Hashish (from Arabic: حشيش ḥashīsh, lit. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language "grass"; also hash) is a preparation of cannabis composed of the compressed trichomes collected from the cannabis plant. Cannabis, also known as marijuana or marihuana, or ganja (from Hindi / Sanskrit: गांजा gānjā hemp) is a Trichomes, from the Greek meaning "growth of Hair " are fine outgrowths or appendages on Plants and certain Protists These are of diverse Cannabis ( Cán-na-bis) is a Genus of Flowering plants that includes three putative species Cannabis sativa subsp It contains the same active ingredients but in higher concentrations than other parts of the plant such as the buds or the leaves. Psychoactive effects vary between types of hashish but are usually the same as those of other cannabis preparations such as marijuana. Cannabis, also known as marijuana or marihuana, or ganja (from Hindi / Sanskrit: गांजा gānjā hemp) is a Hash is generally prohibited to the same extent as all other forms of cannabis.

Hashish is often a solid or paste-like substance, of varying hardness and pliability, and will soften under heat. Its color can vary from green, black, reddish brown, or most commonly light to dark brown.

It is consumed in much the same way as cannabis buds, used by itself in miniature smoking pipes, vaporized, hot knifed, smoked in a bong or bubbler, or smoked in joints mixed with tobacco, cannabis buds or other herbs. MidwakhJPG|thumb|A screened single-toke utensil such as the Midwakh (shown here or Kiseru, permits 25-mg A vaporizer (or vaporiser) is a device used to release the active ingredients of Plant material commonly cannabis, Tobacco, and many Joint is slang for a Cigarette rolled using cannabis. Usually Rolling papers (mostly made by subsidiaries of major tobacco Tobacco is an Agricultural product recognized as an addictive drug processed from the fresh Leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana.

It can also be eaten alone (pure hash is described as having a spicy or peppery flavor) as well as used as an ingredient in food (baked into cookies or cakes, or added to stews and chocolate). Sale of hashish is illegal under federal law in United States and in most parts of the world; it has been decriminalized to some extent in a few countries, such as the Netherlands. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands

Contents 1 History 2 Manufacturing processes 3 Quality 4 Hashish by region 4.1 Production 4.2 Consumption 5 Preparation and methods of use 5.1 Vaporization 5.2 "Knife Hits" 5.3 One-hitter (semivaporizer) 5.4 Dabous 5.5 Mixtures 6 See also 6.1 Further history 7 Further reading 8 References 9 External links

History

It is believed that hash first originated from Central Asia, as this region was among the first to be populated by the cannabis plant, which may have originated in the Hindu Kush. Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east and from southern Russia in the north to northern Pakistan in the south The Hindu Kush is a Mountain range located between Afghanistan and Pakistan. More reliably, it may have originated in Northern India which also has a very long social tradition in the production of Hashish which is locally known as Charas. Traditionally, 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 Kerala, Rajasthan and the Himalayas. Cannabis sativa is an annual plant in the Cannabaceae family It is a Herb that has been used throughout recorded history by humans for various purposes The earliest hashish was created without the use of sieves. The ancients would gently rub their palms and fingers on cannabis buds for hours while resin accumulated on their hands and then scrape that resin off. This sort of primitive harvesting is undertaken even today in the Cannabis growing farms of Manali, Naggar and Upper Himachal Pradesh. The earliest use of hashish was most likely from farmers scraping resin off of their hands after a day's harvest of commercial hemp and at that time hashish was normally eaten, not smoked.

The word assassin may have been derived from the Arabic word حشّاشين (haššāšīn), or "Hashshāshīn". The Hashashin were allegedly inspired to commit murder under the influence of hashish ( there is no evidence about eating or using hashish in history, it's just a mystery) . The legend of hashish-eating assassins began with a vague mention by Marco Polo, and was embellished by 19th century French and American writers, fascinated by orientalism and eager to present hashish as a menace. The legend gained great popularity especially by Charles Baudelaire in his Artificial Paradises of 1857. Others argue that the term could have been created due to political reasons, in order to discredit the sect. It has also been suggested that if hashish were in fact consumed, it had been adulterated with stronger materials, the effects of hashish being well-known and easily recognizable at that time and place. No reports of statistical linkage between hashish and assassins or terror have been published anywhere in the last century.

