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As marijuana and related products become legal in more and more places, people are discovering new ways to try marijuana faster than before. Now, you'll encounter countless new cannabis terms in the news, at your local dispensary, and in more places.
Hash might be one of those terms you've heard, but don't fully understand yet. While it often sounds interchangeable with marijuana, there are also some important differences to know.
What is hash, how do you use it, and is it right for you? In this guide, we'll answer these questions and more — keep reading to discover what you need to know!
When you use marijuana, you primarily use the flowers. Hash comes from drying the resin that these flowers contain.
To make hash, you have to collect the resin from the flowers — more on those methods below. The collected resin gets pressed together to form hash, which looks like dense blocks or cakes.
This resin is made up of "trichomes," which contain the most concentrated THC of the marijuana flower. Hash is a way of making a super-high-THC product.
The color and texture of hash varies widely, depending on how its made, which flowers are used, and more. Some kinds of hash form hard, dry pieces, while others are softer. Some people also turn the resin into hash oil.
Hash was one called "hashish," but today the shortened term is far more common.
When people talk about weed, they're usually referring to the whole plant, or at least the smokable, flowering part. Hash isolates the resin from the flower for a more specific, and potent, high.
How do people make hash from the marijuana plant?
One of the most common methods is called the dry sift method. For this, you'll use screens with progressively smaller sizes to filter the resin away from the plant.
Place your screens over a box or another container to catch the resin inside. Then, brush the plant material over the surface of your first screen, then sift through the second screen to fully separate the resin out.
If you want to press your dry-sift hash to make it easier to use, you can buy a pollen press. This pushes the loose hash into a block or shape that you can handle without worrying about losing any of the precious product.
There are many other ways to make hash, but this is the simplest one, making it the one people are most likely to try at home.
The word "hashish" comes from the Arabic word for grass.
While people have been using marijuana for thousands of years, it's hard to pinpoint exactly when they started turning it into hash. However, Hash made its way from Africa and the Middle East into Europe in the early 1800s, where it quickly became popular.
Hash continued to be widely used until marijuana was made illegal in the U.S. and many other countries. Today, thanks to the push for legalization, this concentrate is having a resurgence in popularity.
What Is Hash Good For?
Should you use hash or marijuana flower? The answer depends on the results you're looking for.
The exact high you'll get from hash depends on the type of marijuana that was used to make it. However, you can count on hash to be more potent than just smoking the flower, since you've isolated the parts with the highest THC contents.
However, it is possible to make hash that is more or less potent, depending on the method used. Methods that isolate the resin even more effectively from the rest of the plant than sifting will result in the most powerful product.
Hash is ideal when you want a stronger high than you can get from just marijuana. It's also often used in edibles, since it's pressed form is easy to measure and work with.
Wondering how to use hash? Here are a few ideas to get you started. Don't miss this guide for more.
Just like with cannabis flower, smoking is one of the classic ways for people to use hash.
If you decide to smoke, make sure to start with a small amount, because it's so potent. And, since hash is so concentrated, it will take you longer to smoke one bowl, even a very small one.
Some users disagree about whether hash should be smoked in a bong, pipe or similar implement, like marijuana is. There are also many other methods that might put hash to better use.
One popular way to smoke hash without glassware is to roll it into a joint. To make a hash joint, you'll layer flower with bits of hash, for a joint that's a little more powerful but still easy to smoke. If you tried to make a joint with just hash, it would be very hard to smoke, since hash is too compact to allow for any airflow.
Some people like vaping hash because it allows for inhalation without the harsh feeling that smoking sometimes has.
However, if you want to vape hash, you'll need a vaporizer that lets you adjust the temperature for the best results. The high density of hash means it requires a higher temperature to vape.
Finally, many people love edibles made using hash, rather than just cannabis flower.
You can also eat hash without cooking it into anything, but where's the fun in that? Instead, try following one of the many recipes out there that will show you how to bake with hash, whether by using hash butter or using it directly.
Ready to Give Hash a Try?
If you like marijuana, hash can add a new dimension to how you get high. Now that you know the answer to "What is hash?" you might want to try it for yourself.
Of course, hash still offers many different highs, depending on which strain you choose. Want to learn about the different strains available? Check out this guide!