Hashish: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|Compressed form of powdered cannabis}}

'''Hashish''' ({{IPAc-en|audio=En-au-hashish.ogg|h|ə|ˈ|ʃ|iː|ʃ}}; {{ety|ar|ḥašiš {{lang|ar|حشيش}}|hay}}), usually abbreviated as '''hash''', is a [[Compression (physics)|compressed]] form of resin (trichomes) derived from the [[cannabis]] flowers.<ref name=EMCDDA08>{{cite journal| last1 = EMCDDA| year = 2008| title = A cannabis reader: global issues and local experiences| url = http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/monographs/cannabis| journal = Monograph Series| volume = 8| issue = 1| access-date = 2017-06-29| archive-date = 2019-04-04| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190404195932/http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/monographs/cannabis| url-status = live}} European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Lisbon, {{doi|10.2810/13807}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2020-06-25 |title=How To Make Hash At Home? |url=https://www.budsandbeyond.cc/how-to-make-hash-at-home |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009012637/https://www.budsandbeyond.cc/how-to-make-hash-at-home |archive-date=2020-10-09 |access-date=2020-10-05 |website=budsandbeyond |language=en-US}}</ref> As a [[Psychoactive drug|psychoactive substance]], it is consumed plain or mixed with [[tobacco]]. It has a long history of use in countries such as [[Afghanistan]], [[India]], [[Pakistan]], [[Iran]], [[Iraq]], [[Lebanon]], [[Morocco]], [[Nepal]] and [[Egypt]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The History Of Hashish|url=http://druglibrary.org/MedicalMj/hash/history_of_hashish.htm|access-date=2020-10-05|website=druglibrary.org|archive-date=2020-08-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811184413/http://druglibrary.org/MedicalMj/hash/history_of_hashish.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Hashish consumption is also popular in Europe. In the United States, dried flowers or [[Cannabis concentrate|concentrates]] are more popular, and hash has seen a relative decrease in popularity following changes in laws that have indirectly allowed for the development and increased availability of cannabis extracts that are more potent than traditional hashish, although regional differences in product preferences exist.<ref>{{cite web|title=Is Old-School Hashish Going Extinct in America?|url=https://merryjane.com/culture/is-old-school-hashish-going-extinct-in-america|access-date=2020-10-05|website=MERRY JANE|date=9 May 2019 |language=en|archive-date=2020-10-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009161704/https://merryjane.com/culture/is-old-school-hashish-going-extinct-in-america|url-status=live}}</ref> Like many recreational drugs, multiple synonyms and alternative names for hashish exist, and vary greatly depending on the country and native language.<ref name="drugsCom">{{cite web|title=Hashish|url=https://www.drugs.com/illicit/hashish.html|website=drugs.com|access-date=19 May 2017|archive-date=26 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190426175608/https://www.drugs.com/illicit/hashish.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Hashish is a cannabis concentrate product composed of compressed or purified preparations of stalked resin glands, called trichomes, from the plant. It is defined by the 1961 UN [[Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs]] (Schedule I and IV) as "the separated resin, whether crude or purified, obtained from the cannabis plant". The resin contains ingredients such as [[tetrahydrocannabinol]] (THC) and other [[cannabinoid]]s—but often in higher concentrations than the unsifted or unprocessed cannabis flower.<ref>Russo, Ethan.  ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=qH-2Lj9x7L4C&pg=PT34 Cannabis and Cannabinoids: Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Therapeutic Potential]'', p. 34 (Routledge 2013).</ref> Purities of confiscated hashish in Europe (2011) range between 3% and 15%. Between 2000 and 2005, the percentage of hashish in cannabis end product seizures was at 18%.<ref name="EMCDDA08" /> With the strength of unprocessed cannabis flowers having increased greatly in recent years—with flowers containing upwards of 25% THC by weight—the strength of hashish produced today and in the future is likely to be far more potent than in these older records.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=ElSohly|first1=Mahmoud A.|last2=Mehmedic|first2=Zlatko|last3=Foster|first3=Susan|last4=Gon|first4=Chandrani|last5=Chandra|first5=Suman|last6=Church|first6=James C.|date=2016-04-01|title=Changes in Cannabis Potency over the Last Two Decades (1995-2014) - Analysis of Current Data in the United States|journal=Biological Psychiatry|volume=79|issue=7|pages=613–619|doi=10.1016/j.biopsych.2016.01.004|issn=0006-3223|pmc=4987131|pmid=26903403}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Highly Potent Weed Has Swept The Market, Raising Concerns About Health Risks|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/05/15/723656629/highly-potent-weed-has-swept-the-market-raising-concerns-about-health-risks|access-date=2020-10-05|website=NPR.org|language=en|archive-date=2020-10-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008212223/https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/05/15/723656629/highly-potent-weed-has-swept-the-market-raising-concerns-about-health-risks|url-status=live}}</ref>

