Terpenes may help us explain one of the greatest mysteries of the cannabis plant. For years, people have wondered why different strains seem to make them feel differently. People have tried explaining it by talking about indicas, sativas, and hybrids, but that doesn’t account for the way people can have totally different experiences with different strains in the same “category.”
In recent years, we’ve been learning more about something called the “entourage effect.” The theory is that cannabinoids like THC and CBD may interact with the body differently depending on the entourage of terpenes they bring along. Just like people who behave differently depending on the friends they’re with, cannabinoids may be more fickle than we previously realized.