The Terp Gauge…
Indica v. Sativa
Indica and sativa have been in the cannabis lexicon for over 250 years. Cannabis sativa was first classified by Carl Linnaeus in 1753; Jean-Baptiste Lamarck classified cannabis indica 32 years later in 1785.
Today, “sativas for a heady, day time high” and “indicas for body-centered, night time high” are touchstones for those narrowing down their selections in the dispensary. The advent of molecular testing has further proven that the original classification system was inaccurate. Even Linnaeus and Lamarck based their classification on the plant’s appearance only and not the plant’s psychoactive effects.
Some say pure indica or sativa strains have been bred out of existence in favor of high THC and terpene content, high harvest weights, specific bud structure, and even color and market trends. That leaves us with few strains that can still be classified as anything other than “indica dominant” or “sativa dominant”.
Considerations for an Alternative
Every day, people use cannabis for their health and wellness, to enhance their creativity, to relax, to inspire or be inspired, to socialize, to energize, and to improve their focus. It’s a relatively affordable and natural way to help maintain balance between the body’s essential functions of life… like eating, sleeping, and healing.
We decided to keep binary indica/sativa labeling methods off of our packaging, but now we know (and love) that many of our customers scan the QR codes on our labels to access the additional information we provide for each batch of gummies. With the launch of Dialed in… Liquid Gummies we saw an opportunity to surface more of that information to our customers directly on the label.
Making the Gauge
As we considered what this gauge would show, we Initially sorted batches into groups based on its THC and terpene content. We found that models that do this tend to be a recreation of the same indica/sativa binary with more options. It was too limiting, so we researched…
The cannabis industry tends to center on the THC content of strains, but research shows that terpenes, like THC, are active in the brain. This is the base concept behind the entourage effect: the idea that there is cooperation between bioactive cannabis compounds when consumed together… a natural example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.
Our terp gauge gives terpenes first-class status on our label. It shows relative terpene content and hints to how those terpenes can affect your experience, generally. It’s intended to help customers choose the vibe we expect they would like to have, without the know-how ahead of time.
The only classification we apply is to terpenes, backed by research and our own data.
Reading the Gauge
The gauge has two sections: terpene information and cannabinoid information.
Terpene Information
See which terpenes are present, how much, and a general effect.
Larger circles means more of the terpene.
Cannabinoid Information
In this section, we simply list the facts: percent of
THC and the next most present cannabinoid.
The Terp Gauge is available on our new Liquid Gummies and will be on all of our products soon!