Hashish

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This article is about the cannabis preparation. For other uses, see hash.

"Blonde" hashish

Hashish

Hashish (pronounced /hæˈʃiːʃ/ or /ˈhæʃiːʃ/) (from Arabic: حشيش ḥashīsh, lit. "grass", from hashisha "dry weed"; also hash) is a preparation of cannabis composed of the compressed stalked resin glands called trichomes, collected from the cannabis plant. It contains the same active ingredients but in higher concentrations than unsifted buds or leaves. Hashish is often a paste-like substance with varying hardness and pliability. Its color is most commonly light to dark brown, but can vary toward green, yellow, black, or red.
The psychoactive effects of hashish are similar to those of other cannabis preparations.
Hashish is heated in a screened miniature smoking pipe (one-hitter, kiseru, midwakh, sebsi, narrow chillum etc.), hookah, bong bubbler, vaporizer, hot knife, smoked in joints mixed with cannabis buds, tobacco or other aromatic herbs, or cooked in foods.

Contents [hide] 1 History 2 Manufacturing processes 3 Quality 4 Preparation and methods of use 4.1 Vaporization 4.2 Pipe 4.3 Vaporizing with a one-hitter 4.4 Incense 4.5 Dabous 4.6 Auxiliary herbs 4.7 Cooking 5 See also 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External links 8.1 Further history

[edit] History

A Hash store in Kathmandu.

It is believed that hashish originated in West Asia, where the cannabis plant was widely available. Northern Pakistan has a long social tradition in the production of hashish, known locally as Charas, which is believed to be the same plant resin burned in the ceremonial "booz rooz" of ancient Persia.^[1] Cannabis sativa subsp. indica grows wild almost everywhere in the Indian sub-continent and special strains have been particularly cultivated for production of 'ganja' and 'hashish' particularly in West Bengal, Rajasthan and the Himalayas.^{[citation needed]} The earliest hashish was created by gently rubbing palms and fingers on cannabis buds for hours to accumulate resin, which would then be scraped off the hand.
The principal utility of hashish, compared to other forms of cannabis, has been greater ease of transport or concealment. Consumption of hashish saw an increase in the 20th century, in Europe and America, associated with the hippie subculture. Hashish use declined significantly in the United States starting in the 1980s for several reasons, including U.S. political pressures against Afghanistan and the ensuing Soviet invasion, the Reagan-escalated War on Drugs, an increase in price, and the success of marijuana cultivators in North America with new methods for increasing THC production, such as indoor growing.

[edit] Manufacturing processes

Stalked trichomes of the Cannabis plant.

Hashish is made from cannabinoid-rich glandular hairs known as trichomes, as well as varying amounts of cannabis flower and leaf fragments. The flowers of a mature female plant contain the most trichomes, though trichomes are found on other parts of the plant. Certain strains of cannabis are cultivated specifically for their ability to produce large amounts of trichomes. The resin reservoirs of the trichomes, sometimes erroneously called pollen (vendors often use the genteelism "pollen catchers" to describe screened kief-grinders), are separated from the plant through various methods. The resulting powder, referred to as "kief", is compressed, with the aid of heat, into blocks of hashish which have historically been easy to store and transport^{[citation needed]}, or alternatively the uncompressed dry kief can be smoked as-is in a screened one-hitter, avoiding the additional costs of making hashish.
Mechanical separation methods use physical action to remove the trichomes from the plant, sieving through a fine (#30) screen by hand or in motorized tumblers.^{[citation needed]}
Chemical separation methods generally use a solvent such as ethanol or hexane to dissolve the lipophilic desirable resin. The remaining plant material is then filtered out of the solution and sent to the compost.^[2] The solvent is then evaporated, leaving behind the desirable resins, called honey oil, "hash oil", or just "oil". Honey oil still contains waxes and essential oils and can be further purified by vacuum distillation to yield "red oil". The product of chemical separations is more commonly referred to as "honey oil".

[edit] Quality

Hashish oil

The main factors affecting quality are potency and purity.
Tiny pieces of leaf matter or even purposefully added adulterants introduced when the hash is being produced will reduce the purity of the material. The tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content of hashish comes in wide ranges from 15–70%, and that of hash oil from 30–90%.^[3]
Fresh hashish considered to be good quality is soft and pliable and becomes progressively harder and less potent as its THC content oxidizes to cannabinol and as essential oils evaporate.
Hash is generally said to be black (Afghanistan), brown or blonde (Morocco). There is also hashish of greenish or reddish (Lebanon) hue. A green tinge may indicate that the hashish contains a large amount of leaf material. Hashish color usually reflects the methods of harvesting, manufacturing, and storage.