Consumption of hashish saw an increase in the 20th century, in Europe and America, associated with the hippie scene. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Hippie Subculture was originally a Youth movement that began in the United States during the early 1960s and spread around the world Hashish use declined significantly in the United States starting in the 1980s for several reasons, including U. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the S. political pressures against Afghanistan and the ensuing Soviet invasion, a huge jump in price, and the success of marijuana cultivators in North America with new growing methods for increasing THC production, such as growing marijuana indoors. Afghanistan /æfˈgænɪstæn/ officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ( Pashto: د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت, The Soviet war in Afghanistan, also known as the Soviet-Afghan War or just the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, was a nine-year conflict involving

Manufacturing processes

Hashish is made from tetrahydrocannabinol-rich glandular hairs known as trichomes, as well as varying amounts of cannabis flower and leaf fragments. Trichomes, from the Greek meaning "growth of Hair " are fine outgrowths or appendages on Plants and certain Protists These are of diverse 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. Legal issues of cannabis article The matter has been discussed to death and does not belong in this article The resin reservoirs of the trichomes, sometimes erroneously called pollen, are separated from the plant through various methods. Pollen is a fine to coarse powder consisting of microgametophytes ( pollen grains) which produce the male Gametes (sperm cells of The resulting concentrate is formed into blocks of hashish, which can be easily stored and transported. Alternatively, the powder consisting of uncompressed, dry trichomes is often referred to as kief instead of hashish. For the city see Kief North Dakota. Not to be confused with "Kieff" an obsolete translation of " Kiev "

Mechanical separation methods use physical action to remove the trichomes from the plant. Sieving over a fine screen is a vital part of most methods. The plants may be sifted by hand or in motorized tumblers. Hash made in this way is sometimes called dry sift. Finger hash is produced by rolling the ripe trichome-covered flowers of the plant between the fingers and collecting the resin that sticks to the fingers. Yet another means of harvest is effected by having workers bustle through the cannabis fields wearing specially designed leather aprons, upon which the trichomes collect and adhere. Trichomes and resins can also be collected passively through cleaning of scissors that have been used to cut the plant, or containers like a kief-box used to store it.

Ice water separation is a more modern mechanical separation method which submerges the plant in ice and water and stirs the mixture. Trichomes are broken off the plant as the ice moves, while the low temperature make the trichomes more brittle so they break off easily. The waste plant matter, detached trichomes, and water are separated by filtering through a series of increasingly fine screens. Kits are commercially available which provide a series of filter screens meant to fit inside standard bucket sizes. Hash made in this way is sometimes called ice hash, or bubble hash.

Chemical separation methods generally use a solvent to dissolve the desirable resins in the plant while not dissolving undesirable components. A solvent is a liquid or gas that dissolves a solid liquid or gaseous Solute, resulting in a Solution. The solid plant material is then filtered out of the solution and discarded. ^[1] The solvent may then be evaporated, leaving behind the desirable resins. As THC is fat-soluble, it also dissolves in butter, which can then be used for cooking (see hash cookies and Alice B. Toklas brownies). ^[2] The product of chemical separations is more commonly referred to as honey oil, hash oil, or just oil. Honey oil (often shortened to oil, and sometimes referred to as BHO, or butane hash oil, which is particular to the method by which it is Some believe that hash oil is best avoided, due both to the dangerous nature of its production and the fear of residual chemicals left in the oil by the solvent.

Quality

The main factors affecting quality are potency and purity. Different cannabis plants will produce resins with unique chemical profiles that vary in potency. Some forms of hashish are described as producing a "body high" while others are more "cerebral". This depends on the genetic strain and relative amount of different cannabis plants used as well as the manufacturing process involved.

Tiny pieces of leaf matter or even purposefully added adulterants introduced when the hash is being produced will reduce the purity of the material. Adulterants are Chemical substances which should not be contained within other substances (eg The THC content of hashish usually ranges from 15–20%, and that of hash oil from 30–40%. ^[3]

Fresh hashish of good quality is soft and pliable and becomes progressively harder and less potent as it oxidizes.

