Indica is one of the two most common cannabis plant types: a shorter, bushier plant whose roots are in the Hindu Kush. The name describes the plant. Whether it tells you how a strain will feel is much less certain than the "in-da-couch" reputation suggests, and the Ontario Cannabis Store says as much.

What Indica Means

Cannabis indica and Cannabis sativa are the two most common cannabis plant types, alongside the less common Cannabis ruderalis and the hybrids bred from them. The names are botanical terms for the structure of each plant.

Indica comes from the Hindu Kush mountain range in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Indica plants are generally faster-growing and bushier than sativa, up to six feet shorter, with dark green leaves. Sativa, which originated in Eastern Asia, can grow up to 25 feet tall, with long, serrated, light green leaves.

The Indica Reputation

You have probably heard indica called "in-da-couch": it is thought to be calming, while sativa is thought to be energizing. That idea is old. It was once thought that the two types produced distinct effects, but as growers keep breeding new hybrids and research develops, the Ontario Cannabis Store describes the classification as becoming less relevant or helpful, and says plant type may not be the most reliable indicator of how a product will affect you.

So treat an indica label as a description of the plant's family tree, not a promise of a sleepy evening.

What to Look at Instead

The cannabinoid profile. How much THC and CBD a product holds matters more than its type, and minor cannabinoids such as CBG and CBN also play a role, though more study is needed on how they work.

The terpenes. The five most common in cannabis are beta-caryophyllene, limonene, myrcene, pinene and linalool. Research suggests individual terpenes may matter to the effects, and they are what give each strain its smell and taste. The idea that terpenes and cannabinoids work together, the "entourage effect", is a theory rather than an established fact.

How you take it. Smoking and eating the same strain produce different experiences, because the cannabinoids reach your bloodstream differently.

You. Weight, sex and age, mood, experience with cannabis, how often you use it, genetics, metabolism and what you have eaten all shape the effect, and regular use builds tolerance. The same product can feel different twice. Keeping a note of what you take and how it felt is the most reliable guide you have.