With hundreds of choices of strains, and even more choices of products, the medical marijuana space can be a little difficult to navigate for the first time.
And although there are tons of resources available online for patients with West Virginia medical marijuana cards, it’s not always easy to pilot through pages and pages of the internet either.
In this article, we’ll cover how to choose a cannabis strain based on your symptoms, what to look for at the dispensary, and how to find the right strain for you!
Choosing a Cannabis Strain: Priorities & Categories
West Virginia dispensaries are just around the corner, and although they haven’t opened quite yet, the state is expecting to have several stores open this year.
While patients are eagerly waiting for the arrival of dispensaries, many first-timers have already qualified for a medical marijuana card, and are ready to shop the day dispensary doors open!
In fact, there is a reasonable list of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana in West Virginia.
With such a variety in the type of symptoms that you could be using medical marijuana for, there’s even more variety in what product choices you’ll have when visiting a dispensary.
Choices can range from smokable cannabis flower, to tinctures, CBD oil, or edibles, and quite frankly, if you can imagine it, it probably exists in the cannabis space.
Not to mention the hundreds if not thousands of unique strain names for different cannabis plants.
With all the choices available, it can be a little bit of a slow start in figuring out which strains or products work best for you and your condition, especially when there’s such a variety in what strains do and how they work on the body.
Finding out which strains work best for you doesn’t have to be difficult though, in fact, once you get some priorities set, all you really need to do is pick which strains match what you’re looking for!
That process starts by prioritizing your needs and categorizing your products.
Setting Your Priorities in Cannabis
Before you make your trip to the dispensary, you need to know a little about your condition and symptoms before you start to try and help them.
Someone suffering from PTSD will likely have different goals and ideas about what cannabis can do for them than someone who is diagnosed with cancer or chronic pain, for example.
Understanding your condition and symptoms will help guide you along the way to picking the right cannabis strains, and that’ll make a huge impact on how cannabis works for you.
The easiest way to figure out which strains to consider is to decide whether you are looking for physical relief, mental relief, or a combination of the two.
Ultimately, strains are usually divided into categories like indica, sativa, and hybrids, and these categories will help you lay out which strains to look at for your symptoms.
Choosing a Cannabis Strain Type: Categories
Strains come in all shapes, sizes, product types, colors, smells, and effects.
Most commonly, cannabis is divided into one of three categories that correspond to how their effects are felt in the body:
Indicas – Strains that are indica dominant often have more physical effects, such as pain relief, reduced muscle tension, and are excellent for helping with conditions like chronic pain, muscle spasticity, neuropathy, and Crohn’s disease for example.
Sativas – Strains that are sativa dominant produce more mental effects, which can help with things like anxiety, depression, PTSD, and terminal illnesses.
Hybrids – Hybrid strains are a combination of both sativa and indicas and are usually dominant in one type or the other. An indica dominant hybrid will have more prominent physical effects with little mental effects, and a sativa dominant hybrid will have more noticeable mental effects and lighter physical effects.
Understanding which category your strain belongs in is an important step to deciding which strain is right for you, and don’t be afraid to try them all!
Because of modern growing techniques and crossbreeding, many strains that are dominant in one type may very well have effects that are more similar to its counterpart category. (e.g a sativa can sometimes feel like an indica, and vice versa)
Sometimes an indica can feel very cerebral, and sometimes a sativa can lock you into the couch, so these categories are best used as a pointer to what kind of effects you are ultimately looking for, and less of a comprehensive definition.
Choosing a Cannabis Strain: Terpene Profile
The last (and possibly most important) thing to focus on when choosing a strain that can help with your symptoms, is understanding the strain’s terpene profile.
Dispensaries in West Virginia are expected to open in the next few months, and based on the cannabis facilities that are being built in West Virginia, there will likely be a lot of choices for strains with different terpene profiles.
A terpene profile defines the strain’s prominent terpenes, which are the plant’s aromatic compounds that help produce a strain’s smell, taste, and effects.
There are many terpenes that can be present in the cannabis plant, as well as in many fruits, vegetables, and herbs.
Terpenes can work together alongside THC & CBD to create something called the entourage effect, which is when compounds in the cannabis plant work synergistically to provide the overall effects you experience.
That’s why knowing a little about terpenes can go a long way, you can think of them as a kind of “funnel” for the strain’s category, helping to ease the effects into an experienceable feeling.
There are many lists of terpenes and their effects online and brushing up on what the main ones do and how they produce effects can greatly help when choosing a cannabis strain.
Choosing a Cannabis Strain: Keep it Simple
When you put all of this together, you’ll have clear information on what a strain does and the effects it will produce, which will help you decide how it may work for your symptoms.
And the beautiful thing about medical marijuana, is that there are choices.
A lot of choices.
And while we’re all gearing up for West Virginia dispensaries to open soon, many patients are brushing up on their education so that they are prepared from day one when dispensary doors open.
You can find strains that are grown with nearly every intention out there, and many strains are grown specifically for certain medical conditions!
The important part is to dial in a little more into what the strain is made of and what its common effects are, and to worry a little less about the THC content or it’s particular strain name.
Although it’s perfectly fine to purchase strains based on the highest amount of THC, it’s important to remember that there are many other compounds in the plant that may help treat your symptoms more effectively than THC alone.
Get Your Medical Marijuana Card in West Virginia
Take the steps to reserve your medical marijuana evaluation appointment today, and become a medical marijuana patient in West Virginia.
Being a West Virginia medical marijuana patient allows you the freedom to take your medication the right way for you.
We’re dedicated to helping patients every step of the way, feel free to give us a call at 877-303-8424 and we can answer your questions about getting a medical medical marijuana card in West Virginia.
Doctors Who Care.
Relief You Can Trust.
West Virginia Marijuana Card’s mission is to help everyone achieve wellness safely and conveniently through increased access to medical marijuana. Our focus on education, inclusion, and acceptance will reduce the stigma for our patients by providing equal access to timely information and compassionate care.
If you have any questions, call us at 877-303-8424, or simply book a medical marijuana evaluation to start getting relief you can trust today!
Check out West Virginia Marijuana Card’s Blog to keep up to date on the latest medical marijuana news, tips, and information. Follow us onFacebook, Twitter, and Instagram to join the medical marijuana conversation in West Virginia.
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