Hashish Making Methods

Hashish Making Methods

Hash is made from tetrahydrocannabinol-rich glandular hairs known as trichomes, as well as varying amounts of Cannabis flower and leaf fragments. The resin reservoirs of the trichomes (erroneously known as "pollen") are separated from the plant via various sieving methods, cold-water separations, or chemical extraction. Finger hash is produced by rolling the ripe flowers of the plant between the fingers, a highly labor intensive process which produces spherical balls of resin. The resulting concentrate is compressed into blocks of hashish, which are easily stored and transported without degrading the THC content due to oxidation. Pieces are then broken off, warmed up and smoked in bongs, pipes, mixed with marijuana to make joints, or mixed with tobacco to make spliffs and smoked in hookahs or Sibsi (Sebse) pipes. As THC is fat-soluble, it is also possible to dissolve hashish in butter and use it for cooking (see hash cookies and Alice B. Toklas brownies). North Africa, in particular Morocco, and Central Asia (Afghanistan) are the primary sources of hashish, although the science of hash extraction and the rapid dissemination of this knowledge means that more people are making hashish for personal use, using readily available materials or custom-built devices such as Lungs.


In Morocco, approximately 800,000 of the country's 32 million people are involved in cannabis cultivation. Its market is comprised almost entirely of Europe, Algeria and Tunisia, with only a small fraction seeming to reach the United States.[1] About 80% of the hashish seized in France every year comes from Morocco.

Charas, a substance which is hand-rubbed directly from the Cannabis plant, is generally produced in Nepal and India. Users report that charas generally produces a more trippy, "up" high due to the plants being mostly sativa. Blonde hash or "gardah," often from Morocco, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Netherlands, tends to produce both cerebral and narcotic highs, depending on the strain grown. There is also hashish of greenish or reddish hue. A green tinge may indicate that the hashish is a soap bar, which has been cut with low-quality leaf or contains high quantities of chlorophyll, which create a harsher smoke. High-quality hashish is often sifted through a fine screen, allowing the trichomes to separate. In Morocco, Afghanistan and the NWFP area of Pakistan, most hash is sifted, but in Afghanistan there is a method of making hash which resembles charas. First, Cannabis resin is placed on a large heated mortar, then the resin is threshed with a heavy object. The result is a very gooey, sticky black hash. This method is mostly used in villages around the Hindu Kush mountain region.