Hash, or hashish, refers to compacted cannabis resin (or kief) that is brown in color and more potent than cannabis flower. Cannabis flower is covered in glands that produce a sticky resin, which contains essential compounds like THC and CBD. These glands are separated from the plant using screens or ice water and pressed into hash. Hash is most popularly smoked, though it can also be vaporized, dabbed, or prepared into food or drink.
“I was in Amsterdam the first time I smoked hash.”
“This is some of the best hash I’ve ever smoked.”
What is hashish/hash?
Hash (aka hashish or bubble hash) is made from tightly compressed cannabis resin, forming solid chunks of concentrated trichome heads that are usually brown in color. It is most commonly smoked in a pipe, but it can also be prepared into ingestible forms or vaporized. Because hash separates the potent trichome heads from the cannabis plant material, it offers more potency in a smaller amount. Its potency may vary widely based on the chemical content of the source plant, though it typically ranges from 20% to 60% THC.
Hashish has been used for centuries, with a long history in places like Morocco, Afghanistan, and India. In Nepal, India, and Jamaica, hash has traditionally been rolled into balls called charas. Another traditional Indian hash preparation includes bhang, a drinkable brew.
The difference between hash and kief
Kief refers to trichome heads that break off from cannabis flower. It appears as sticky goldish- brown powder, and is commonly collected in grinders after it breaks off from flower. To make hash, those resinous trichome heads—kief—are pressed together to form one dense, solid chunk.
Kief and hash are used in similar ways: they can both be smoked, vaporized, or prepared into edible forms. If smoked, kief is often sprinkled on top of ground flower for a more potent smoke. Hash can be smoked on its own or broken apart and added to a packed bowl of flower.
How to make hash
Hash can be made using a variety of manual and mechanical techniques. Some basic manual methods include rolling cannabis resin into round charas by hand or by using tools to press kief tightly together. The dry sieve method involves agitating trimmed cannabis flower over a series of screens that separate trichome heads from the plant material. The loose material is then pressed (mechanically for maximum pressure), resulting in compressed hash.
Hash can also be made using ice water and a series of bags. Commonly called ice water hash, ice hash, or bubble hash, this form of hash is made by immersing cannabis flower in ice water which helps to separate the trichome glands from the plant.