The consistency and appearance of hashish is highly dependent on the process used and the amount of leftover plant material (e.g. chlorophyll). It is typically solid, though its consistency ranges from brittle to malleable. It is most commonly light or dark brown in color, though may appear transparent, yellow, black, or red.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.druglibrary.org/medicalmj/hash/guide_to_the_different_types_of_.htm|title=Guide To The Different Types Of Hashish|website=www.druglibrary.org|access-date=2014-01-09|archive-date=2014-01-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109183505/http://www.druglibrary.org/medicalmj/hash/guide_to_the_different_types_of_.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> In recent years, the terpene ''hashishene'' was identified as possibly responsible for the characteristic smell and aroma of hashish, as compared to raw herbal cannabis.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Marchini |first1=Marie |last2=Charvoz |first2=Céline |last3=Dujourdy |first3=Laurence |last4=Baldovini |first4=Nicolas |last5=Filippi |first5=Jean-Jacques |date=2014-11-28 |title=Multidimensional analysis of cannabis volatile constituents: identification of 5,5-dimethyl-1-vinylbicyclo[2.1.1]hexane as a volatile marker of hashish, the resin of Cannabis sativa L |journal=Journal of Chromatography A |volume=1370 |pages=200–215 |doi=10.1016/j.chroma.2014.10.045 |issn=1873-3778 |pmid=25454145}}</ref>

==History==

Hashish has been consumed for many centuries, though there is no clear evidence as to its first appearance.<ref name=ConnelClarke>Hashish! by Robert Connell Clarke, {{ISBN|0-929349-05-9}}</ref> North [[India]] and [[Nepal]] have a long social tradition in the production of hashish, known locally as ''[[charas]]''.<ref>Usaybia, Abu; ''Notes on Uyunu al-Anba fi Tabaquat al-Atibba'', Berkeley: University of California Press, 1965.</ref>

The first attestation of the term "hashish" is in a pamphlet published in Cairo in 1123 CE, accusing [[Nizari]] Muslims of being "hashish-eaters".<ref name="Booth2011">{{cite book|author=Martin Booth|title=Cannabis: A History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mjn6sCiHoFIC&pg=PA84|date=30 September 2011|publisher=Transworld|isbn=978-1-4090-8489-1|pages=84–|access-date=25 December 2017|archive-date=20 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420184530/https://books.google.com/books?id=Mjn6sCiHoFIC&pg=PA84|url-status=live}}</ref> The cult of Nizari militants which emerged after the fall of the [[Fatimid Caliphate]] is commonly called the sect of the [[Order of Assassins|Assassins]]—a corruption of ''[[hashishin]],'' Arabic for "hashish-smokers." The 13th-century jurist [[Ibn Taymiyyah]] prohibited the use of hashish; he mentioned that it was introduced to the [[Levant]] with the [[Mongol invasions of the Levant|Mongol invasion]] (throughout the 13th century).<ref>Ibn Taymiyyah, Majmu al-Fatwa al-Kubra (Arabic), Vol. 3, p 425. http://shamela.ws/browse.php/book-9690#page-1323 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110213725/http://shamela.ws/browse.php/book-9690#page-1323 |date=2018-11-10 }}</ref> Smoking did not become common in the Old World until after the introduction of tobacco; until the 1500s, hashish was consumed as an edible in the Muslim world.<ref name="Chasteen2016">{{cite book|author=John Charles Chasteen|title=Getting High: Marijuana through the Ages|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pk-xCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA72|date=9 February 2016|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-4422-5470-1|pages=72–|access-date=25 December 2017|archive-date=20 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420184528/https://books.google.com/books?id=Pk-xCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA72|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1596, Dutchman [[Jan Huyghen van Linschoten]] spent three pages on "Bangue" (''[[bhang]]'') in his historic work documenting his journeys in the East. He particularly mentioned the Egyptian hashish.<ref name="linschoten">{{cite book |year=1885 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/voyagejohnhuygh02tielgoog/page/n136 115]–117 |author1=Burnell, Arthur Coke  |author2=Tiele, P.A |url=https://archive.org/details/voyagejohnhuygh02tielgoog |title=The voyage of John Huyghen van Linschoten to the East Indies |series=from the old English translation of 1598: the first book, containing his description of the East |place=London |publisher=The [[Hakluyt Society]]}} Full text at Internet Archive.  [https://archive.org/stream/voyagejohnhuygh02tielgoog#page/n135/mode/2up Chapter on Bangue].</ref> He said, "Bangue is likewise much used in Turkie and Egypt, and is made in three sorts, having also three names. The first by the Egyptians is called Assis (Hashish (Arab.)), which is the poulder of Hemp, or of Hemp leaves, which is water made in paste or dough, they would eat five pieces, (each) as big as a Chestnut (or larger); This is used by the common people, because it is of a small price, and it is no wonder, that such vertue proceedeth from the Hempe, for that according to Galens opinion, Hempe excessively filleth the head."<ref name="Linschoten1885">{{cite book|author=Jan Huygen van Linschoten|title=The Voyage of John Huyghen Van Linschoten to the East Indies: From the Old English Translation of 1598. The First Book, Containing His Description of the East...|url=https://archive.org/details/voyagejohnhuygh00tielgoog|year=1885|publisher=Hakluyt society|pages=[https://archive.org/details/voyagejohnhuygh00tielgoog/page/n127 116]–}}</ref>

