Where to Find Best Hybrid Weed?

As a regular marijuana user, how often do you come across a cannabis strain that completely blows you away by its quality and uniqueness? The color, taste, smell and the ‘feel’ of a particular strain make you go back and revisit the experience. You might be smoking the same old White Widow you have been smoking already but something about it is different. The question is why? How to find the best hybrid weed? The answer lies in the genetics, environment, and evolution of cannabis strains.

A plant’s genetic structure along with the environment in which it is grown defines its final form. A plant with similar genetic makeup, when grown in a different environment will bring out a different trait from the plant’s genetic code resulting in a unique color, shape, smell and resin production.

How Cannabis Strains Developed Over The Years

The earliest species of the cannabis plants are believed to have their origin somewhere in the mountains of Hindu Kush region of Pakistan as well as some tropical countries along the equator. These early species commonly called Landraces, grew on their own in the wild, adapting and changing over thousands of years. Popular varieties, Indica, and Sativa – populated between 0 to 30 degrees latitude and 30 to 50 degrees latitude respectively – which offered a drastically different growing environment. These diverse habitats resulted in a colorful array of unique cannabis varieties.

Factors that affect cannabis strain genetics

During the 70s and 80s when the federal anti-cannabis stance was at its peak, cannabis cultivation moved from outdoors to indoors. This drastic change in habitat paved way for a number of genetic changes in cannabis plants due to a number of variables such as:

• Soil type
• Amount of light
• Angle of light
• Photoperiod length
• Distance between plant and light source
• Time of harvest
• Effects of Hybridization

Just about at the same time when indoor cultivation became common, hybridization of the popular Indica and Sativa strains started as well. This was a defining moment in the evolution of cannabis strain genetics. Growers increasingly experimented with intermixing of resin-coated Indica buds with Sativa buds known for their uplifting effects. This hybridization has resulted in a virtually endless variety of genetically different cannabis strains, each with their own unique flavor, appearance and effect.

Types of Weed Names

For a lot of experts, the starting place for classifications is by strain.

When it comes to the different strains of weed, there are literally hundreds. But they are largely categorized as indica, sativa and hybrid. 

All types of cannabis fall under these three master strain classifications.

What is Indica weed?

Cannabis indica is the fatter, stockier variety of marijuana that everyone is familiar with.

The cannabis indica plant features a plant acclimatized to the harsh rainy climate of the Hindu Kush mountains and the Karakoram mountains of Afghanistan. 

Cannabis indica leaves are often darker colored and have 7 to 9 different points. This type is also known informally as buds or nugs. 

What has more THC, indica or sativa?

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) production is thought to be higher in hybrids and highest in indica dominant varieties of cannabis. 

When people ask what type of marijuana gets you high, the answer will usually be an indica, though there are many strains labeled as Sativas that have been bred to have high THC content too.

Some of the indica weed strains of medical marijuana are:

• Mr. Nice
• Blueberry Kush
• 9 lb Hammer
• Critical Mass
• Hash Plant
• Mango 
• Afgooey 
• True OG
• Sensi Star
• Grape Ape

What is the difference between sativa and indica cannabis?

Well for one thing, they look different. On the sativa dominant side of cannabis, sativa weed plants tend to be taller with thinner lobes of the palmate leaf style of the plant.

Here is where things get a little confusing. What if we told you that the strains that are conventionally called Sativas are actually just another form of Indica?

Pure Sativa strains are actually industrial hemp varieties of cannabis and are not classified with drug cannabis.

So, is sativa weed? The answer to this question is not as straightforward as you might think.

All drug cannabis is Indica, and Indica is divided into two categories. The types of weed Indica are broad-leafleted drug (BLD) and narrow-leafleted drug (NLD).

NLDs are what are commonly referred to as Sativas today because their appearance bears some resemblance to pure Sativa strains which are used as hemp.

But while the conventional way of categorizing strains is problematic, it is probably here to stay.

So the answer to the question “what are the different kinds of weed?” is sativa, indica and hybrid, but this is keeping in mind that many of the prescription-market sativas are not pure sativas. 

If you look online, you will find that many producers will classify their types of weed strains using these three categories.

Types of Marijuana: Identifying Indica, Sativa & Hybrid

Hundreds of different marijuana plant strains are broadly organized into the three separate categories that we are highlighting today. Now that we know a little bit more about cannabis and its rich, storied past, let’s get into the thick of things with a look at identifying what makes these plants so special.

• Indica Cannabis. Indica plants are broadly described as being shorter marijuana plants with thick stems, broad leaves and dense buds because they tend to grow slower than sativa in the vegetation cycle. It is thought that this is an evolutionary development that equipped the plant to thrive in the cold, harsh environment of the Himalayan Mountains on which it was originally found. Indica flowers, stems and leaves are usually coated in thick THC trichomes to fortify the plant from the harshness of unstable winter climates. There are many popular indica strains including but not limited to Northern Lights, OG Kush, Blueberry Kush, Bubba Kush and GDP.
• Sativa Cannabis. Sativa cannabis is described as being a taller marijuana plant with thin, narrow leaves because of their fast vegetative growth cycle. The modern sativa leaf is commonly referred to as the physical opposite of the indica. Because it has historically been found in warmer climates, there was never a reason for the plant to accumulate adaptive traits to manage the cold. Popular sativa strains include Jack Herer, Sour Diesel, Blue Dream, Harlequin and Super Silver Haze.
• Hybrid Cannabis. Lastly, we look at the hybrid style cannabis plant. As the name suggests, this plant represents a hybrid combination of both plants. On the recreational front, the hybrid is prized for the fact that it combines important attributes of both important styles of strain. However, because of how diverse the hybrid strain can be it is difficult to provide a singular description of what it looks like and how it interacts with the human mind. Hybrid cannabis is the product of cross-breeding two different cannabis strains and two different sexes. Simply put, you’d have one male plant of one strain and one female plant. The female marijuana plant is be pollinated by the male and the female plant produces seeds of the new strain. Voila! A hybrid has been born.

Future of Marijuana Genetics

For as big and as rich as marijuana’s past has been, the future seems even brighter. Two important developments are occurring simultaneously to make this so.

On the one hand, cannabis acceptance is higher than it has ever been. Each year more and more states decriminalize or completely legalize the use of the marijuana plant. Perhaps as a direct result of this, the science surrounding marijuana has also drastically improved. 

As marijuana science continues to advance and manufacturing moves over to the private sector it seems very likely that researchers will be able to do impressive new things with the cannabis plant. 

One of the most important of these developments will be the isolation of various cannabinoids and chemical components of cannabis such as CBN, CBG or CBC. Selective attention to specific terpenes or THC levels can radically shape the user experience, not to mention the radical changes in the colors, look and smell that these new strains put off.

The more that researchers learn about the plant, the better able they will be to provide a tailored experience.  

On the boring business side of the equation, this may mean hyper-precise patents on custom marijuana products. For consumers, it means there will be more and better options available in dispensaries all across the country.