What to actually expect

The first shift is sensory, not dramatic: colours read a little sharper, music sits closer, time stretches. Most people feel a lift in mood before anything physical, a loosening, sometimes laughter that arrives without warning. Appetite typically climbs about twenty minutes in. None of this is universal; it depends on the strain, the dose, and the person.

Strain names on a menu aren't just branding. They carry real character. Amnesia Haze runs energising and cerebral, suited to daytime. Northern Lights leans heavy and physical, better suited to an evening with nowhere to be. White Widow and Jack Herer sit closer to the middle, alert but relaxed. Girl Scout Cookies and other modern hybrids tend toward a fuller-body, longer-lasting effect. None of these are fixed laws, growing conditions and your own tolerance shift the outcome, but they're a far better starting point than indica/sativa alone (see entry 16).