Colors and shapes are evident in the design of Leafly’s new Cannabis Guide. (Leafly Image)

Leafly, the Seattle-based cannabis information resource, is aiming to do more to help people understand the effects of marijuana.

The company announced Tuesday the release of the “Leafly Cannabis Guide,” which uses data and design to create a visual language for cannabis. Leafly believes the guide will better illustrate what effects users can expect and goes deeper than the generalities of the terms indica, sativa and hybrid.

The guide is an evolution of Leafly’s strain finder, which highlights the moods and activities pot users might experience and pursue depending on what they consume. More than a million customer-generated reviews are relied upon, and the design uses new shapes to illustrate each strain’s dominant cannabinoid profile — circles for CBD and diamonds for THC. Colors are used to illustrate flavors and aromas that come from the cannabis terpenes.

“Cannabis has unique physiological effects for each of us. As our understanding of cannabis grows, so does our need for a more sophisticated, yet intuitive language to help people navigate the very personal effects cannabis has,” Leafly CEO Tim Leslie said in a news release. “While indica, sativa, and hybrid are a starting point for understanding cannabis, this form of categorization doesn’t take advantage of our growing understanding of the effects of the various compounds found within the plant. … Our team of Leafly scientists and visual designers have distilled this all down to an intuitive visual language.”

(Leafly Image)

Leafly scientists sourced data through work with select labs, including Confidence Analytics in Washington, SC Labs of California, CannTest of Alaska, ChemHistory in Oregon, MCS in Florida, PSI Labs in Michigan, and Anandia in Canada.

Along with the guide, Leafly is also announcing a rebranded website, and the guide can also be found on the Leafly app.

“One of the great benefits of legalization is the opportunity to more fully research and understand the effects of cannabis and the unique chemical compounds that influence our experience,” said Nick Jikomes, Leafly’s principal research scientist. “We developed the Leafly Cannabis Guide to give everyone the ability to visualize, learn, and apply information about the amazing diversity of this plant.”

(Leafly Image)

The news comes as Leafly is riding the wave of interest around marijuana legalization as well as increased acceptance and proliferation of CBD. The company gets 22 million visits per month to its online products, and from a physical standpoint is looking to employ 300 people by the end of this year.

Founded in 2010, Leafly has recently made a number of key executive hires, including bringing on Leslie this past March. The CEO was previously VP of Amazon Prime Video International and spent 20 years with Amazon. Leafly in June announced plans to move into a new Seattle headquarters space on the waterfront.

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