Sativa Strains Benefit From Amber Resin Glands

      In the 1970s in California all marijuana was dominated by Sativa strains. Sativa is now defined by the level of the terpene Myrcene as well as physical differences, with Indica plants being shorter and stockier, built more like Christmas trees than the lankier, taller Sativa plants. Before OG Kush with high levels of Myrcene dominated the 1990s, growers in California intentionally grew their outdoor Sativa strains to fully Amber glands because the product lasted longer and they got top dollar for it.

     If Sativa or Sativa dominant strains are grown until the large capitate-stalked resin glands have formed but are still clear, the “high" will only last about an hour or an hour and a half when smoked and should have higher levels of CBC or CannaBiChrhomene which is the only drug that controls diarrhea without causing constipation. If the resin glands are allowed to turn white not only will the THC or TetraHydroCannabinol be at the highest point for testing purposes but the "high” will also last about 2 hours, but if the glands are allowed to turn fully Amber, some of the THC will convert to CBN or Cannabinol and the “high” will last about 3 hours. Apparently all of this knowledge was lost when OG Kush was introduced in the late 1980s, because it matured faster and had higher yields, by 1999 it had been crossed with almost all U.S. strains which now had Myrcene as the main terpene and were called Indica dominant, and since the internet only started to get uploaded in the mid 1990s all information online and in books about resin gland colors relates to Indica dominant strains that already cause sedation or “couchlock" due to Myrcene making up over 0.5% of the dried marijuana flower.

     Amber glands indicate the presence of some THC degenerating into CBN which has some sedative effects, and is so similar to THC that it fits into some of the receptors for THC, then when it falls out some of the THC still in the blood can fit into the receptor, making the high last longer than with white glands. However, if Indica strains are allowed to turn Amber the double sedative effect of both Myrcene and CBN make them too sedative, which is why all information online about resin glands is either wrong or incomplete, because most websites don't even distinguish between Sativa dominant and Indica dominant regarding resin gland color, and one that did got it wrong.

     Steep Hill Labs established that if marijuana has more than 0.5% Myrcene it is Indica dominant, if it has less than 0.5% Myrcene it is Sativa dominant, but they also established that 1% THCV or TetraHydroCannabiVarin makes a strain Sativa dominant even if it has more than 0.5% Myrcene. Only home growers would want to grow Sativa dominant strains to Amber glands because in a commercial grow that is intended to be tested and sold, white glands will have the highest THC levels and will get sold for more money, and it is actually to the benefit of a grower to sell a product that only lasts for 2 hours rather than 3 hours, especially if it is sold for a higher price due to the higher THC and can be harvested a week earlier. This is in total contrast to before testing when all Sativa strains were grown to Amber glands in California because they were more potent and lasted longer. This is also why old school smokers say that 3 people could smoke 1 joint back in the 1970s and get high for hours, even though the THC levels back then were under 5%, and now that the THC levels are around 20% the weed doesn't seem to last as long. It all comes down to Amber glands.

     The Myrcene from OG Kush dominated almost all marijuana from 1995 through 2015. But around 2009 a South African strain called Durban Poison arrived in the US with THCV at 1% to 2% of the dried flowers, and 1% is the minimum effective dose. It was bred against OG Kush and possibly another strain, and the resulting strain was called GSC or Cookies, which had 2-4% THCV. The most important thing THCV does is to cancel out all of the undesirable side effects of marijuana starting with the couchlock caused by Indica dominant strains with Myrcene over 0.5%. THCV also eliminates the munchies and it greatly reduces dry mouth, both of which are caused by THC, THCV has also been studied for improving both mental clarity and focus. Not only does THCV eliminate the munchies, it actively suppresses the appetite, so this is the active ingredient in any so-called diet weed.

     In the last 15 years many Sativa dominant strains have entered the market, either because they have more fruit-flavored terpenes, or because they are descended from the Cookies strain and have enough THCV to cancel out the Myrcene, and all of these should be grown to Amber glands by home growers to make them last longer. The information online about white glands or white with no more than 30% Amber glands is correct in regards to Indica dominant strains. Without testing for THCV, strains can be looked up on askgrowers .com, which is the only site on the internet that lists both the THCV and the terpenes for all strains. Anything under 0.5% Myrcene is still Sativa dominant, but so is anything with over 1% THCV, regardless of Myrcene levels. Home growers should try growing a Sativa dominant plant to white glands and another one to Amber glands to see the difference, the higher levels of CBN in Amber glands not only makes the THC last longer for pain management purposes, it may also be useful for anti-anxiety purposes.

     The only book that has this information about Sativa strains and Amber glands is apparently my book, The Best Little Medical Marijuana Handbook. All of the science about Myrcene, THCV, and the Entourage Effect was done by Steep Hill Labs in California, who expanded too quickly and the original location ended up going out of business in 2024, and so disappeared their online archive and database, so now no one knows what Sativa means anymore, because even if they do know about how more than 0.5% Myrcene makes a strain Indica dominant, almost no one knows about THCV or that the presence of 1% THCV makes any strain Sativa dominant regardless of Myrcene levels. The small amount of existing information online about THCV is often nothing like what Steep Hill Labs published for over a decade, but that is gone now, so now no one even knows how to define Sativa strains, let alone that they would benefit from Amber glands, at least for home growers. The common misconception is that white glands with the highest THC are the most potent, but due to the Entourage Effect, Sativas with Amber glands are the most potent because they last longer, even though they have less THC than the same plant harvested at white glands because some of the THC was converted to CBN.