A vaporizer, with flexible extension tube ("whip").

A narrow, screened one-hitter, such as the midwakh (shown here), kiseru or sebsi, provides low-temperature 25-mg. servings, minimizing THC waste and health risks.

[edit] Preparation and methods of use

Like ordinary cannabis preparations, hashish is usually smoked, though it can also be eaten (more commonly than cannabis plant) or vaporised.

[edit] Vaporization

Main article: Vaporizer

Used with hashish as with any cannabis, tobacco or other herb material, a vaporizer volatizes cannabinoids at temperatures of 140-200 °C. This protects against the loss of this ingredient that occurs in burning, and reduces exposure to carbon monoxide and other toxic combustion products. Since hashish is delivered in solid cakes, its surface area is enlarged by slicing off tiny pieces with a sharp knife or breaking into small crumbs to achieve maximum cannabinoid vaporization.

[edit] Pipe

An ideal hashish pipe has a narrow (5.5 -mm. inner diameter) crater ("bowl"), permitting 25-mg. loadings and exact control over lighting temperature; this is fitted with a mesh-#40 metal screen to prevent drawing in small particles to clog the inner channel.

• A long flexible draw-tube ("whip"), such as those provided on hookahs and vaporizers, may be attached at the exit end to give vapors extra space to travel, cooling, before inhalation.

• A bong, portable relative of the hookah, includes a water chamber to provide filtration and cooling.

[edit] Vaporizing with a one-hitter

Main article: One hitter (smoking)

Despite the historic misnomer "smoking", the smoke of burning herbal material contains nothing worth inhaling, rather "smoke" from pipes and cigarettes has been given credit for the effects of vapors harvested along with it from particles of herb immediately adjacent to the burning part and heated by it. By refraining patiently from igniting at first, and holding a heat source, such as a moderate lighter flame, about 2 cm below the crater-opening for several seconds while sucking steadily through the drawtube, users of a single-toke utensil draw just enough heated air-— but no flame—- into the crater to subject a 25 mg. loading of herb or hashish to an appropriate vaporizing temperature of 140–200 °C. When this process is performed slowly enough, ignition in any part of the hash occurs only after that material is thoroughly dried out from successful removal in vapor form of the desired cannabinoids.

[edit] Incense

Hashish is sometimes rolled into a line and made to burn like an incense stick. This is done by taking the line of hashish, upholding it with a paperclip on a table, and trapping the smoke with a cup. Later the cup can be lifted and the smoke cleared with a straw. This is called a Glass Lung.

[edit] Dabous

"Dabous", or "Khabour", is a North African technique, also commonly referred to as "Bots" or "BTs" ("Bottle-Tokes") or simply "Ts/Tees" in Canada. A piece of hash is ignited and, once burning under its own power, placed under a container such as a bottle; the smoke that collected inside is then inhaled. Small chunks of hash may also be placed on the tip of a pin, ignited and inserted through a hole made in the side of a plastic bottle which is inhaled from directly at the top. This technique is referred to as "Pokes". ^[4]

[edit] Auxiliary herbs

Other aromatic herbs, pre-sifted to a fine (vaporizing) particle size in a mesh-16 screen strainer, may be added in a one hitter pipeload (up to a 25-mg. total serving) to assist in vaporizing hashish, while avoiding the practice, prevalent in Morocco, Europe and the Middle East, of adding addictive tobacco^[5]. Hops (Humulus lupulus) flowers, with a low combustion point to vaporize out the cannabinoids without igniting the hashish, are delicate and mild, interfering least with perceiving the taste of the hashish. Eucalyptus leaf adds a strong flavor, as does oregano. Preferred mild species include basil, catnip (Nepeta cataria), camomile, damiana, dandelion, ginseng (leaf), lemon balm (melissa), marjoram, parsley, savory, tarragon, thyme, uva ursi (kinnickinnick), and any flower petals.

[edit] Cooking

As cannabinoids are fat-soluble, they dissolve in oils and fats, including butter. Finely crumbled or dissolved hashish can be used for cooking (see hash cookies and Alice B. Toklas brownies).