Hash is generally said to be black, brown or blond. There is also hashish of greenish or reddish hue. A green tinge may indicate that the hashish is impure, has been cut with low-quality leaf or contains high quantities of chlorophyll. A yellow tint can indicate presence of cannabis pollen, which has a sandy color.

Low quality forms of hash often contain adulterants used as cutting agents added to exaggerate the value of hash through increasing the mass or including other cheaper drugs. A cutting agent is a chemical used to "cut" ( adulterate) illicit drugs with something less expensive than the drug itself ^[4]. Such forms usually possess a low potency, may have an unpleasant strangeness in taste and feel, and produce hard, dark "cinders" in the ash which should be soft and white. Adulterants in hash may range from waste material from the cannabis plant (generally not harmful) to products such as food oils and soap, hence the name soap bar. The low quality may lead one to smoke more to get the same effect, increasing exposure to carbon monoxide and adverse effects upon the lungs.

A general rule of thumb is that good hashish produces effects which should be rapidly, unmistakably apparent, even with experienced users who have developed tolerance to THC; being unsure of the effects or wanting to use more within a short amount of time means the hashish is either very weak and/or, more likely, adulterated.

Some users have started boiling their hash in water for a few minutes and then drying it before smoking. This is thought to remove all water-soluble adulterants while the psychoactive cannabinols remain intact as the temperature is not sufficient to destroy them and they are not soluble in water. ^[5]

The smoke and ashes of burnt hash should be light gray or white in color. Dark, acrid smoke and poor ease of inhaling smoke signify that the material is contaminated. It is always best to compost any such unacceptable hashish rather than continue using it in hopes of achieving a high.

Hashish by region

Production

Hashish is traditionally produced in desert conditions. A desert is a Landscape or region that receives very little precipitation. It is traditionally found in a belt extending from North Africa , Egypt to North India and into Central Asia. North Africa or Northern Africa is the Northernmost Region of the African Continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Geography Northern India lies mainly on continental India and a very small part of it lies on the Indian peninsula Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east and from southern Russia in the north to northern Pakistan in the south The primary hash-producing countries are Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Morocco, Lebanon , India and Egypt. Afghanistan /æfˈgænɪstæn/ officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ( Pashto: د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت, Pakistan () officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia, Southwest Asia, Middle East and Nepal (नेपाल) is a Landlocked country in South Asia. Morocco (المغرب "al-Maghrib" officially the Kingdom of Morocco (المملكة المغربية is a country located in North Africa Lebanon (ˈlɛbənɒn Arabic: ar لبنان Lubnān) officially the Republic of Lebanon or Lebanese Republic (ar الجمهورية اللبنانية India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics.

Charas is the primary product. Charas is the name given to hand-made Hashish in India, Nepal and Pakistan. Charas, a substance that is hand-rubbed directly from the cannabis plant, is generally produced in Nepal and India. Today, the word charas is common word for hash in a majority of India, despite the fact that other methods may be used than the hand-rubbed method.

A visitor to the Rif Mountains and the town of Ketama in Morocco in December 1976 described the production of hashish. For the Eleventh Century Talmudist see Isaac Alfasi The Rif ( Berber: Arabic:جبال الريف is a mainly mountainous Ketama is also 1 a town and locality in the Rif Mountains of Morocco famous for wonderful nature look for example at this link called Ktama in Moroccan and 2 a Workers rubbed the leaves of the cannabis plant over fine muslin fabric. Muslin is a type of finely-woven Cotton fabric, introduced to Europe from the Middle East in the 17th century In unheated huts, each worker had his hands and arms inside a regular one hundredweight (50 kg) plastic fertiliser bag containing twigs and leaves of the cannabis plant. In the mouth of the bag was a plastic washing-up bowl. Stretched over the bowl was a sheet of "zero-zero" grade muslin. The worker rubbed the leaves of the cannabis plant over the muslin, resulting in a fine powder ending up in the bowl. When 100 grams of the powder was collected it was then wrapped in more fine muslin, put onto a heated metal plate, and rolled down with a bottle. This process produced a slightly sticky solid brown mass in the form of a square slab, around half the size of a paperback book and about ½ cm thick. This block was wrapped in cellophane. Sellers of this Moroccan hashish pointed to the imprint of the muslin on the surface of the block, and declared it proof that the product was "zero-zero", top quality.

