Survey: Discriminating the Effects of Sativa & Indica
Updated: Oct 28
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An October 2014 study entitled "Discriminating the Effects of Sativa and Indica [Cultivars]: A Web Survey of Medical Cannabis Users" that was published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine reported its goal as evaluating "the opinions of medical cannabis (MC) users on the effects of indica [cultivars] vs. sativa [varieties] on conditions and symptoms through an online survey. The research involved a survey of 95 "non–randomly assigned MC users."
Study Conclusions
"Trust in the purity, the route of administration, or the purpose (recreational vs. medicinal) did not differ between [indica and sativa]. A preference for indica was statistically significant for pain management, helping with sedation and sleep. Sativa was preferred for euphoria and enhancing energy.
"A preference for indica was statistically significant for pain management, helping with sedation and sleep."
"The conditions reaching statistical significance for indica preference included: Nonmigraine headaches, glaucoma, neuropathy, spasticity, seizures, insomnia, and joint pain. For sativa, no conditions reached significance.
"In this anonymous web survey, which had limitations, the two [types of marijuana] had different effect associations on symptoms and conditions, possibly because of ingredient differences. Future surveys and subsequent prospective definitive trials are needed to confirm the findings."
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