The Complete Guide Of The Best Sativa Strains Of 2023

Sativa has always been kind of a sketchy area for me in my weed smoking habits. As an overly anxious person who most of the time can’t even manage to stop tapping his foot on the floor, Sativa is often a stimulant strain that gives me even more energy than I already have, which can be pretty overwhelming.

But not all Sativas are built alike, and not all Sativas have a majorly stimulating high that tags along with them. There are also Sativas that serve as helpful tools for relaxation, creativity, happiness, and focus. The latter is one that anxious and nervous people like me also tend to have trouble with.

However, the following is a list for those in search of a strain that can enhance their day rather than end it. A strain that can kill anxiety rather than enhance it. Finally, a strain that can help cope with depression by stimulating activity rather than throwing you into bed with the curtains shut.

Ready to ride into stimulating energy and creativity? A few hits of Botany Farms’ Delta-8 Strawberry Banana Kush will do the job. It’s a vibrant and rich Sativa flower boasting banana, berry, and earthy notes along with similar pungent flavors.

When mixing Delta-8 THC with CBD, the result is elevated physical relaxation with a mental power boost. Completing your daily tasks will be a breeze. Or if you’re looking to chill out in front of a new video game, this strain makes a great companion. 

This bubbly Sativa contains 9.6% CBD and a generous dose of 14% Delta-8 THC. It’s worth noting that this flower is infused with Delta-8 THC distillate, not sprayed, just like all Delta-8 flowers from Botany Farms. It creates a smooth and even smoking experience with maximum aroma and flavor.

So you’ve mixed CBD and Delta-8 THC, but you’re looking for something with more energy and spunk. This Delta-8 Lemon Diesel CBG Strain from Botany Farms is an excellent choice. 

Not only does it promote energy and creativity, but it also keeps you focused on whatever’s got your attention at the moment. It’s a delightful smoke with pungent lemon, cinnamon, and floral notes, which can also be quite the mood-lifter.

This helpful Sativa contains 15.1% Delta-8 THC and 11.6% CBG, the perfect mix for mental clarity and ease. Besides mental effects, this strain also calms the body while relieving pain, tension, and inflammation, thanks to the unique therapeutic benefits of CBG.

One of our favorite Sativa strains of 2023 has to be CNDYLND from Contraband, hands down. This strain comes packed with a potent punch of 22-28% THC, meaning it should be consumed responsibly for novice and beginner users.

Contraband’s premium CNDYLND is a mighty cross between Granddaddy Purp and Bay Platinum Cookies, offering a sweet yet pungent taste with pine and earth notes. When glancing at the strain, it looks as if it were rolled in a bed of crystals, considering the ample colas sitting around the bud. Finally, the strain is packaged in a NitroTin to preserve the bud and ensure you have a quality experience with each hit.

Some of our favorite sativa (or sativa-dominant hybrid) strains seem to include pineapple in their names: Pineapple Silver Haze, Pineapple Express, Pineapple Punch, Pineapple Pomegranate… the list goes on.

Right now though, we’re focusing on the MVP of pineapple strains: Pineapple OG, the offspring of two much-loved strains, Pineapple Express and OG Kush. It’s quite a rare find, so if you can get your hands on it, you better believe it’s in your best interest to go for it.

Luckily for you, it’s not so out of reach as you might think: KaliBloom’s Delta 8 Pineapple OG flower is accessible, affordable, and certainly packs a punch. KaliBloom is known for making some of the best-tasting and most effective herb in the cannabis world, and you can rest easy knowing that everything has been lab-tested to ensure top-quality flower.

After rolling a joint, filling a bong, or going for the classic pipe hits of Pineapple OG, you’ll immediately be transported to a warm sunset on the beach state of mind, enjoying every sweet and spicy hit that this strain has to offer.

Not only does it smell and taste great (which are good qualities, to be sure), but the effects are also amazing. You’ll feel upbeat enough to turn your living room into a dance floor, a cerebral tingling that will have you feeling giggly, and a body buzz that makes you forget you’re just a sentient meaty skeleton.

It’s a great choice if you’re looking for an extra boost of energy to get work done, finish a project, or even just hang out with friends and go stargazing. Who knows, you might even feel inclined to whip out your ukelele and compose an impromptu song about how great Pineapple OG is.

If you’re really into high-quality flower and know what needs to happen in order to breed it so, then you are probably familiar with harvesting methods. While here at Herb we leave the growing to the experts, we do know how to spot a professionally grown flower bud when we see one.

LAKE GRADE Lemon Sour Diesel flower is a Sativa-dominant hybrid grown under the California sun and in the incredibly rich Lake County, California soil. Enticingly rich flavors that will excite your taste buds with a sour tang and subtle earthy hints of spice. This, unlike many of the flowers mentioned above, is a THC-heavy Sativa flower that packs up to 23.8% THC per unit of dry weight.

If you were looking for a true Sativa experience, you’ve found it.

An invigorating strain that thrives with both indoor and outdoor harvesting techniques, if you’re an enthusiast grower and that’s something that interests you. From a functionality standpoint, THC levels in this bad boy tend to oscillate somewhere between 20-22%.

The high with this strain is pretty dang cerebral and kicks in on the physical aspect as well. Like many Sativas out there, Sour D is a hard hitter, so if you intend to get things done while high you should be wary of dosing this one right. The strain is on this list because it’s helped people cope with anxiety and depression for ages, but it’s perhaps not the best strain you want to be hitting before you head into the office.

Although smells include fuel, citrus, and spice, which actually make for a nice morning smoke if you’re into the wake n’ bake lifestyle.

A fruity almost pineapple-like aroma with a spicy aftertaste. Anything you would expect from “Jamaican” quality ganja. Jamaican Dream is great for morning or noon use if your job is in the creative industry. My job is writing, about weed, all day, so I can seriously say that a morning spliff of Jamaican Dream hits just right for me.

