The 7 most energizing weed strains with critiques from actual Leafly customers


Not everybody who smokes hashish needs to remain locked on their sofa. Energizing weed strains can present a burst of motivation, permitting you to maintain energetic and crush the fatigue holding you down. Or possibly you simply choose a great energizing weed pressure in lieu of a morning cup of espresso, or to pair with mountaineering or train. Discovering the right pressure for you usually requires a great deal of experimentation, however this listing ought to offer you a great jumping-off level. 

Some issues to recollect as you discover these energizing weed strains:

  • THC-dominant strains are extremely euphoric, however many of those varieties can truly trigger sleepiness and a foggy head. The high-THC strains that seem within the listing beneath are reported to be uplifting and galvanizing, more than likely as a consequence of variations of their chemical make-up past THC.
  • Excessive-CBD strains or balanced CBD/THC strains comprise a lot decrease ranges of THC, that means they are going to present solely a mild excessive (or no detectable excessive in any respect). For those who’re going for clear-headed reduction of stress slightly than an intense burst of power, select a pressure with little to no THC.

As you browse our listing of essentially the most energizing weed strains, keep watch over their listed terpenes. Terpenes are fragrant compounds present in hashish, flowers, fruits, and different vegetation, that decide the aroma and taste of a pressure and will doubtlessly be linked to varied results and advantages. Realizing which terpene you want will help slender right down to high-energy strains you’re certain to get pleasure from.

Durban Poison from Whitethorn Valley Farm - via Farm Cut (David Downs/Leafly)
Durban Poison from Whitethorn Valley Farm – through Farm Reduce (David Downs/Leafly)

Main Terpene: Terpinolene

Efficiency: 19% THC

Featured Evaluation: Durban Poison is just like the “espresso” of hashish. The raciest sativa I do know of, it’s a stimulating and clearheaded excessive with no hint of numbing or “stoning.” It wakes you up, cuts by the bleary fog and leaves you clearheaded and shiny, offers you power to go and seize the day. Provides tons of power and likewise an intense emotional euphoria… the place all the things is vibrating and you may’t take the smile off your face. – M……..t


XJ-13 (David Downs/Leafly)
(David Downs/Leafly)

Main Terpene: Terpinolene

Efficiency: 20% THC

Featured Evaluation: My absolute favourite pressure on the planet by way of dealing with my nervousness and melancholy. Makes me uplifted, energetic, joyful, inventive, and so on. Good for smoking with associates and for going out. – b……..h


Main Terpene: Myrcene

Efficiency: 23%-27%

Featured Evaluation: After I ask for one thing “that I can clear the home or hike with the canine with” this hits the mark. I also can knit, write music, and set up. Moist excessive functioning (pun unintended). That is my go-to daytime, early night choose. – d……..c


(David Downs/Leafly)
(David Downs/Leafly)

Main Terpene: Caryophyllene

Efficiency: 16% THC

Featured Evaluation: This pressure blows you away on all fronts. First: The buds are a deep, darkish purple with lovely inexperienced and orange hairs. Second: It smells precisely as when you had spent half an hour taking the peels off of oranges and then you definately shoved your face in them and took an enormous whiff. Third: You’re taking your whiff, and now you’re on to your puff. The smoke is thick and easy each on the inhale and exhale. It tastes precisely prefer it smells. You nearly immediately begin to really feel a comforting power brewing in your head, the place your inventive juices start to gush with inspiration and creativeness. –S……..w


Gelonade, one of the few things we can all agree on. (David Downs/Leafly)
Gelonade, one of many few issues we are able to all agree on. (David Downs/Leafly)

Main Terpene: Terpinolene

Efficiency: 24% THC

Featured Evaluation: Truthfully this pressure drained me of all my nervousness and ache. Gave me a shocking quantity of power whereas holding me excessive for hours. 10/10 and my god the style! –C……..3


Main Terpene: Myrcene

Efficiency: 18% THC

Featured Evaluation: Island Candy Skunk won’t ever, ever, put you to sleep. Plan on being energetic as a result of it’s inconceivable to sit down nonetheless on it. Candy Island Skunk will put you on the sofa. These 2 are fully totally different strains. –C……..x


sour diesel marijuana strain
Bitter Diesel.(Michael/AdobeStock)

Main Terpene: Caryophyllene

Efficiency: 19% THC

Featured Evaluation: “One other of my private favorites. Extraordinarily cerebral each time I consumed it, however, as many others have identified, there actually isn’t any “couch-lock.” It makes your frontal lobe act in methods you may by no means have imagined. It’s nearly like Bitter Diesel is a key, a key that opens up entire realms of your thoughts that you just had been as soon as unaware of. A++ Will smoke once more.” – D……..o


What sort of weed offers you power?

