People have been using marijuana for medical or recreational purposes for thousands of years. In recent years, Canada has been at the forefront of legalizing marijuana for all purposes. If you’re over the age of 19, you can legally buy cannabis for recreation in licensed dispensaries or online in most Canadian provinces—though the age restriction does vary in Alberta and Quebec.
But what type of cannabis and cannabis products should you buy now that they’re legal? If you have trouble relaxing, sleeping, or dealing with pain and anxiety, then indica marijuana strains should be on your menu.
What is Indica?
It’s a common misconception that indica and sativa are two different names for the same plant. The indica plant was first discovered by the French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and is different in appearance than sativa. While indica produces fuller and broader leaves with dark purple buds, sativa produces leaner and taller leaves with dark green buds.
Indica has a calming and deeply relaxing effect on the body because of its relatively balanced cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content. This starkly contrasts sativa, which produces a more energizing and stimulating effect on the body because it contains a higher ratio of THC.
Best Ways to Consume Indica
As previously mentioned, indica and sativa have unique effects on the human body, and, in turn, you should consume them under different circumstances. Typically, people use indica when they want to relax, soothe their anxiety, or improve their sleep.
How to Store Indica
You can store indica in the same way as other cannabis types, limiting UV light and air exposure. You should keep the storage temperature between 60 70 degrees Fahrenheit and limit its exposure to humidity.
Buying Indica
There are a plethora of different indica strains available on the market. They differ in their potency, yield, and price. If you’re looking for an indica marijuana guide for first-time buyers, this list should help:
- Northern Lights– Known for its pungent smell and high potency, this indica strain is recommended for more experienced users.
- Grandaddy Purp– This is a classic indica strain that’s characterized by its distinct deep purple color. It has a more gentle effect on the body as compared to the Northern Lights.
- Blue Cheese– Blue Cheese is an upcoming indica-dominant hybrid strain that breeders create by crossing the Oregon Blueberry with the Original Cheese. It has a distinctly sweet taste and aroma, though it has a high THC potency, making it ideal for experienced users.
- OG Kush– A widely popular hybrid strain between Chemdawg and the Hindu Kush, OG Kush has an earthy aroma and energizing “head-focused” effects.
Growing Indica
Cultivating indica or any other variant of marijuana is challenging, especially for beginners. However, it becomes relatively straightforward with time and practice.
The prerequisites for marijuana cultivation include procuring the select seeds, buying grow lights, and making plenty of internal and external space available for the cultivation process. Once you have the requisite inventory, you’ll follow these steps:
- Prepare the Space that You Will Use to Grow Cannabis– You should keep your plants clean and light-tight. Apart from that, maintain them at an optimal temperature and humidity levels. Your lighting setup can include LEDs, high-discharge (HID) lights, or incandescent bulbs.
- Your “Grow Room” Should be Well Aerated– Like any other plant, cannabis requires an adequate amount of carbon dioxide to go through photosynthesis. The room temperature should always be around 70 85 degrees Fahrenheit when the lights are on and 55 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit when off.
- Install a Proper Control System to Monitor the Growth Process–This involves using 24-hour timers, thermostats, and soil pH monitors. The 24-hour timer should maintain light availability at 20 hours a day when the plants are in their vegetative state and 12 hours a day when they reach their flowering stage.
- Choose Your Cultivation Medium and Maintain It– You can either go with soil or hydroponics. In either case, you’ll need your medium to be nutrient-rich. Such macronutrients are readily available in liquid as well as powdered form.
- Maintain a Regular Schedule– Create a standard plan to manually take care of your plants and screen male plants’ growth. Having too many male plants can be highly detrimental to your cannabis yield since they’d grow and fertilize the female plants causing their buds to lose potency.
- Harvest Your Yield– To harvest your grown cannabis plants, you’ll have to go through the processing, drying, and curing
Experiment and Enjoy
If cannabis products from indica plants sound ideal for you, start experimenting to broaden your horizon of different strains. With a little trial and error, you’ll find the strain that produces a relaxing high that feels designed just for you.
