The legendary Ufland Brothers and there views: Hash store in Kathmandu

Afghanistan the largest producer of hashish

History

A Hash store in Kathmandu.

It is believed that hashish originated in West Asia, where the cannabis plant was widely available. Northern India 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. 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 while resin accumulated on their hands and then scrape that resin off.

The principal utility of hashish, compared to other forms of marijuana, 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.

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^{[citation needed]}, 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 euphemism "pollen catchers" to describe screened kief-grinders), are separated from the plant through various methods. The resulting powder, often referred to as "kief", is compressed, with the aid of heat, into blocks of hashish which have historically been easily stored and transported^{[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. 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".

Quality

Hashish

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%.

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, brown or blonde. There is also hashish of greenish or reddish 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.

Vaporizer (left) with "whip" or long drawtube, and bong (right)

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.

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.

Vaporization

Main article: Vaporizer

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

Pipe

A hashish pipehas a narrow (5.5 -mm inner diameter) crater, 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, such as those provided on hookahs, may be attached at the exit end to give vapors extra space to travel, cooling, before inhalation. A bong, portable relative of the hookah, adds a water chamber to provide filtration.

External links

Look up hashish in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Further history

What effects does cannabis have?

Hashish has much more of the chemical THC (which is a short form for "delta-9-tetra-hydro-canibinol") than marijuana. THC is the chemical (or drug) which causes people who take hashish or marijuana to feel euphoria (happy). Hashish is a much stronger drug than marijuana.

When people smoke hashish (in a cigarette, a tin or glass pipe, or other forms of smoking apparatus like a bong) or eat hashish, certain sensations come about. One can start feeling any of the following depending on the strain or origin: happy, relaxed, feeling silly, cloudy (not able to think clearly) which can be descriptive of the type of high experienced. The term of "getting high" could mean that the effects are a more mental stimulation while other types that are for "getting stoned" tend to render the user in a relaxed and observational state. The two types of this "High", are called 1.) a heady high or 2.) couchlock. A heady high does exactly what it sounds like by creating mental stimluation that sometimes leads to exaggerated imagination and potential over analysis on simple subjects. When one "over does it", the stimulation can lead to various degrees of diziness, euphoria and a sensation of feeling uncoordinated. In a "couchlock" state, one becomes extremely focused on a singular action or topic, sometimes leading to an unproductive state. The latter is achieved depending on the strain of marijuana or hashish, and also depends on the amount of the drug taken.

Since hashish is much stronger than marijuana, people who take a very large amount of hashish may also see imaginary (not really there) colors or patterns, or see strange visions or thoughts which are not actually there (these visions are called hallucinations). Some people who take a large amount of hashish may start feeling scared, strange, or paranoid (worried that something bad is going to happen).

Dangers of using hashish

Feeling sick or strange

Hashish is less dangerous than many other illegal drugs that are commonly used. It is impossible for a person to die from an overdose of hashish. But a person who had a very large amount of hashish could start feeling sick, or feeling strange.

Getting hurt while being "high"

One of the dangers of using hashish is that a person is often less capable than when sober. This increases the risk of normal accidents slightly, but more importantly it changes the way you receive and process an emergency situation, which could be dangerous in activities like driving a car or motorcycle.

Hurting the lungs and throat

Smoking any drugs such as marijuana, hashish, or tobacco is bad for the lungs. Smoke hurts the lungs and the throat because the smoke has tar in it and contains chemicals that can cause cancer in the lungs or mouth if the person smokes over a long time period. A person who only eats hashish will not hurt their lungs or throat, but may take too much without noticing in time to avoid side-effects. A relatively newer process of inhalation which is much safer than smoking is vaporizing the Hashish. This method is based on increasing the temperature of the Hashish to about 190-195 degrees Celsius which is about the temperature THC vaporizes at but is far below the point when "carbons" begin being burned. The end result is the THC cells being breathed in combined with air rather than the THC cells being breathed in with smoke.

Feeling like you cannot stop taking hashish

Most other illegal drugs, such as heroin, crack, and cocaine are very addictive. This means that if a person starts taking heroin, crack, or cocaine, the person will want to keep taking more of the drug, even if it is making them sick (ill).

Hashish and marijuana are not addictive like heroin, crack, and cocaine. Most people are able to use hashish as a recreational (for fun) drug, and stop taking it when they want to. However, some people who use hashish over several months or several years do get a type of addiction called a psychological ("in your mind") addiction. This means that the person is addicted to the high.

Being less motivated to go to school or work

As well, people who use a lot of hashish every day may start feeling less motivated about life. A person who uses a lot of hashish every day may have less interest in going to school or going to work. They may also have less interest in seeing their friends or family, or doing activities or hobbies that they used to enjoy.

Slang terms

Hashish is often just called "hash". Slang terms vary from one country to country. A pipe used for smoking hashish is often called a "bowl". A water pipe for smoking hashish is called a "bong". There are also many slang terms for hashish smoking, such as "puffing" or "blazing". Many slang terms for cannabis intoxication, such as "getting high" and "getting stoned" are shared for hashish as the effects of cannabis / marijuana and hashish are the same

Hash store in Kathmandu