Chong's Chemdawg Reserve (David Downs/Leafly)
Chong’s Chemdawg Reserve (David Downs/Leafly)

Whereas we all know now that hashish strains have much more nuance than simply indica, sativa, or hybrid classifications, energizing strains have a tendency to come back from these deemed sativa or sativa-dominant. Sativa strains are deemed so due to their botanical qualities, similar to longer, thinner leaves and longer develop cycles, not essentially their psychoactive traits. Sativas additionally are inclined to have excessive quantities of terpenes that may enhance joyful, energizing, and inventive emotions.

Understand that many individuals can really feel energized from strains deemed “indicas” and really feel slowed down by a sativa—terpene and cannabinoid content material are the very best indicators of how energizing a pressure shall be. The strains deemed most energizing on out listing have totally different dominant terpenes, however terpinolene particularly.

What’s essentially the most energetic sativa pressure?

Mattole Valley Organics Jack Herer; via Flore dispensary. Sativa fo the divas. (David Downs/Leafly)
Mattole Valley Organics Jack Herer; through Flore dispensary. Sativa fo the divas. (David Downs/Leafly)

Nobody hashish pressure can do all of it, admittedly. However some come fairly shut. Generations again, most energizing strains had been landrace strains from South America and Southeast Asia, similar to Colombian Gold and Thai. As hashish disseminated and growers and breeder started creating new hashish strains and genetics, strains like Jack Herer, Bitter Diesel, and Durban Poison have gained a popularity for his or her heady, zingy highs that encourage exercise and socialization; the latter two had been on our top-selling strains listing of 2022. Many of the strains on our listing could be traced again to landrace strains like Colombian Gold or traditional sativa strains like Haze.

If you wish to experiment with energizing strains, you possibly can view our full database part right here.

Recommendations on utilizing weed for power

THCV acts like a stimulant, rising power and selling health and train, whereas lowering urge for food, which will help with more healthy habits. Courtesy of Uncommon Cannabinoid Firm.

In a lot of stoner media, we see characters smoking weed and slowing down or staying in a single place; nobody’s actually doing chores or understanding, are they? However high-energy hashish is a good motivational and catalyzing software when you eat it with the best intentions. When you have errands to run, puffing on XJ-13 or Tropicana Cookies will enable you keep peppy as you roam round, and make the expertise extra enjoyable.

If you wish to get in a fitness center session, Durban Poison or Bitter Diesel will enable you keep targeted and push your limits. We don’t advocate mixing energizing weed with different substances or hashish strains that may counteract their results. Some folks react to sativa-dominant strains with nervousness; begin low and go sluggish to keep away from any opposed results.

Select strains that don’t trigger dry mouth

As a lot as all of us love hashish, it has some opposed results. Particularly, the dreaded cottonmouth, additionally referred to as dry mouth and xerostomia. Leafly contributor Emma Stone decided in an article that cottonmouth is probably going as a result of THC content material in a pressure, so there’s no solution to decide which pressure will or gained’t offer you dry mouth. We advocate checking every pressure web page for its side-effects. XJ-13, for instance, has dry mouth listed as one among its unfavorable results, however Gelonade doesn’t. 

Combine up your consumption strategies

Smoking is way from the one solution to put a hashish pep in your step. Most vape firms in in the present day’s markets produce strain-specific cartridges and concentrates constituted of entire plant extracts that protect every pressure’s distinctive terpene profiles. There’s some debate as as to whether hashish edibles could be made to be strain-specific, however most firms now supply a sativa-based or energizing model of a normal gummy, pill, or tincture.

Do not forget that an edible excessive gained’t really feel as acute as smoking or vaporizing. We advocate microdosing your energizing hashish pressure or product initially to gauge the way it will have an effect on you.

Keep away from stimulants

cannabis and coffee
Sorry, this combo doesn’t work for everybody. (tomkawila/AdobeStock)

For those who’re a espresso or tea lover, chances are you’ll must rethink your caffeine routine when consuming hashish that stimulates and energizes you. Some analysis signifies mixing caffeine and hashish can impair reminiscence in rats, however there’s little proof to counsel the mix can impair human cognitive operate. It’s greatest to slowly incorporate caffeine into your hashish routine to keep away from overstimulating your self.