Hashish arrived in Europe from the East during the 18th century,<ref name="EMCDDA08" /> and is first mentioned scientifically by [[Johann Friedrich Gmelin|Gmelin]] in 1777.<ref name="EMCDDA08" /> The Napoleonic campaigns introduced French troops to hashish in Egypt and the first description of its useful stems was in 1830 by pharmacist and botanist [[Theodor Friedrich Ludwig Nees von Esenbeck]].<ref name="EMCDDA08" />

In 1839, [[William Brooke O'Shaughnessy|O'Shaughnessy]] wrote a comprehensive study of Himalayan hemp, which was recognised by the European school of medicine and describes hashish as relief for cramps and causing the disappearance of certain symptoms from afflictions such as rabies, cholera, and tetanus.<ref name="EMCDDA08" /> This led to high hopes in the medical community. In 1840, [[Louis Aubert-Roche]] reported his successful use of hashish against pestilence.<ref name="EMCDDA08" /> Also, psychiatric experiments with hashish were done at the same time with [[Jacques-Joseph Moreau]] being convinced that it is the supreme medicament for use in psychiatry.<ref name="EMCDDA08" />

Hashish was also mentioned{{By whom|date=June 2019}} and used as an anesthetic in Germany in 1869. It was imported in great quantities especially from India where it was called charas. However, there were also people{{Who|date=June 2019}} who did not deem cannabis as harmless.<ref name="EMCDDA08" /> Between 1880 and 1900 was the peak of the medicinal use, where hashish compounds were most commonplace in almost all European countries and the USA. Evidence of misuse at that time was practically non-existent (as opposed to widespread reports in Asia and Africa).<ref name="EMCDDA08"/> Hashish played a significant role in the treatment of pain, migraine, [[dysmenorrhea]], [[Whooping cough|pertussis]], asthma and insomnia in Europe and USA towards the end of the 19th century. Rare applications included stomach ache, depression, diarrhea, diminished appetite, pruritus, hemorrhage, [[Basedow syndrome]] and malaria.<ref name="EMCDDA08"/> The use was later prohibited worldwide as the use as a medicine was made impossible by the 1961 UN [[Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs]].

