With both recreational and medicinal marijuana usage becoming increasingly legalized—eleven states already permit the former while 32 states have legalized it for medical purposes—it’s a good idea to educate yourself about what the different strains of marijuana are and how they may affect your mood. Some therapeutic marijuana use is related to medical conditions like Alzheimer’s, epilepsy or glaucoma. Research suggests it helps relieve anxiety and pain related to those and other conditions.
Other people may use marijuana recreationally, to enhance a workout or relax. Regardless of how it’s being used, learning as much as possible about different types of cannabis can be helpful to expand your own knowledge and understanding of how it affects your mood and your overall health.
Understand the different genetic types of cannabis strains
Like many things in nature, cannabis comes in a variety of different strains with diverse genetics. Different weed strains have unique effects and knowing the nuances of each one is the key to healthy use. There are three strains you need to know about. There’s indica strains which are more relaxing with a sedating quality and sativa strains that provide more of a boost or uplifting effect. Hybrid strains are a combination of the two intended to achieve different effects on mood. An indica strain can put you in a calm, happy mood while a sativa strain may make you feel more focused. It ultimately depends on the combination of the individual and the type of strain.
Effects related to various strains
Every strain of marijuana has a unique effect, especially when it comes to mood. They range from making you feel more creative and energetic to making you sleepy. A sense of euphoria, enhanced focus and relaxation can occur depending on the strain.
There are inherent benefits and drawbacks when it comes to a particular strain’s side effects. Many indica strains can be used to treat conditions such as inflammation, pain, muscle stiffness, muscle spasms, anxiety and seizures. It can also help you sleep. Sativa strains are used medically to help improve mood, alleviate depression and anxiety in addition to boosting focus and creativity. Pain relief, appetite stimulation and an increase in energy are all benefits associated with these types of strains.
On the other side of the coin, some strains tend to have a higher THC content which could be less beneficial than those with higher CBD content. As with any medicine or therapy, both indica and sativa strains have potential side effects worth knowing about. These can include couchlock, cottonmouth, anxiety if the dose is too high and a desire to eat a lot (colloquially dubbed “the munchies”) for indica strains. Dizziness, insomnia, anxiety, paranoia and the munchies are potential side effects of sativa strains. Moderation, proper doses and knowing your own health are the keys to mitigating or negating these side effects while reaping the positive health benefits.
Strains used to assist with exercise and workouts
Workouts can be tough. Whether you’re a runner, hike or just do some yoga on occasion, your body goes through an incredible transformation each time you work out. The recovery is where the real results happen and the right strain can possibly help with the process due to the nuances of how CBD and THC affect inflammation, pain and muscle relaxing in your body. It really depends on what you’re trying to accomplish with your exercise goals and the type of exercise you’re doing. Selecting a marijuana strain to enhance your focus or boost your energy is just as important as choosing a strain to calm down and recover with after a workout.
Strains used for relaxation
Several indica and hybrid strains are suited to medicinal, relaxation or therapeutic use. Some of the best suited relaxing strains (namely GG4, Bubba Kush and sometimes Blue Dream) can either send you straight into deep relaxation or state of sleep fairly quickly. Other strains (Harlequin or Remedy for instance) take a more gradual approach to helping you calm down without the heavy relaxation aspect.
Learning more about marijuana strain variety
As diverse as cannabis strains are, you may be at a loss for where to begin or may desire to learn more. This marijuana strains guide is a good place to start. Healthline will provide additional information covering the health aspects of each type of strain and Medical News Today along with other online resources can help fill in the knowledge gaps. It’s never too late to learn more about this fascinating, heavily nuanced topic.