Terpenes are thought to protect plants from harsh weather and predators.
What they do in humans is still a bit of a mystery. However, cannabis researchers and consumers alike are increasingly using terpenes to classify cannabis products and predict their effects.
The main hypothesis is that a plant’s terpene profile works in tandem with its cannabinoid content — including tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) — to produce the effects people associate with different strains.
This might explain why two different strains with the same level of THC can produce such different experiences.