Tried it, no qualitative difference
I think this is leaning toward the old agree to disagree
One thing: Do you also think there is a prevalent phenomenon of exaggerating and mystifying whatever true differences do or don't exist for some or all people?
Your endocannabinoid system doesn't feel the difference. Doesn't mean it isn't real. Anyway, if you really can't tell apart different strains effects, that's just how you're wired. I've had strains that don't even feel like the same drug, like straight up not even close. And no, other people freaking out isn't from "too much" THC.
Friend of mines girlfriend basically never smokes but had been ripping on a really high THC pen completely fine the other night. I come through with some Acapulco Gold that's just 15% grown by my oldest brother and after 2 hits she was so fucked up she had to be carried to bed because she had a straight up mental breakdown, the likes of which I've never seen.
I didn't tell her it was a Sativa, I just said she should be fine because of the THC percentage, but nah, she straight up died. I get that flower is pretty much always going to be stronger, but she'll still smoke once in awhile, and usually it's almost purely indica or someone's homegrown and she's fine. Either way, if nothing's gonna convince you then that's fine, I guess.
I'm gonna assume that because she takes Adderall, the more heady strains are why she'll freak out on them, but she can smoke something like GDP for instance and she's chilling hard. Last time we had GDP it was near 30% THC and we smoked a whole blunt with her. 2 hits of my shit and within no time she went from chilling to breaking down "not feeling right" to unhinged panic attack, one of the worst I've seen.
I already emphasized how I believed this was all a myth for most of the time I've smoked and grew to find out that at least for me, it isn't. For some people, all strains really will just feel the same, but even with a tolerance that wasn't entirely true. I acknowledged there were times I'd have bud that gave me way more energy. Anyway, I've said all I feel is necessary.
Whether it's because as someone else said, Sativa's tend to be higher in THC-V is why strains on that side tend to be more energizing is why they tend to be, I don't really know. But your original argument of THC = THC is definitely off. All strains would basically just be distillate if that were so.