Two weeks ago I knew nothing about weed, now I’d consider myself somewhat of an expert, on weed strains, at least. For those who don’t know, let me educate you.
Under the umbrella of the cannabis plant, there are upwards of 700 strains. According to Medical News Today, they all fall into three major categories, indica, sativa, and hybrid. Indica and sativa are two different species of cannabis and have different effects on those who smoke them, while hybrids are a mixture of both Indica and Sativa and tend to be the most popular
Sativa is known for its energizing effects on the body and is considered an “upper” as it manufactures an uplifting mood. According to Healthline, Sativa results in a “mind high, or an energizing, anxiety-reducing effect,” making it a common day-smoking strain.
Indica has the opposite effect. It deeply relaxes the body to the point where users fall asleep. Indica is a “downer”, leaving the feeling of being relaxed in both body and mind.
All that being said, it’s time to dive into what Sativa, Indica, and hybrid strains are all about through third-year Colorado State University student, Rowen Kimble. This trip won’t be Kimble’s first and throughout this adventure, I learned the basics of joints and edibles.
The (Shopping) Trip
The journey began with a quick trip to Green Dragon on 804 S College Ave. A cannabis dispensary chain with stores in Colorado, Florida, and California. I stayed in the car while Kimble went into the shop.
“It’s always so scary in there, you need to know exactly what you want before you go in,” Kimble said.
She then went on to tell me that people head to the front desk first, where a worker walks you through the store to get exactly what you’re looking for. Kimble came back to the car with two pre-rolled joints; Kreem Sycle Indica, and Devil Driver Sativa, along with a container of Assorted Flavor Hybrid gummies. There was a slight snag in our plans though, but it can’t matter that much right? Wrong.
“He (the worker) was supposed to give me 5g gummies but he gave me 10g!” Kimble said.
On our way back from Green Dragon, we decided to pick up Chick-fil-A.
“Shit! I’m going to be so mad at myself once I’m high because I’ll already have eaten my food,” Kimble said
Double the Dose for Double the Fun – Gummies
I told her to just eat the gummy right then and there, and just like that we had started our trip into the world of ganja.
We returned to Kimble’s house safely with our twin meals of 8-count chicken nuggets, a small mac and cheese, and fries. We decided the best backing track to our first trip was the 2007 movie ‘Atonement’. I took a seat on the floor while she sat with her legs crossed on the bed and we began eating while we started the movie.
Halfway through eating our food, Kimble turns to tell me she thinks the gummy is starting to kick in with growing concern in her eyes, the gummy was a bit more than she thought it would be.
She started cracking jokes left and right and laughing at the most mundane things.
“Everything up close is small and [everything] far away is big,” Kimble told me. “My heart is beating really fast, it’s kinda hard to breathe, and my hands are cold.”
She then started to joke about how she was dying and began laughing hysterically with her hand on her chest like it hurt her. We went to bed early that night.
The next day I reconvened with Kimble to ask if she remembered anything,
“Everything is mostly a blur, I did get a little nauseous toward the end and had to sleep so I didn’t feel dizzy.” She continued to say that that was the highest she had gotten In a while. “It was a mind and body high, which is common with edibles,” Kimble said.
Kimble later told me that she hates getting crazy high to the point where she feels too psychologically messed with, she prefers smoking joints.
“It’s not fun to me when I feel anxious and like something is wrong with me,” Kimble said.
The Devils’ Lettuce – Sativa
A couple of days later Kimble decided to smoke the Devil Driver Sativa joint. We sat together on her balcony in folding chairs. On the side table, there was leftover bud from Kimble’s last smoke session. Twinkle lights lined the balcony, music lightly hummed out of my phone speaker, and a sign sat above us nailed onto the house that read “no smoking.”
Kimble and I talked about anything and everything under the sun before and after she smoked. Kimble is calm by nature, so I didn’t notice too much of a difference in her behavior, except for her sudden eagerness to ask me about myself.
“I don’t feel like I have much awareness of my body or care about how I’m being perceived,” she said.
Kimble describes this kind of high as a “functional high,” where you can still do everyday things, just a bit more upbeat. The rest of Kimble’s high we sat out on her balcony talking until sunset.
I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Kreem Sycle – Indica
Lastly, Kimble decided to smoke the Kreem Sycle Indica joint. She smoked before going to a hangout at her friends’ house. She wanted to see if she would get tired while out since Indica is known for doing just that.
Kimble expressed early on in her high that the light outside was “too bright and hurts.” She wore her sunglasses all night. She also described feeling a numbing feeling throughout her upper body and had a rapid heartbeat. She was, however, not tired at all.
Kimble had no problem mingling with everyone at the hangout, strangers and friends alike. Her social anxiety flew out the window,
“I haven’t felt this relaxed in my brain and unstressed ever,” Kimble said.
Later in the night, Kimble tripped on some shoes that were sprawled on the floor, she barely caught herself and proceeded to laugh the loudest I’ve ever heard her laugh.
In the end, Kimble’s verdict was clear; Indica is her favorite, and she prefers joints to edibles any day. The effects of cannabis vary from person to person and are unpredictable, no matter how much research you do. The only surefire way to know how it will affect you is if you venture out and try it yourself, you might just discover your new favorite hobby- or at least have a good time trying. Happy smoking!
