Hashish has been part of a wide variety of cultures for centuries: from the Rif Mountains in North Africa to Europe and the Middle East to the Indian subcontinent. However, it is much less known than marijuana, at least in our latitudes. So in this post we will give an overview of this substance.
Summary:
- What is hashish? – A definition
- How is hashish prepared?
- How is hashish smoked?
- How long does hashish last?
What is hashish? – A definition
Hashish is basically resin pressed into slabs or blocks extracted from cannabis plants. You might even call hashish the " father of all cannabis extracts" . Its first written mention dates back to a 12th century Egyptian pamphlet (Booth, M. “Cannabis: A History”, 2003).
How is hashish prepared?
Over the centuries, two main approaches to making hashish have evolved: sieving and hand rubbing .
- Sieving: To do this, you let the hemp flowers dry and then shake them over a fine mesh sieve. This way you get the resin, which you then just press together. Single inflorescences can be used multiple times. However, the more often you sift the flowers, the lower quality the resulting hash will be.
- Hand Rubbing: Here you first rub the flowers of the live plants with the palms of your hands until they become nice, sticky and covered in green-brown resin. This is then removed using sheets of paper and finally transformed into small bars or balls.
Since hand-grated hashish is typical of countries such as India, Afghanistan and Nepal, it is basically composed of Cannabis Indica . Anyone who consumes it can therefore expect a calming and relaxing effect .
Strains obtained through sieving , however, are common in North Africa and the Middle East, where Cannabis Sativa is more appreciated. This is why they tend to cause an invigorating and intoxicating effect.
However, hashish can also be produced using water extraction . To do this, place the cannabis flowers in a bucket equipped with strainer bags, fill it with water and ice and mix everything vigorously. In this way the trichomes are freed from the flowers and are then filtered through increasingly fine sieve bags.
No chemicals are used in water extraction. As far as the purity of hashish is concerned, this is in no way inferior to the methods described above.
This technique allows you to filter very fine trichomes and produce a very strong hash that can contain over 50% THC. The biggest advantage of water extraction, however, is that the low temperature protects the terpenes: the substances responsible for the smell and taste of cannabis flowers.
How is hashish smoked?
Since hashish is resin, you mix it with tobacco or cannabis to burn it. One option is to roll this mixture into a joint. The advantage: you can smoke it comfortably and take the active ingredient for a longer period of time .
Alternatively you can use pipes, bongs and chillums. But here you can't do without powerful hits, which inevitably result in a stronger high . We recommend caution.
If you prefer to avoid combustion, you can also vaporize your hash. In this case you can also enjoy it pure . In terms of taste it is an experience. However, if you are used to smoking hash, you will probably find the hits a little too brittle.
How long does hashish last?
Several factors come into play here: habituation, individual metabolism, THC content of the hashish. Even the form of hiring is not secondary; a joint is much more harmless than a bong.
In principle, however, it can be assumed that the effect reaches its peak approximately 10-30 minutes after intake. It may take more than 3 hours for it to disappear completely.
If you want to recover from intoxication faster, you should consume sugar and vitamins (preferably fruits and fruit juices) and get some fresh air.
Things look different when we consider the long-term consequences. Regular consumption of THC can have a negative impact on, among other things, concentration, memory and learning ability . It is assumed that this damage will be repaired . But this is no reason to underestimate them.
If you want to try this delicious, traditional cannabis extract without having to deal with these annoying side effects, we recommend our CBD hash . It contains a lot of cannabidiol and is obtained from organically grown hemp plants .
