My Long Journey in Search of “Indica” and “Sativa” Edibles , and Why I trust The Ones I Use
“Making a cannabis edible an 'indica’’ or 'sativa’ is as easy as putting a sticker on it,” he told me. “Nicer packaging, too, if you want to get fancy.”
That’s what I was told by one DC corner smokeshop owner when I asked him about his edible sales. I wish I could say he’s the only one. Unfortunately, that’s practically an industry standard, both on the regulated and unregulated sides of the industry. It’s more than just a problem of greed, and it isn’t a problem of lack of enforcement per se. The issue is manifold.
Believe it or not, for all the regulation and laws that govern the cannabis industry for “quality control,” there are no quality control regulations for things like cartridge hardware or indica vs sativa edibles (aside from those regulations having to do with taxation, fees, and enforcement for exclusive licenses). Far be it from me to call for additional red tape in this industry. I believe laws and governance, while often for good, can also be tools of har. I don’t believe that legislation always protects people, and often it I think it can do more harm than good. Still, the lack of mechanisms to distinguish indica and sativa from other forms of weed is troubling.
But is there truly a distinction?
When cannabis is made into distillate, as is used for most edibles in the industry, and even when it’s cooked, it loses most the properties that make it “indica” and “sativa” to begin with. This raises a whole other discussion on the history of these terms and whether the cannabis plant can actually be divided into these categories. I've been an every day marijuana smoker since long before we had a selection of strains from our dealer, and back in those days, weed was just weed. There was good weed and there was not so good weed, but getting high from marijuana was getting high from marijuana.
I still think that’s how the body handles THC. In the same way that the body treats beer and wine and liquor just like alcohol, I believe it treats Black Cherry Gelato and Sour Diesel and OG Kush all the same, too. Only the marketing and the power of suggestion make the buzz from tequila at all different than the buzz from vodka. Similarly, there’s a lot of hype in the cannabis industry about indica, hybrid, and sativa, but the more I look in to it the more I think it’s just all different types of alcohol being packaged in different bottle for different occasions.
Nonetheless, I’m willing to admit that there is at least a spectrum of reactions the marijuana plant can elicit that are evidence of the indica/sativa differentiation. And that’s how I ended up finding the Flora Bast Indica and Sativa gummies shown below.
I found Flora Bast while researching edible companies that claim to offer indica and sativa varieties of their goods. Unlike other companies, Flora Bast does more than just separate their flower and distillate materials. They also accept that the “indica” or “sativa” hype is a result of consumers expecting more due to marketing and anecdotal reports rather than scientific research.
Because of that, and because of all the issues raised in this article, Flora Bast adds a full spectrum of natural vitamins and minerals in each gummy. The “entourage effect” of the cannabis, ginseng, and B12 along with the sativa extract ensures the user gets the experience and healthful effects they desire. The Flora Bast indica gummy adds a complement of L-theanine and cbn isolate along with indica extract to guarantee maximum effectiveness.
I like the Flora Bast gummies best for micro-dosing, when I can engage more deeply in my intentions, whether it be to relax or to focus. If I’m going to take more than a micro-dose, since the THC affects me the same in larger doses anyway, I love the lil sours by RemedyPlus. They are so effective, I rarely have time to enjoy being lazy enough to use them.
Some cannabis users find that all edibles affect them the same (mainly like an “indica” effect), especially the more THC one takes. Because of that, the edibles industry is still dominated by edibles non-differentiated as indica or sativa. I suspect it will stay this way due to market forces unseen by most customers.
The two reasons why more edibles aren’t labeled specifically indica and sativa are as follows:
1. There is little no difference between sativa and cannabis edibles because most of the terpene profile is so disturbed in the extraction and cooking process.
If companies wanted to differentiate between these strains, they would have to add nutrients to their gummies like Flora Bast—an expensive solution to a problem inherent in an already-expensive process.
2. Along those same lines, it’s too expensive to separate the marijuana used for edibles by strain.
It’s far more cost effective to make edibles with leftover trim discarded from the sellable buds.
I cut ties with multiple businesses who I knew or even just suspected were mislabeling their edibles as indica and as sativa just because they could sell more that way to unsuspecting customers. You may want to remember that next time something is being advertised to you by strain type alone.
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