Hash

Definition: Hash, short for hashish, is a cannabis concentrate made by collecting the plant’s resin glands and pressing them into a solid block, ball, or slab. It’s one of the oldest forms of cannabis concentrate. Hash is usually more potent than flower because it’s made mostly of trichomes, where the plant’s cannabinoids and terpenes are produced.

How Is Hash Made?

Every method starts by separating trichomes from the plant. Traditional hand-rubbed hash, often called charas, is made by rubbing live flowers between the palms and rolling the sticky resin into balls. Dry sift hash starts with kief shaken through screens, then pressed with heat and pressure. Ice-water hash, better known as bubble hash, uses cold water to knock the glands loose.

Is Hash the Same as Hash Oil?

No. Hash is a physical concentrate made without chemical solvents, which is why it’s considered a solventless extract. Hash oil is made by dissolving cannabinoids out of the plant with a solvent such as butane, the process behind BHO, shatter, and wax. Federal potency monitoring data have found that hash oil generally has the highest THC content, followed by hashish, then regular cannabis.

How Do You Use Hash?

People crumble it into a joint or bowl, smoke it on its own in a pipe, vaporize it, or press it into rosin. Good hash softens with a little warmth and burns cleanly. Because it’s concentrated, take smaller hits than you would with flower.

Related terms: Kief, Bubble Hash, Concentrates, Rosin

Sources: ElSohly MA, et al. Changes in Cannabis Potency Over the Last 2 Decades (1995-2014). Biological Psychiatry, 2016 (PMC); National Institute on Drug Abuse: Cannabis (Marijuana).