Terpenology 101, Part 2: Cannabis Terpenes and Their Effects

Ari Aumont
Ari Aumont

Ari contributes to Ask Growers as a terpene specialist from Denver, Colorado. His cannabis experience reaches back to the earliest days that Colorado allowed PTSD as the first qualifying mental health condition to qualify for a medical red card. Since then, he has been dedicated to discovering an advanced cannabis medical strategy for both his own health and the health of the cannabis community. Ari served in the US Army and has been sent on several war deployments. His Terpenology series of posts seeks to educate others on the opportunities that terpene profiling and a terpene based cannabis approach offers to consumers, businesses, and growers.

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Terpenology 101, Part 2: Cannabis Terpenes and Their Effects

What kind of cannabis user are you? Are you just getting used to the idea of choosing cannabis as a recreational or medical option? Are you a seasoned aficionado who can recite a list of several dozen strains, making recommendations as to the experience that others will find in them?

The average introductory consumer can become easily bombarded with vague dispensary knowledge and grapevine hearsay on how to approach their cannabis selections. Learning about different terpenes and their effects can be like looking out into a sea of possibility and having no idea of where to find land. It seems that it takes an adventurer, a journeyperson, to really understand the uses of cannabis. This is simply due to an incomplete perspective on how we educate each other about this glorious plant. But fear not, a novice reader who thinks to themselves, “Terpene profiling? That’s way out of my league and simply too much to consider right now.” You are not alone in your trepidation. Even the highly experienced marijuana consumers agree with you! Terpenology is a new way of looking at cannabis that every level of user can easily digest and use to rival the most self-assured budtender.

Our new article in the Terpenology series seeks to make that information practical and allow consumers the opportunity to conclude what strains will be the perfect complement to their psychological needs. Additionally, we’ll explain what effect terpenes have on the body. Let’s get started!

What Are the Eight Super Terpenes

You may have already read the introductory article about terpenes - Terpenology 101: Braving a New World of Cannabis Diversity. In this article, we concluded that marijuana terpenes effects directly influence the user experience and symptomatic relief.

The 8 super terpenes include caryophyllene, myrcene, limonene, terpinolene, pinene, humulene, ocimene, and linalool. These are found in varying amounts of all cannabis varieties. The amounts of these terpenes present in those are going to work with THC, CBD, and the Sativa or Indica lineage of your strain selection to accurately provide a portrait of how you will be affected by it.

Tetrahydrocannabinol (tetra-hydro-canna-bi-nol) or THC is the active psychotropic component of marijuana. Percentages of THC will vary from strain to strain. A high CBD strain can have as low as 6% THC, as in Harlequin or Sour Tsunami, or as high as 32% in some of today’s most carefully curated cultivars like the legendary Gorilla Glue #4 (GG4). Think of THC as your “head-punch” experience. How deeply your cannabis will affect your psychology will be greatly influenced by THC.

Are terpenes healthy? Cannabidiol (canna-bi-dial) or CBD is widely becoming the most recognized medical application of cannabis composition. In clinical studies, Dr. Peter Grinspoon (2021) of Harvard Medical School writes that CBD has been proven to have terpene health benefits, helping with anxiety, insomnia, chronic pain management, and even overcoming addiction to tobacco and heroin.


Read Also: How Does CBD Work


8 super cannabis terpenes and their effects:

8 Super Cannabis Terpenes

  • Caryophyllene – creative, psychedelic head punch the inspires the spirit;
  • Myrcene – sedative, full-body relaxation, couch-lock;
  • Limonene – euphoria, antidepressant;
  • Terpinolene – clear-headed, focus-driven, meditative;
  • Pinene – contentment, kindness, reminiscent;
  • Humulene – enhanced head-punch, aids in body-high and relaxation;
  • Ocimene – heavy component of Indica strains, cerebral relaxation;
  • Linalool – strong anti-anxiety agent.

What Do Terpenes Do for the Body?

There are two types of terpene uses: 1) body high and 2) head high. CBD is associated with the “body high” of cannabis. While THC will infiltrate your thoughts and feelings, CBD content will coat your muscles with a delightful tingle of relaxation.

CBD is regarded as medically safe and perfectly legal to procure in the US on its own, even through the mail. Dr. Grinspoon advocates for the US Food and Drug Administration to medically regulate the sale of CBD supplements, so greater focus is needed outside of the cannabis world to ensure that the effects of CBD are predictable and repeatable.