In Afghanistan there is a method of making hash that 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. The Hindu Kush is a Mountain range located between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Hash is also produced now in the deserts of northern Mexico; however, the demand for it and thus amount produced is insignificant compared to that for "fresh" Mexican marijuana, especially into the lucrative North American market. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America.

Consumption

Hashish was always the variety of preference in Europe (although this preference is slowly changing towards the buds of the plant) , it is basically the exclusive form of THC in the Middle East and was widely available in North Africa and parts of Asia. The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. It is less preferred by cannabis users in the US and other producing nations. Hashish is more compact than marijuana, it keeps better, and is easier to smuggle than marijuana. When it has been smuggled by amateurs, it often suffers from long periods of bad storage, so the quality can vary considerably. Older hashish can easily be recognized as it is hard and has no smell (heating with a lighter is a common test).

By the 1990s, the use of marijuana in the developed world was increasing, as more potent versions were being grown. The Cannabis Cup held every year in Amsterdam attempts to evaluate the quality of the latest varieties. The Cannabis Cup is a festival that was started in 1987 by High Times editor Steven Hager, who came to The Netherlands for an interview

In France and the German- and French-speaking parts of Switzerland, this is known as Marocain (Maroc meaning "Morocco" in French). In Germany it is known colloquially as "Piece". Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. In Spain it is called Costo, Chocolate, Grifa or Hachís. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. In the United Kingdom, it is variously known as brown (also a name for heroin in some parts of the UK), hash, resin, solid, and block. In the Netherlands, this is called Hasj or Assi (although coffee shops will maintain a wide variety of types, i. e. : Polm, Blond, Tempel Bol, Isolator, Zero-Zero or Waterwerks, generally relating to either the method of production, country of origin or type of marijuana used. ). In Brazil, it is commonly called haxa. Also, there is a branch of nearly white powder hash (pollen or kief hash) that is the result of not stamping the raw material for the more common compressed hashish.

Soft hash is usually dark brown to black in color and goes under the name black in France, squidgey or soft black (named due to the color and properties of the hash) in the UK. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The very potent Paki Black is so named because it originates in Pakistan. Soft, dark hash in the Netherlands is normally referred to as Afghan. Common Kashmiri brands are Citral and Fungus.

Hashish use is experiencing a resurgence in parts of North America (especially the Pacific Northwest) with the use and commercial availability of ice-water extraction kits. The Pacific Northwest is a region in the northwest of North America (the term refers to the land not the ocean

Preparation and methods of use

Like ordinary cannabis preparations, hashish is usually smoked, though it can also be eaten or vaporised. A vaporizer (or vaporiser) is a device used to release the active ingredients of Plant material commonly cannabis, Tobacco, and many

Hash is sometimes prepared for smoking by heating it with a flame for a couple of seconds, producing some bubbling or sizzling. It then softens and can be crumbled into tiny pieces or formed into shapes to obtain maximum surface area when burning. A sharp razor knife can be used to divide hard unheated hash into small slender pieces. If the material is of the right consistency, it can be ground up with a marijuana grinder. Although heating may cause more THC to be released in its active form.

Vaporization

Used with hashish as with any cannabis, tobacco or other herb material, a vaporizer can extract cannabinoids at a temperature of 350°F. A vaporizer (or vaporiser) is a device used to release the active ingredients of Plant material commonly cannabis, Tobacco, and many Cannabinoids ( are a group of terpeno[[phenol]]ic compounds present in Cannabis ( Cannabis sativa L /150°C. , protecting against loss of this ingredient which occurs in burning, and eliminating carbon monoxide and other combustion toxins. Since hashish is solid, it's surface area is enlarged by the user, for a maximum cannabinoid vaporization.

"Knife Hits"

Hash can be placed on very hot pieces of metal and the resulting vapor inhaled. "Knife hits" is a method that involves heating up knives on a stove, crushing a little ball of the hash between them and inhaling the released vapor through a tube or straw. MidwakhJPG|thumb|A screened single-toke utensil such as the Midwakh (shown here or Kiseru, permits 25-mg Hash cones is a method where a piece of hash is attached to a pin or metal wire and then heated.

