Hashish Hash

Hashish Hash

Hashish
What Is Hashish (Hash)


Hashish, more commonly called hash, is a potent grade of cannabis made from resin extracted from the flower clusters of the marijuana plant.

Marijuana, a cheaper and less potent cannabis product, is the cut tops of cannabis plants. Hashish is obtained by concentrating the resin from the cut tops.

Marijuana includes, besides resin, other plant material like leaves, stems, seeds, etc. These other materials make marijuana less potent than hashish. That is, a given weight of hashish made from a particular plant will be more potent than the same given weight of marijuana coming from the same plant.

However, certain strains of top quality marijuana may be more potent than certain types of low quality hashish. As hashish is exposed to air, light, and heat it looses potency. The longer hash is stored, the more potency it looses. Most hash from Asia and the Middle East takes months or years to reach its destination from the time it was produced.

Add to this, the fact that most hashish available in the US, Canada, Europe, and other non-hashish producing nations has been stepped on (diluted) by importers, it has become hard to find the top quality hashish available in the late 1960s and 1970s.



Like marijuana, hashish is usually smoked or eaten. Hash oil is more potent than hashish and is an extract of hashish. Hashish is intoxicating and can produce euphoria and other feelings similar to marijuana but the effect is stronger.

It is an illegal substance in the United States and many other counties with no accepted medical use. As with marijuana, the primary active ingredient in hashish is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

Differences, in the way hashish looks, from the dry and dusty soil of Lebanon and Morocco and the green, subtropical mountain slopes of the Himalayas (Nepal, Afghanistan, etc.) derives chiefly from the manner of harvesting.



Ancient Methods Of Collecting Hashish
There are two methods of collecting hashish from the marijuana plant that have been used for centuries.

---Method one is called sieving. The hashish is obtained from the marijuana by drying and cooling the plant and then sieving again and again, until all that remains is a very fine and pale powder.

The coarse plant material that is left over after this process is called Kif. Under the microscope, one can see that the resin granules on the flower look very similar to the material from the sieve, only bright white.

This powder can be smoked as it is, but taste and effects change when it is processed. The quality of hash depends on the quality of the plants used and the sieving and pressing procedures.

This is the preferred method of collection in Lebanon and Morocco where the plant is dried and then endlessly sieved until only the finest powder remains.

---Method two is called rubbing. The hashish is obtained from the marijuana by rubbing the live plants and collecting the resin that forms on the hands or cloth that has rubbed the plant.

This is the preferred method of collection in the Himalayas and other parts of Asia, like Nepal.

The quality of rub hash depends on the quality of the plants used, the gathering method and the manner of processing. In general, hashish produced in the Himalayas is the best in the world.



Modern Harvesting Methods
Hashish is still produced by the methods explained above, but new advances in science have produced new and quicker methods. These methods include using water to separate marijuana resin from plant material.



Hashish In The USA
Most of the hash available in the US and other import countries is garbage. When it is imported the quality is usually very good but importers usually "press" the hash with inert materials that increase the weight, and lower the quality. For this reason it is usually better to buy good weed instead of hashish, unless you are sure the hashish is good quality.

Since the late 1960s the hash produced in some countries has deteriorated. Because there is such a strong demand for hash abroad, lower and lower quality hashish is being produced in countries that formerly produced only top quality product.

Because people who have never tried good hashish don't know any better, even low grades of hash find a ready market.