Sativa vs Indica

Sativa and Indica amounts are perhaps the easiest element of cannabis to understand. Sativa = daytime, Indica = nighttime. This is the generally accepted rule. But what you will come to find, or what you have already found, is that sometimes an Indica won’t clear out your thoughts as expected, and a Sativa just wasn’t as active as you wanted it to be. This is because of the terpenes present in those specific strains! Without concern for those terpenes, you are simply relying on a game of trial and error to find the varieties you have been looking for all along. Even modern budtenders are not yet using terpene profiling to assist their consumers with strain selections. Terpenology will get you way ahead of the curve, and it is so simple to use!

What do you want out of your weed today? Using the above basic knowledge on THC/CBD and Sativa/Indica, you can carefully craft your choice therein with 8 easy-to-follow terpene guidelines we’ve mentioned above.

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Terpene Profiling Helps Choose the Right Cannabis for You

Are terpenes safe to ingest? Think of terpene profiles as the recipe behind that strain you are about to discover. The dominant terpene present will be the dominant terpene effect produced. You can expect smaller amounts of the other experiences present in the secondary amounts of terpenes in your selection. In something like Lemon Kush, you are getting a huge dose of limonene, followed by a small amount of caryophyllene, and trace amounts of humulene and pinene (Hytiva, n.d.). You can expect a powerful antidepressant leading the user to euphoria, with a mild sense of creativity, and just a dash of the giggles to go with it.

Terpenes and Effects

The more varied amounts of terpenes that are present, the more complex the experience will be, leading to strains that are labeled more skilled than others. Few cannabis varieties will have a balanced amount of more than two of the 8 super terpenes.

And there it is… the mystery of terpene profiling revealed to shape your complete understanding of cannabis selection. THC is the strength of your psychotropic experience. Sativa is for active uses, and Indica for periods of relaxation. But we must blend these things into the underlying terpene recipe. There are sativas with a dominant myrcene profile. What would be good for active daytime use where the mind is sharp, but the body is relaxed? Working behind a laptop for a few hours… studying… intellectual conversation. But expecting this Sativa strain to be well suited for a day of hiking or frisbee golf would be misguided. Perhaps a strain higher in terpinolene would be best for that day.

Do you have an evening of binge-watching a new show with your friends scheduled? Consider an Indica strain that is high in terpinolene, with a high secondary myrcene content, so that your focus is keen and yet you can relax back into the couch and allow yourself to immerse into the world unfolding before you. It is strains like these that break the conventional molds of what a Sativa or Indica or hybrid leaning plant is capable of. The THC and CBD content will heighten or lower the intensity of these terpene profile characteristics, but they alone cannot be a primary influence on how consumers will come to understand their cannabis choices.

How to Choose the Right Weed Strain Based on a Terpene Profile

First things first – do your dispensary research before heading there. They should have a website with a list of terpenes and effects. This is the absolute best way to be prepared and know exactly what you are looking for before you head in there and rely on the budtender to guide your selection process. It is important to do this ahead of time because dispensaries are not likely to allow cell phone use at their counters.

Secondly, do a simple internet search on each of the strains you find there, e.g., “pineapple express terpenes,” “durban poison terpenes,” “northern lights terpenes.” For each result, just look for the images relating to them. Terpene extract producers are likely to have terpene profiles on popular strain choices in an easy-to-read pie chart.

See how easy that was!? Congratulations, you just unlocked a whole new world of cannabis that surpasses most independently experienced users! Not all strains will return direct image results, but you will quickly get familiar with the websites that are listing lab data for terpene content also. It won’t be in a pretty colored chart sometimes, but you should be able to find the percentages or amounts of terpenes present in many strains.

Conclusion

Continue to follow our Terpenology series to learn much more about how to get the very most out of your cannabis experience. In our next article, AskGrowers.com will be unlocking the world of making edibles at home, targeting the uses of terpene profiling. It is so much more simple to call upon your inner cannabis aficionado than you could possibly imagine!

References

Dr. Peter Grinspoon. (2021) Cannabidiol: What We Know and What We Don’t. Harvard Medical School. Harvard Health Publishing. Retrieved December 16, 2021 from https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/cannabidiol-cbd-what-we-know-and-what-we-dont-2018082414476

Lemon Kush, (n.d). Hytiva. https://www.hytiva.com/strains/hybrid/lemon-kush

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