Hashish (more commonly called hash) is a potent form of cannabis produced by collecting and processing the most potent material that female marijuana plants naturally generate as part of their growth cycle.
Trichomes are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants that produce a sticky resin. It is not certain, but the sticky resin is thought to be exuded by plants in order to trap insects that would normally feed on the plant.
In addition to being sticky, the trichomes of the female marijuana plant are a rich source of THC (the primary chemical that causes intoxication when marijuana, hashish, or hash oil are ingested). Hashish is primarily a collection of trichomes that are found on the female marijuana plant.
Marijuana, a cheaper and less potent cannabis product, is the dried flower tops from female cannabis plants. Hashish is obtained by eliminating plant material and collecting the trichomes from the flower tops of female cannabis plants.
After being collected, the trichomes are then usually pressed into a cohesive mass known as hashish. Pressing hashish is simply forcing the collected trichomes together, under pressure.
Besides trichomes, marijuana includes other plant material like leaves, stems, seeds, etc. These other materials are low in psychoactive compounds. Hashish concentrates the THC and eliminates most plant matter found in the cannabis plant. Therefore, hashish is usually more potent than marijuana.
However, certain strains of high quality marijuana may be more potent than low quality or old hashish. As hashish is exposed to air, light, and heat, it loses potency.
The longer hashish is stored, the more potency it loses. Under the best of conditions, it can last up to 5 years. Most hashish 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 of the hashish imported into usa, canada, europe, and other non-hashish producing areas has been pressed with a filler (adulterated) by importers. It has become hard to find the top quality imported hashish that was available in the 1960s and 1970s.
Like marijuana, hashish is usually smoked or eaten. Hashish is intoxicating and can produce euphoria and other feelings similar to marijuana but the effect is stronger.
Hashish 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.) are due chiefly to the manner of harvesting.
In Lebanon and Morocco, hashish is usually sieved, this results in a lighter color hashish that will range in color from yellowish (called blond) to red/brown. In the Himalayas, hashish is usually rubbed, this results in a darker color hashish that will range in color from dark brown to nearly black.
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 the plant and breaking it up into a powder. The powder is then sieved through various screens with different size meshes.
It is first passed through a large size mesh and then smaller meshes each time it is sieved. The hashish powder collected at each stage gets more potent as the mesh size decreases.
This powder can be smoked as it is, but taste and effects change when it is pressed. The quality of hashish 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 plants are dried and then sieved until only the highest quality 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, gloves, or cloth that has touched the plant.
Rubbing is the preferred method of collection in areas of the Himalayas, like Nepal. There is some hashish produced by sieving in these areas, but hand rubbing has been the primary method of producing hashish in most parts of Asia for centuries.
The quality of hand rubbed hashish depends on the quality of the plants used, the gathering method and the manner of pressing. In general, hand rubbed hashish produced in Asia is better than sieved hashish produced in Lebanon and Morocco.
Modern Hashish Making 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 trichomes from plant material. See the article on how to make hashish for more information on modern and traditional methods of hashish preparation.
Hashish In The USA
Most of the hashish available in the USA and other import countries is of medium quality or lower. When it is imported the quality is usually good but importers often "press" the hashish with inert filler materials that increase the weight, but this lowers the quality.
Since the late 1960s the hashish produced in some countries has deteriorated. Because there is such a strong demand for hashish 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 hashish find a ready market. For this reason it is usually better to buy good marijuana instead of hashish, unless you are sure the hashish you intend to buy is quality stuff.
Update
Due to the strict cannabis laws in most western countries, many marijuana and hashish users have been forced to produce their own marijuana, hashish, and hashish oil (rather than buying low quality product available to them). This has resulted in more potent grades of marijuana that some growers are making into hashish and hashish oil.
You can now find small quantities of high quality hashish in some american cities where hashish had previously been unavailable. In most cases, the hashish has been produced in (or near) the city it is being sold in.
Most of the hashish now produced in the usa, canada, (and other western countries that had to import hashish in the past) is very high quality, if you can obtain it before it is pressed with any filler.
This does not mean most of the hashish sold on the street is getting better, it only means that there is a possibility of getting high quality hashish. Cost is usually about 2-3 times that of regular hashish.
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