Yeah, that's one way. If you can make a hedge, you're on the right track.

Topping, training branches with wire, or trellis (depending on the size of your garden), and pruning, are all opportunities to shape the plant as it grows.

It may be tricky to determine what a cut here, today, makes the plant look like later, until you've been through a season. The good news is that cannabis is very forgiving, once it gets going.

A total stoner method of "growing sideways" is to grow a plant in a pot until it's 2'-4' tall. Then transplant it into it's final home/pot, but at a severe angle. The tip will curl up, and all the side banches that are facing up will stretch to compete for the tallest position.

That's another trick making your plant "turbo boost" for a few day. Take the tallest cola, and gently bend it at the base. Continue bending gently, but increase the distance you move it. Eventually, you'll b# able to bend it so it is pointing downward, and below the other "top colas". They will now compete to be the Queen Cola, and stretch taller.

Also, it is possible to grow too big. Once a cannabis plant gets larger than 10'-15' diameter, the percentage of THC decreases with increased size. I've seen plenty of monsters that dwarf 10' diameter plants, but size doesn't equal strength.