Generally speaking, but by no means exact,
Sativa = mind effects and
Indica = full body effects.
There’s quite a bit in between that may include a bit of both, leaning toward one or the other as the dominant effect. Indica also has properties that quiet or counter-act the sometimes strong head effect present in Sativa. I’ll explain more fully later.

True strains of any kind of marijuana are hard to find, so most of what is sold as Indica is mainly Indica dominant, and some are more so than others. What I will describe now is the general consensus of what a close to pure Indica can/may do once ingested, but is based on my own experience. Strong Indica strains are more disposed to bringing your body to a screeching halt on the couch in front of the tv watching anything from “Let’s Make a Deal” to “Les Misérables”. It doesn’t matter much what you’re watching because more than likely not, you’ll soon be asleep, depending on how much you used. If you smoked or vaporized, this effect will happen quite quickly, (0- 10 Minutes). If you ingested it, it can take up to an hour to feel the effects, depending on how your metabolism works and how much food you consumed just before. My own experience of ingesting Indica-based food went like this:

I ate 1/4 of a “green” Christmas cookie along with two friends. I thought it rather odd for the gift-bearer to only give us only 4 cookies as Christmas gift, but hey, whatever. Then he told us they were pot cookies, and said be careful, so it was all fine. Almost.

Green Pot CookiesWithin 30 minutes the room became very quiet, each of us in a chair feeling quite stuck, just like a fly to flypaper.

I began to see movement in my peripheral vision that was a lot like what has happened to me at the beginning of a migraine headache before the pain starts.  (I believe the term for this is “ocular migraine” which is a migraine, but without the pain, which only makes sense to someone who’s had migraines, but look it up – I tell the truth!) What I saw was fuzzy movement of colors not unlike a pixelated satellite tv signal, that started at the edge of my view and spread inward into my full vision. This made it hard to navigate to the bedroom, which is where I ended up for a long winter’s sleep. I wasn’t dizzy or nauseous, nor did  I feel otherwise unpleasant at all. I just couldn’t see well and was very sleepy. I awoke a few hours later, all visuals totally gone, and vowed to never eat another pot-laced sweet again. And I didn’t for a very, very long time. Upon awakening I found that my companions had a similar experience and found their own place to relax for a few hours. We all woke up with a pretty serious appetite, but not for any more cookies.

I sure was glad I didn’t eat a whole cookie, but it would have only meant a longer nap. Cannabis is like that. There’s no lethal dose. No overdosing, in the true sense. We all learn to use what we need to get the desired effect, and my experience with the green Christmas cookies certainly was a learning experience I will never forget. But with this knowledge I can say with much certainty, Indica has definite medicinal qualities.

Cannabis Indica plant
the Indica has a short, compact growth habit, is often Christmas tree shaped with broad leaflets. Growing season is generally shorter than Sativa, and it adapts well to indoor growing, making it popular for closet gardens.

Insomnia first comes to mind. How much better is this safe plant compared with the sleeping pills on the market? You be the judge, compare the side effects. Marijuana – the side effect is a deep, restful sleep. I guarantee you won’t be waking up in the middle of the night to sleep-drive your car around town, and you WILL remember if you raid the fridge in the middle of the night, (sleep eating), both which are serious side affects of some over the counter and prescription sleep aids.. With cannabis it’s more likely you’ll sleep longer and wake up with a good appetite for breakfast in the morning. This brings me to the next life saving medicinal use, appetite.

If you are an HIV patient who is suffering from “wasting” because you can’t eat, or a cancer/chemo patient who has no desire to eat or can’t keep food down, Indica is for you. The “munchies” effect literally saves lives. This has been admitted to by our Federal Government as conclusion, from their OWN studies, yet they contradict themselves by classifying cannabis as a Schedule 1 drug having no medicinal value. How lame it that?

Indica’s psychoactive effects are usually much milder than my green Christmas cookie ordeal. If you just want to relax your mind and body, nothing can be naturally more effective than a few tokes of some Indica. If you want to take care of the general aches and pains of living a full, active life and/or growing older, it can be your go-to medicine. If you have a brain-draining day of stress or over exertion in the yard or gym, there is nothing like the relief you will get from Indica. It conquers pain and relaxes.

Of note here, I must also say that the only time in my life that I ever had migraine headaches was when I was sober of any cannabis product. I never had them before I quit, and have never had another since I started using cannabis again as medicine. Just saying. And yes, there are people out there using cannabis to control chronic migraines, and research results to prove its worth as such.

Besides the cannabinoid receptors in your brain, there also exists cannabinoid receptors in other parts of your body, and like their name suggests they receive the cannabinoids, and distribute them to do the healing work and/or relieve pain in the places your body needs it. Many cannabinoids work to reduce inflammation, making it a prime choice for pain relief for people suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis or acute injuries like breaks and sprains. I could go on and on because the benefits of Indica go on and on too, but I’ll stop here for now and let you delve into the specifics for your own ailments as needed. You may want to read the next post about Cannabis Sativa first.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.