of going down a creative rabbit hole, you might find new directions, styles, or techniques that can improve your artistic abilities. The enhanced ability to focus might make you more productive when you attempt to apply your ideas.
The way most people use sativa:
People tend to favor strains for their perceived medicinal benefits, versus their fun recreational benefits. In the grand scheme of things, the recreational benefits are just a bonus. There have been some studies that have looked into the potential medicinal benefits of sativa strains, but we don’t have definitive conclusions yet.
People living with anxiety, depression, and ADHD feel like sativa helps them to uplift their moods, calm their nerves, and focus. They often use sativa before they approach social situations or meet their responsibilities because they feel like their favorite strains support them in what they’re attempting to achieve.
The benefits associated with sativa strains are based on self-reporting of the people who use them, and the success they find when they do. There isn’t any officially recognized evidence that using sativa strains correlates with improvements in any of these areas, but the people who use them for these purposes will be quick to tell you how well they work for them.
Do sativa strains work the same way for everyone?
Not exactly. If you smoke a high-THC strain and you aren’t accustomed to doing so, you might not have a good time. If you’re in a chaotic environment or otherwise overwhelmed, a sativa strain might make you feel worse.
Using a small amount of a low-THC sativa strain in a controlled environment can help to mitigate the risk that you’ll have a bad experience.
That having been said, a bad experience isn’t something that can always be ruled out. If you’re new to cannabis and you aren’t sure where your limits are or how weed affects you, you should proceed with a high level of caution.
Energetic strains:
Energetic strains are most beneficial when you’re on a mission. If you’ve got stuff to do, these are the strains that will help you get things done.
Jack Herer
Jack Herer is named for Jack Herer, but you probably could have figured that out on your own. Herer, also referred to as The Hemperor, wrote The Emperor Wears No Clothes, one of the most groundbreaking pieces of hemp advocacy literature.
Jack Herer’s energy kick is subtle, but that might be what you need. If you’re trying to work up the motivation to do some yoga or put your laundry away, this strain will give you just enough energy to help you achieve the task at hand without bouncing off the walls.
Green Crack
Green Crack is a lot like green crack. It’s known to be a highly stimulating and energetic strain that makes it feel possible to do anything. Most people prefer Green Crack’s energetic effects for warding off bad feelings or symptoms of depression. It pulls you up out of the gutter and sends you all over the world.
Chemdawg or Sour Diesel
There’s a debate about whether Chemdawg and Sour Diesel are actually the same strain. Chemdog, the expert cannabis cultivator responsible for introducing Chemdawg to the world, claims that they are. He’s probably the best authority on the subject.
Chemdawg (and/or Sour Diesel) is known for its potency and extreme uplifting effect. This strain got the Grateful Dead through an entire tour and became a cult favorite among people who followed the band. If it’s energizing enough to keep people going through a round-the-world trip, it’s certainly energizing enough to help you clean the house and spend some time with your guitar.
Creative strains:
If you’re trying to make a masterpiece, you want a strain to enhance your creativity. The right weed will get your gears going, help you appreciate music and art more, and allow you to look inward for inspiration that might pull you out of a slump.
Durban Poison
Durban Poison is one of few truly pure sativas out in the world. Most strains contain at least a little bit of something else from years of crossbreeding and cultivation. Durban Poison is almost purely sativa genetics, with only microscopic traces of indica.
If you want the best creativity boost that sativa has to offer, you’ll never find anything as pure and true as Durban Poison.
Super Silver Haze
Super Silver Haze is such a beloved creativity-inducing strain that’s won awards. In fact, it took first place for three consecutive years at the High Times cup. People love this strain for its ability to improve creativity while also promoting a sense of relaxation. If your type of creativity is similar to Bob Ross’s type of creativity, Super Silver Haze was made for you.
The takeaway
While these are sativa strains most commonly used for energy and creativity, they aren’t the only sativa strains used for this purpose. Most people report experiencing these effects from these strains, but you might feel differently. If your creativity comes from the recesses of your soul, you might be more likely to find inspiration in the body high and sedation of an indica. Everyone is different.
That’s why Emjay has a little bit of everything. We have a wealth of sativa strains for creativity and energy, but we also have a ton of hybrid and indica strains to choose from. Find the strain that motivates you to pursue your creative outlet and stick to it, no matter what the strain is.