At the beginning of the 20th century, the majority of hashish in Europe came from Kashmir and other parts of India, Afghanistan, as well as Greece, Syria, Nepal, Lebanon, and Turkey. Larger markets developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s when most of the hashish was imported from Pakistan and Afghanistan. In Greece, Hashish was prevalent in the early decades of the 20th century, and although locally produced for hundreds of years prior, it reached its peak with the coming of two and a half million Greek refugees, expelled from Turkey following the disastrous 1919-21 war. Many of these refugees had habitually smoked hashish in Turkey, using waterpipes, (hookas) called "arghilethes", and due to extreme poverty upon arriving in Greece, and living in overcrowded and poor refugee communities, many hashish dens, called "tekethes", sprung up in Greece's larger cities, the port city of Piraeus, and the northern city of Thessaloniki (where many refugees lived). This gave rise to a substantial urban underclass and sub culture of hashish smokers called "hasiklithes", and a musical genre "[[Rebetiko|rembetika]]" (oriental sounding), "urban blues" played on the bouzouki, tzoura, and oriental instruments such as the baglama, outi (oud) and kanonaki (kanun) that spoke of life as a hashish user in the "tekethes", as well as about life as refugees, society's unfairness, lack of financial opportunities, prejudice against the refugees, and the deceit of lovers and others in the community. The "tekethes" were closed down in the 1930s by the Greek police and the "rembetes" were jailed and ostracized. In succeeding decades, there was a strong resurgence in Greece of "rembetika" music with the songs of the rembetes and hasiklithes being continually performed publicly by many including the younger generation, as a form of cultural heritage, and have gained respectability and popularity for their frank expressions of that period, and Greek society in general. Due to disruptive conflicts in the regions, Morocco took over and was the sufficient exporter until lately.{{when|date=December 2017}}<ref name="ChouvyBackground">{{cite journal|last1=Chouvy|first1=Pierre-Arnaud|title=The supply of hashish to Europe|journal=Background Paper Commissioned by the EMCDDA for the 2016 EU Drug Markets Report|url=http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/publications/2373/downloads/EDRM2016%20Background%20paper_CHOUVY_The%20Supply%20of%20Hashish%20to%20Europe.pdf|access-date=2017-07-01|archive-date=2019-08-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190819184636/http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/publications/2373/downloads/EDRM2016%20Background%20paper_CHOUVY_The%20Supply%20of%20Hashish%20to%20Europe.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> It is believed that massive hashish production for international trade originated in [[Morocco]] during the 1960s, where the cannabis plant was widely available. Before the coming of the first hippies from the [[Hippie Trail]], only small pieces of Lebanese hashish were found in Morocco.<ref name="ConnelClarke"/>

Hashish remains in high demand in most of the world while quality continues to increase, due to many Moroccan and western farmers in Morocco and other hash producing countries using more advanced cultivation methods as well as cultivating further developed cannabis strains which increases yields greatly, as well as improving resin quality with higher ratios of psychoactive ingredients (THC).{{cn|date=January 2025}} A tastier, smoother and more aromatic terpenes and flavonoids profile is seen as an indicator of a significant rise in hashish quality in more recent years. Hashish production in Spain has also become more popular and is on the rise, however the demand for relatively cheap and high-quality Moroccan hash is still extremely high.{{cn|date=January 2025}}

Hashish is made from [[cannabinoid]]-rich glandular hairs known as [[trichome]]s, as well as varying amounts of cannabis flower and leaf fragments.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Gloss|first1=D|title=An Overview of Products and Bias in Research|journal=Neurotherapeutics|date=October 2015|volume=12|issue=4|pages=731–4|doi=10.1007/s13311-015-0370-x|pmid=26202343|pmc=4604179|type=Review}}</ref> The flowers of a mature female plant contain the most trichomes, though trichomes are also found on other parts of the plant. Certain strains of cannabis are [[cannabis (drug) cultivation|cultivated]] specifically for their ability to produce large amounts of trichomes. The resin reservoirs of the trichomes, sometimes erroneously called [[pollen]] (vendors often use the euphemism "pollen catchers" to describe [[sieve|screened]] [[kief]]-grinders in order to skirt paraphernalia-selling laws), are separated from the plant through various methods.