One-hitter (semivaporizer)

The next lowest temperature is achieved with a narrow-diameter, screened-crater utensil-- one-hitter, minitoke, kiseru or midwakh-- where the practiced user sucks the air slowly enough to assure slow, low-temperature burning, so that the cannabinol in any part of the hashish has time to vaporize from being heated by an already burning adjacent part of the hashish (semivaporizer). is an old style Japanese Smoking pipe. Kiseru were used for smoking a wide variety of substances including Tobacco, Cannabis, and Opium. A midwakh is a small pipe of Arabian origin in which " Dokha " an Iranian Tobacco mixed with leaves A butane lighter should be used instead of matches to permit frequent, very brief relightings, and a long tube (such as those found on hookahs) added giving the heated aerosol a longer distance to travel, i. A hookah (हुक़्क़ा حقّہ hukkah) is a single or multi-stemmed (often glass-based water pipe for Smoking. e. more time to cool down before reaching the user's trachea.

Dabous

A piece of hash may be ignited by cigarette coals or other means and placed inside a container. The smoke that collects inside can then be inhaled. Dabous or Khabour, but most commonly "shi-sha" (glass in Arabic) is a North African technique. In Canada this technique is commonly referred to as "Bots" or "BTs" ("Bottle-Tokes").

Mixtures

Often hash is mixed with tobacco, cannabis or another herb, and the combination rolled up into a cigarette or burned in a large pipe by users impatient to get it burning, a procedure best avoided as the high burning temperature results in major loss of THC (and the exposure to nicotine can result in tobacco addiction). Smoked by itself, hash usually creates a stronger psychoactive effect on the user.

See also

• Cannabis (drug)
• Cannabis (hashish) rosin
• Honey Oil
• Club des Hashischins - A club in Paris in the 1840s, dedicated to explore the effect of drugs, specifically hashish. Cannabis, also known as marijuana or marihuana, or ganja (from Hindi / Sanskrit: गांजा gānjā hemp) is a Cannabis (hashish Rosin is a solventless extract of Cannabis ( Hashish) Honey oil (often shortened to oil, and sometimes referred to as BHO, or butane hash oil, which is particular to the method by which it is The Club des Hashischins (sometimes also spelled Club des Hashishins or Club des Hachichin) was a Parisian group dedicated to the exploration of drug-induced
• Charles Baudelaire - A member of the club mentioned above, who in Les paradis artificiels (1860) described the effects of opium and hashish. Les paradis artificiels ( Artificial Paradises) is a book by French poet Charles Baudelaire, first published in 1860, about the state
• Fitz Hugh Ludlow and his autobiographical The Hasheesh Eater (1857). Fitz Hugh Ludlow, sometimes seen as “Fitzhugh Ludlow” ( September 11, 1836 &ndash September 12, 1870) was an American author journalist The Hasheesh Eater is an autobiographical book by Fitz Hugh Ludlow describing the author's altered states of consciousness and philosophical flights of fancy while
• Charas
• Kief
• Legality of cannabis
• Legality of cannabis by country

Further history

• Erowid Cannabis Vault: Hashish History
• The Hashish Club - Paris 1840s
• W.W. Willoughby: Indian Hemp (Hashisch), 1925

Further reading

• Hashish by Robert Connell Clarke, ISBN 0-929349-05-9
• Artificial Paradises by Charles Baudelaire; first edition 1860
• The Hasheesh Eater by Fitz Hugh Ludlow; first edition 1857
• Indoor Marijuana Horticulture, by Jorge Cervantes, ISBN 1-878823-29-9 ; 2001, reprinted 2005

References

• Marijuana Potency, Michael Starkes, 1977, And/Or Press Berkley California, ISBN 0-91504-27-6 Chapter 6 "Extraction of THC and Preparation of Hash Oil" pages 111-122.

External links

• A recent publication on hashish production and trafficking in the Rif area of Morocco
• How to make bubble hash
• How to judge hashish quality
• The Hash Museum in Amsterdam
• Analysis of adulterated hashish
• A Collection of Hashish Photography
• Neil Montgomery of the University of Edinburgh's findings on adulterated hashish
• Bibliography of scholarly histories on cannabis and hashish. (Updated to include article abstracts. )
• Cannabis News. (Updates every hour. )
• International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, released by the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, March 2005.

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