Fogman wrote:
THC is THC is THC..... Irregardless of whether what I smoked was indica or sativa, it had essentially the same effect on me. --The only real differance was the potency which varied from not very to incredibly potent.
THC is only one of the many psychoactive compounds in cannabis. One very important substance is cannabidiol (CBN), a metabolite of THC, which, on its own, is not psychoactive but the ratio of CBN to THC has been shown to affect the psychoactive effects. A higher CBN:THC will make the high heavier, more lazy, etc. but might also increase the pain-mediating effects. You may not have noticed the difference in effect, it took me a long time to notice different highs and I had to pay attention to see the difference. According to wikipedia, cannabis has at least 66 psychoactive compounds.
What I found made an even bigger difference is the vaporizer I bought. I found that the vaporizer gave a much, MUCH lighter high. It was much more clear, less drowsy, etc. I think this comes from two things: 1) You're not inhaling smoke so you're not getting the head buzz that you get from inhaling any burning plant material, and 2) You're inhaling different psychoactive compounds because they all have different boiling points and thus will be released in different amounts when using a temperature meant to vaporize THC (~160C) than when being burned in a joint or pipe/bong. Notice that cannabinol also has a higher boiling point than THC, ~185C, which would support the claim about the THC:CBN ratio and would explain the difference in the high.