when you are using distillate and terps to make cartridges and you ask someone what flavors they prefer and they answer that they prefer sativas vs. indicas, does that really even count??
Some say they can feel the difference in the Terpenes profile but I’ve never been able to distinguish a difference myself with distillate carts
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It seems like the induibidual character is lost and that flowers differ pharmacologically from distillates. It’s more than just THC and terpenes. I’ve put a lot of work into this, bioassaying different CB1 agonists with different components of the plants, over many many years. It’s posible to make products that are highly refined/distilled/synthetic that have the aroma of fresh weed, of dried flowers, of a duffle bag filled with outdoor, but our scope has simply been recreating the terpene profile, not the full aroma. And then, given the narrow scope, it’s not a surprise that many bioavtove compounds, not just odorous ones, have been lost. Cannabis is pretty complex!
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I always just say its a “hybrid”.
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Anyone want to chime in on whether Indica and Sativa have actual differences chemically?
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There should be zero difference.
Your fractioning off the thc, not a specific strain.
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There’s a couple of YouTube videos, but for the most part Sativa and Indica really don’t exist. Maybe 50 years ago when there were 10 strains you could make an argument that there were wildly different cannabanoid profiles from strain to strain. So maybe some old school strains may have had more thc-v, or CBD, CBn, cbg, and certain constant terp profiles.
We’ve basically just inbred everything to jack up thc % without much care for any other cannabinoids. In turn I’m of the opinion most of the “sativa” “indica” is psychosomatic in nature. I can see how if you did enough research and figured out either a terpene profile or consistent cannabinoid profile that had measurably specific results you could make some arguments there. But I doubt you’d find any actual data or even consistency in strains these days to actually designate something as anything other than a hybrid.
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Glad I’m not the only one convinced it’s all psychosomatic. All data that I have found on their supposed differences is anecdotal at best. There could definitely be some subjective differences with different terpene profiles, but simply attributing those differences to “Indica” or “Sativa” is a bit absurd given the wildly differing terpene profiles of all of the different sativa and indica strains.
I typically keep that opinion to myself at events and such, though. As I’ve said before, for working with and (often) indulging a substance that is supposedly ego dissolving, there sure are a lot of arrogant closed minded folks in this industry who refuse to have a civil conversation about something they may not agree with.
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I can’t remember where I read it, but they took a strain (let’s say blue dream) grabbed 50 samples from accross the country, and tested them all. There wasn’t even anything remotely close to a consistent cannabanoid or dominant terpene profile.
Wanton genetic manipulation and strain naming have really just muddied any chance of any real data emerging out of our current setup.
I absolutely agree that cannabis can produce both uplifting and drowsy effects, but I don’t think we’ve really have anything other than heresay, placebo and anecdote at this point.
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I read that same finding as well a while back, but I can’t for the life of me remember where I read it either. I’ll have to do some digging for where I read that, because while the burden of proof should be on those making the claim, there are way too many who believe that absence of evidence = truth. 
Yea, unfortunately there are WAY too many confounding variables to actually design a comprehensive legitimate study on this. Or if it could be done, I can’t imagine how expensive it would be.
I’d also agree with the range of effects, but one huge variable I think a lot of people disregard when discussing different strain effects is set and setting. That’s an enormous factor in most drug experiences, and while well known and discussed heavily in the psychedelic research community, I almost never hear it talked about in the cannabis community. Might be a blind spot worth looking into as well to help explain things.
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Yeah, I’m a distiller and I always laugh when people talk about “vodka drunk” or “tequila drunk” or “wine drunk” like you’re not buying glasses of Bordeaux in the club, nor are you drinking shots of jagermeister with your nice dinner. It’s ethanol. Correlation=/= causation
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That’s a great analogy. The set/setting factor for subjective ethanol effects is waayyy underrated and overlooked.
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Yes Becky, it’s the darn tequila that makes you take your top off and make out with strangers. Not the 14 drinks preceeding that.
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I leave the jar in the oil bath. Sativas are the first couple pours. Then come the hybrids, finally the indicas. Its not scientific but any degredation to cbn comes in clutch.
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Fully agree with the ethanol analogy @tweedledew @coppertop.
THC distillate is THC that has been molecularly fractioned off a broad spectrum extract to isolate and purify the THC (and nothing else). THC by itself is wholly agnostic to what strain it came from. Makes ZERO difference. The issues with this is an isolate doesn’t engage the ECS or the Entourage Effect, and simply adding terpenes to the distillate (even cannabis-native) still doesn’t really come close to mimicking the effect from a true whole spectrum extract like solventless flower rosin.
Even more so, the distinction between indica and sativa are worthless in judging the effects of the plant because those terms refer to the physical expression of the plant, not the chemotype. Those terms are taxanomical in scope and don’t naturally determine chemotype.
Beyond that, what uneducated people refer to as “indica” only means that it has a sedative/narcotic effect when consumed. This effect might be caused by a host of secondary cannabinoids and terpenes in the entourage effect, but chemotypically this means that the plant likely has .5% myrcene and probably some CBN as well.
People need to stop using the indica/sativa terminology not because we’ve bred the hell outta both sides to make everything hybrids, but because it doesn’t refer to the actual chemotype or effect one feels. This pisses me (and probably a lot of you as well) off to no end!
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I love how this site has an answer for every random question I think of.
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To my understanding most if not all recreational plants are cannabis indica plants, while industrial hemp is cannabis sativa. Indica and sativa literally have nothing to do with effects and are just subspecies of the Cannabaceae family. I agree with all the comments above! As another affirming answer to OP’s question, no I don’t believe there’s a difference in effects between “indica” and “sativa” at the distillate level, unless of course we’re talking THC vs CBD, in which case I’d say there’s absolutely a difference.