“You don’t need a high-potency product,” said Ryan Goodchild, director of education at TerraVida Holistic Centers, a chain of marijuana dispensaries in Sellersville, Malvern, and Abington.
More nuanced products are favored by patients and consumers with years of cannabis experience.
Going for a cannabis variety with the highest percentage of THC can be akin to guzzling straight 151 proof rum. You’ll feel it, but it won’t necessarily feel good.
“My staff gets frustrated when people think THC is the be-all and end-all of good marijuana,” he said. “It’s not. It’s more complicated than that.”
There’s another myth that cannabis experts would like to dispel for both cannabis newcomers and old heads: the alleged effects of the varieties called “indica” and “sativa.”
“The rule of thumb used to be that indica was more relaxing and sativa more stimulating,” said Andrew Atterbury, chief pharmacist at Ethos Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in Philadelphia and Montgomeryville.
“The rhyme was that indica would put you ‘in da couch,’ ” Atterbury said. “But there’s been so much crossbreeding that those descriptions have become mostly useless. They primarily define the plant’s morphology or shape. Moving outside those categories can be more helpful.”
Finding the right ratio of THC to CBD is what patients need to determine first. CBD, also known as cannabidiol, is another compound found in marijuana.