JD allows you to stay focused and cope with fatigue, which are two things I tend to have a hard time with. With this spiel of my maladies I don’t intend to use your reading as a way to vent, but rather give you an idea of what the strain has done for me and could perhaps do for you as well.

A 90% Sativa-dominant strain that provides an immediate onset of effects, including feelings of happiness, energy, creativity, and relaxation combined.

Here’s one with a name that’s sure to lift some eyebrows. A Sativa bud that helps raising low levels of energy and coping with high levels of fatigue.

A cerebral high that creeps in without creeping in, it just hits you with fruity aromas of mango and pineapple. Which actually does sound like something you want to be tasting first thing in the morning. Green Crack can reach THC levels of up to 25%, which should tell you that the effects can become overwhelming pretty quickly if you don’t know how to handle yourself around a dose.

As long as you can get a grip of yourself and manage your tokes wisely, this can be a morning-recommended strain. But if you’re planning to go all out, head-first, then best leave it for Labor Day.

The cough part of the name might put you off just a bit. But if you don’t mind a potent smoke going into the old wind bags, then Strawberry Cough can be actually quite nice to puff on. Aromas and tastes of, you guessed it, strawberries that will leave your mouth watering and your body craving more.

Social anxiety could be a tough one to deal with this strain if you don’t have a few joints under your sleeve, but if you can manage then that social anxiety can actually be turned into a happy-go-lucky feeling of euphoria and bliss.

The reason experience is recommended before deciding to consume Strawberry Cough in public is because THC levels may vary anywhere in between 25% and 35%, depending on the grower.

I’m actually pretty stoked to try a new strain I crossed paths with this week, called Jack Orange. A formidable cross between Jack Herer and Black Kush 98. But the reason why that’s even worth mentioning in this review is because I’m already familiar with Jack Herer and its creativity inspiring, downright energetic boosting effects on my day.

Named after the Emperor himself, Jack Herer strain is a strain meant for recreational activities such as house parties and long walks. It’s a pure Sativa bud (when harvested right) that opposite to feeling overwhelming, actually feels enhancing. Once again, another strain for the creatives and dreamers; painters, writers, and sculptors, this should be your strain of choice.

So, I can’t really be sure whether the name for this strain comes from Jimmi Hendrix’s Purple Haze or the other way around. What I do know is that this strain brings an almost psychedelic experience with uplifting feelings. Unfortunately, PH can make you feel, well, in a haze. Disorienting and enhancing your senses to a point where losing focus is quite common.

This bud comes from a well-crafted cross between two landrace strains; Purple Thai and Colombian Haze. This Sativa dominant hybrid (4:1) usually comes in THC levels that don’t stand out from the ordinary at ranges between 15-20%. Terpenes provide a gape and blueberry aroma that’s sure to satisfy the berry lover.

Some describe Durban Poison as a morning strain. My personal experience is a relaxing effect with a kick of energy. I don’t usually consume Durban Poison but it has to go on this list for being one of the few naturally harvested Sativa species. THC levels can reach as high as 25% in some cases and are a good entry strain for the beginner grower.

A cross between Strawberry Diesel an OG Kush that has been documented to reach unparallel levels of up to 28% THC. It brings and overpoweringly cerebral high and negligent levels of CBD to level out the high. Hulk Berry is a good strain for when the day ahead is long, but focus is not a requirement.

A 60% Sativa dominant strain born from a cross of AMG and Shiva. El Patron leads in with an incredibly strong head and body high, which is accounted for in its close to 20% THC content. Apparently El Patron is also a coveted strain among cannabis chefs looking to make sweet edibles for its unique mixture of sweet terpenes, and for the powerful stoney feeling it leaves behind.

A Hybrid but still 70% Sativa-dominant strain that provides a slightly euphoric but at the same time relaxing high. Not overpowering, regardless of a high THC content of 25%. But don’t get me wrong, non-overpowering does not mean non-potent. This strain definitely packs some heat and is best left for the weekends.

Amnesia is one of those love-hate strains for me. It’s definitely not one that I like to smoke on the regular but one to have on hand available for those times when you want to forget, hence the strains reminiscent name. Amnesia doesn’t hit too hard on the lungs or your focus, instead it makes you forget what you did and what it is that you wanted to do.

The reason I describe this one as a strain that’s not great for everyday use but good to have available is because there are times when you just want to forget without the need of falling prisoner to the couch. Bred from classic landrace strains like Jamaican Haze, Afghani, and South East Asian landraces. THC levels oscillate around the 20% range and it’s also known for a low 1% CBG content.

If you’ve read anything I’ve written before you might have noticed my inclination towards fruity sweet strains. Trainwreck comes ‘chooing’ at full speed with a mild THC content of 17.5% and a dose of anti-anxiety, anti-stress, PTSD-coping effects. A creative and quick onset that will sit you down to write a 15-strain review in a matter of seconds.

Yet another combination of of Thai and Jamaican strains. Laughing Buddha is powered by almost 22% of THC combined with a tropical mixture of scents and aromas. Laughing Buddha is known for putting you in an easygoing, yet social and talkative mood. Major feelings reported upon use of this strain include a combination of happiness, euphoria, energy, and that good ol’ giggly feeling that launched weed to the mainstream back in the 70s and 80s.

A 95% Sativa-dominant bud infused with the spicy flavors that make Haze strains stand-out. The reason is that Grapefruit comes from a cross breed of Thai sativa with Cinderella 99. It was the Thai strain that first gave rise to the Haze variety, hence the spicy dominant flavor. Grapefruit has THC levels that range around the 20% mark, which makes it a good pain management tool as well as a strain that will keep you focused on any particular task.