Hashish samples from India, Lebanon and Morocco confiscated in Europe and Israel in 2005 contained all appreciable amounts of [[cannabidiol]] (CBD), and [[cannabinol]] (CBN), in addition to [[tetrahydrocannabinol]] (THC). In some samples the CBD-content was significantly higher than the THC-content. The simultaneous occurrence of these three cannabinoids constitute the typical, chemical profile of hashish consumed in Europe and Northern Africa. In comparison, most high-potency cannabis products contain only THC. It is believed that the psychotropic effects of hashish are therefore more subtle, and [[sedative]].<ref>Lumír O. Hanuš, Rina Levy, Dafna De La Vega, Limor Katz, Michael Roman & Pavel Tomíček (08 Jun 2016). [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07929978.2016.1177983?scroll=top&needAccess=true "The main cannabinoids content in hashish samples seized in Israel and Czech Republic."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911063753/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07929978.2016.1177983?scroll=top&needAccess=true |date=2021-09-11 }} ''tandfonline.org''. p. 182-190. [https://doi.org/10.1080/07929978.2016.1177983 doi:10.1080/07929978.2016.1177983.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420184541/https://brill.com/view/journals/ijps/63/3/article-p182_5.xml |date=2023-04-20 }} Retrieved 10 September 2021.</ref>

In a study conducted in 2014 by Jean-Jaques Filippi, Marie Marchini, Céline Charvoz, Laurence Dujourdy and Nicolas Baldovini (''Multidimensional analysis of cannabis volatile constituents: Identification of 5,5-dimethyl-1-vinylbicyclo[2.1.1]hexane as a volatile marker of hashish, the resin of Cannabis sativa L.'') the researchers linked the characteristic flavour of hashish with a rearrangement of [[myrcene]] caused during the process of manufacture.<ref>Alchimia Blog, ''[https://www.alchimiaweb.com/blogen/hashishene-the-terpene-of-hashish/ Hashishene, the new terpene of cannabis] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303050044/https://www.alchimiaweb.com/blogen/hashishene-the-terpene-of-hashish/ |date=2016-03-03 }}''</ref>

Hashish can be consumed by oral ingestion or smoking. When smoked, it may be smoked in a pipe, [[bong]], [[vaporizer (cannabis)|vaporizer]] or [[joint (cannabis)|joints]], where it is often mixed with [[tobacco]], as pure hashish will burn poorly alone. [[THC]] has a low water solubility therefore it is most effective when ingested alongside a fatty meal or snack.<ref name="EMCDDAProfile">{{cite web |title=Cannabis drug profile |url=http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/drug-profiles/cannabis |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180624121349/http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/drug-profiles/cannabis |archive-date=24 June 2018 |access-date=19 May 2017 |website=emcdda.europa.eu}}</ref> Not all hashish can be consumed orally as some is not decarboxylated during manufacture. Generally the methods are similar to overall [[cannabis consumption]].

 

The largest producer today is Afghanistan,<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/03/31/afghanistan-leading-hashish-producer/ | work=Fox News | title=UN: Afghanistan is leading hashish producer | date=2010-03-31 | access-date=2016-05-28 | archive-date=2011-07-16 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716063928/http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/03/31/afghanistan-leading-hashish-producer/ | url-status=dead }}</ref> however studies suggest there is a "hashish revival" in Morocco.<ref name=ChouvyAfsahi>{{cite journal| last1 = Chouvy| first1 = Pierre Arnaud| last2 = Afsahi| first2 = Kenza| year = 2014| title = Hashish Revival in Morocco| url = http://geopium.org/?p=655| journal = International Journal of Drug Policy| volume = 25| issue = 3| pages = 416–423| issn = 0955-3959| doi = 10.1016/j.drugpo.2014.01.001| pmid = 24507440| access-date = 2017-07-01| archive-date = 2017-02-03| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170203003711/http://geopium.org/?p=655| url-status = live | s2cid = 44589414}}</ref> Solventless Rosin Method was discovered by Phil Salazar in 2015. Rosin is created by pressing Cannabis Flower, Dry sift, or Ice water hash in between parchment paper using a pneumatic or hydraulic press with heated plates to create force and pressure to expel the oil from the product. The moisture present in the flower, Dry Sift, or ice water hash will create steam pressure and force the oil from the source creating a solventless hash product.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://hightimes.com/news/the-birth-of-rosin/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111220321/https://hightimes.com/news/the-birth-of-rosin/ |archive-date=11 November 2020 |title=The Birth of Rosin |author=Andrew Parker|date=May 8, 2017|website=High Times}}</ref>

* [[Cannabis concentrate]]

* [[Cannabis culture]]

* [[Hemp oil]]