How Sativa Became the Energy Queen of Cannabis

The general perception of cannabis enthusiasts is that they have no common wisdom. The stereotype of the drooling man who “drinks cannabis” who sits in his parents’ basement for hours playing video games or constantly Instagramming is something many non-users believe to be true.

In fact, consuming cannabis – particularly certain sativa strains – has quickly become the best way to recharge while completing tasks. Any busy hobbyist knows that choosing the right CBD/THC sativa combination with the right terpene profile can be enough.

Strains are generally carefully cultivated for their energizing effects.

For example, according to Humboldt County Emerald Farms, four strains are used to produce AK-47: Colombia (Sativa), Mexican (Sativa), Thai (Sativa), and Afghanistan (Indica). The strain has a strong skunky-sour, earthy scent, peppered with hints of pine, sage, sandalwood and some light citrus. Smoking the bud produces a stimulating type of euphoria.

The sativa-dominant strain Silver Haze originated with the Haze strain that was popular in the early 1980s. Since then, Haze’s properties have been appreciated by cannabis consumers and growers around the world. Silver Haze was the first to create a space-saving Haze strain that can grow quickly and produce a high yield.

Amsterdam-based Sensi Seeds, the world’s largest cannabis seed bank with over 500 strains, crossed the Haze and Northern Lights strains to produce this highly potent sativa strain.

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Other strains with Silver Haze genetics include Lemon Haze (Silver Haze plus Lemon Skunk); and Silver Dog (Silver Haze plus Chemdog).

Sativa cannabis strains are relatively easy to choose when growing. They are characterized by a taller stature, narrow-leaved leaves, a more open bud structure that often grows in a distinct spiral formation around the branches, and a lighter green color. All sativa cannabis strains come from tropical regions, where the long, hot summers caused them to develop a longer flowering period than strains from harsher climates.

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The scientific name Cannabis sativa was first published in 1753 by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus, who is now considered the father of modern taxonomy, the science of classifying organisms. The term sativa simply means “cultivated” and describes the hemp plant that was widespread throughout Europe at the time.

But how it came to be a version of the cannabis plant that provides you with energy is one of those amazing mysteries of botanical genetics that always surround this wonderful and complex plant.

In fact, studies show that the Sativa strain of cannabis, which is hemp with a really low THC content, is more similar to Cannabis Indica – despite a “moderate correlation between the genetic structure of marijuana strains and their reported C”. Due to sativa and C. indica ancestry, cannabis strain names often do not reflect “meaningful genetic identity.”

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The sativa strain you see in your favorite pharmacy is pretty much a man-made phenomenon—or a mutant, if you will—that arose over thousands of years of human breeding and cross-breeding and continues to be optimized today becomes.

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Okay, all this scientific stuff probably elicits a simple shrug of contemplation from most cannabis enthusiasts who just want to know what they should consume before tackling their to-do list.

Best bid? Ask a budtender. You get this. I keep asking because there is no perfect answer. And if you’re stressed about that, relax with a friendlier, gentler indica strain – which gives you the so-called “couch effect” of cannabis strains – and doesn’t bring all the annoying lineage and genetics blast of sativa.