WHY CHOOSING THE BEST STRAINS OF WEED IS SO SUBJECTIVE

If you’re asking what the best cannabis strains are, the answer can only come from within. That’s because the feelings we feel after smoking, dabbing, and vaping weed are extremely subjective. The type of high you feel is most likely much different than the high the next person feels.

Cannabis flower affects each of us differently. Different strains of weed can make you feel happy, relaxed, uplifted, alert, focused, and hungry, separately, or all together at the same time. Reporting on these effects is all anecdotal, as the effects cannot be quantified in a way that lets you say the exact amounts of happiness and relaxation you feel when consuming cannabis.

This is why choosing the best strains of weed is so subjective. However, to truly understand that, you’ll have to learn how the human body reacts to cannabis compounds, and why.

Tall cannabis plants with different strains of weed grow outdoors at sunset.

How does the endocannabinoid system work? 

As you dive into research about the cannabis plant, different cannabis strains, and the reasons we get high, you’ll be met with information about the endocannabinoid system.

All of us have an endocannabinoid system (ECS). It is the cellular network made up of CB1 and CB2 receptors that process the way cannabis makes you feel. CB1 receptors process the psychoactive highs, while the CB2 receptors could have certain anti-inflammatory qualities, amongst other things.

Cannabis compounds bind to your CB1 and CB2 receptors to produce the effects we feel after smoking cannabis flower, dabbing cannabis concentrates, and vaping weed pens. These compounds include cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids, etc, and it is believed that they all work synergistically in what is known as the entourage effect.

The entourage effect is the theory that the cannabis experience is more complete when there is a full array of cannabis compounds present in your product, i.e. you’ll feel a better high from weed extracts made from solventless live rosin than you will feel from products made with THC distillates and isolates.

A large diagram of how the endocannabinoid system works in the human body.

Why do cannabis strains hit differently

Once you understand the ways our bodies process cannabis compounds on a scientific level, it is much easier to see why various strains of weed can hit us all differently.

Getting high is considered to be an individualistic experience, meaning it varies from human to human. We are all physically built differently, thus our endocannabinoid systems are all built physiologically differently. If Push Pop makes you feel happy and motivated, it could make someone else feel sleepy and lazy, for this reason.

There are so many factors that can influence the ways cannabis hits you, like how tall you are, how much you weigh, your genetic makeup, how often you consume cannabis, if there are any allergies to certain cannabis compounds, if your receptors were upregulated or downregulated, and the list truly grows as researches learn more about the ECS over time.

So when you ask a budtender for the best weed strains for sleep, their answer is not based on some globally accepted definition of effects; it will simply be based on how certain weed products affected their brain and bodies individually. This can’t guarantee that you will feel the same high(s).

A small bag with a cannabis flower nug inside is from a specific strain of weed.

Why choosing the best weed strains is so subjective

Past the way cannabis affects us all scientifically, another huge reason that choosing the best weed strains is so subjective is that suggestions are based on a person’s experience levels and the availability of specific products to them.

Experience refers to how often someone consumes cannabis, and the specific types of cannabis they have consumed. Both vary greatly between consumers, especially when discussing specific cannabis strains, since one budtender may have tried strains like White Raspberry and Watermelon Z, while another may have never even heard of them.

Cannabis plants from different strains of weed, held up by ropes, are grown indoors.

Cannabis tolerance versus cannabis products

Have you ever smoked with a friend and gotten absolutely obliterated while they were immediately ready to roll another joint? A lot of times, this comes down to one’s cannabis experience levels, i.e. one’s cannabis tolerance.

Tolerance is defined by the frequency of use over time. The more cannabis you use, the higher your tolerance to weed potency and effects. The higher your tolerance, the more cannabis you’ll have to consume to reach your desired levels of high. Your weed tolerance cannot be quantified, it is purely subjective.

When you ask a budtender for the best cannabis strains to leave you couch-locked, it is relative to which strains made them feel that way, not relative to the way every single human has ever felt after consuming said strain(s). The best way to know the right answer is to try a bunch of different strains and pay attention to which genetics and flavors hit most desirably.

Two stalks from cannabis plants stand in the middle of a large indoor grow room for different strains of weed.

Cannabis availability versus cannabis products

In addition to tolerance, suggesting the best strains of weed will be dictated by the availability of strains. Ask someone from Oklahoma the best strain of weed for sleep and the answer is guaranteed to be different than asking someone from California. That’s because both people are probably consuming different strains and products.

Quality also plays a factor in this decision as the way a plant was grown, who grew it, where it was grown, with what nutrients, how it was dried, and how it was cured all dictate the overall consumption experience for the end user. This is why it’s so important to only buy weed from the best cannabis brands (and stores) you trust to put out high quality.

In the end, when you consider all the many factors like your endocannabinoid system, how and why it reacts to certain cannabis strains, and the wide spectrum of effects that can come from these reactions, it’s pretty easy to see why choosing the best cannabis strains is so subjective.

Cannabis flower from a special strain of weed has purple hairs and grows against a dark background.

Until we are scientifically able to quantify effects and suggest cannabis strains based on their specific amount of compounds and dosage, the game of choosing the best weed strain can only be a personal mission of trial and error. The only fact involved is that the best weed strains can only come from reputable brands and stores that prioritize customers over profit.

At STIIIZY, we only use premium flower for all of our cannabis products including our proprietary pods and battery system.


These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.


Sources cited:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5075023/