For the marijuana novice, weed is just weed. But for the cannabis connoisseur, there’s a whole world of flavors, scents and effects – and it goes beyond just different types of strains.

The next frontier of curating a cannabis experience, experts say, lies not in a strain of the plant – the Sour Diesels and Pineapple Kushes that your dispensary will surely have on its menu – but in harnessing the terpenes within cannabis.

“Terpenes are essential oils found in different botanicals and plant matter. They’re why lemon has that citrusy smell, why pine needles smell like pine,” said Seth Yaffe, operations manager at Ermont Inc., a nonprofit medical marijuana dispensary in Quincy, Mass.

Terpenes are mostly known for giving plants their unique aroma, which is why there are essential oils of lavender and eucalyptus.

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