Hello Bud Tenders!

I am a Registered Nurse specializing in medical cannabis therapeutics. During my certification process, I came across some conflicting information regarding Sativa and Indica terminology:

1) Sativa and Indica are botany terms to describe the origin of the plant strain. Sativa having thin, long leaves and Indica having short, wide leaves. This does not determine the type of effect you can expect, and at this time in history virtually all cannabis is a hybrid of these two types.

2) Indica and Sativa, while also being botany terms, are used in the cannabis industry to relay the expected effect to a consumer based on the terpene profile. The flower is lab tested for terpenes and if there are more sedating and calming terpenes then it is labeled an Indica. If the terpenes are more stimulating and focusing, it is labeled a Sativa. It has nothing to do with the botany terms.

What has your education and experience taught you? Are your Indica and Sativa strains determined off terpenes or plant ancestry?