Today, marijuana extracts are becoming a highly appreciated and demanded product by many growers and users. They can reach very high concentrations of cannabinoids and terpenes, being a true delicatessen that any smoker would like to taste.
Because of many questions and wrong presumptions about the derivatives of cannabis i decide to inform myself better and share with you some information in this article.
Hash ( Hashish)
How is made?
Hashish is made from cannabinoid-rich glandular hairs known as trichomes, as well as varying amounts of cannabis flower and leaf fragments. 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 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 screened kief-grinders in order to skirt paraphernalia selling laws), are separated from the plant through various methods.
There are two methods of how to make hashish from the marijuana plant that have been used for centuries.
Method one is called SIEVING. The pollem (not pollen) is obtained from the marijuana by drying and cooling the plant and then sieving again and again, until all that remains is a very fine and pale yellow powder.
The coarse plant material that is left over after this process is called Kif. Under the microscope, one can see that the resin granules on the flower look very similar to the pollem from the sieve, only bright white.
This pollem can be smoked as it is, but taste and effects change when it is processed. The quality of pollem hash depends on the quality of the plants used and the sieving and pressing procedures.
This is the preferred method of collection in Lebanon and Morocco where the plant is dried and then endlessly sieved until only the finest powder remains.
The Hash-Powder is stored inside 35kg plastic bags, in this form it can be kept for a long time without losing much potency (because the resin glands are still closed).
In the winter months the pressing begins. Hash-Powder is filled in linen or cotton bag and pressed under great pressure. On the surface of the Hashish the structure of the tissue which was used can be clearly seen. Usually the Hash is pressed in slabs of 100g, 200g (usually) or 1000g (1kg).
There is some Hash which is pressed by hand like in Afghanistan, unfortunately it’s usually not exported.
Method two is called RUBBING The pollem is obtained from the marijuana by rubbing the live plants and collecting the resin that forms on the hands or cloth that has rubbed the plant.
This is the preferred method of collection in the Himalayas and other parts of Asia.
The quality of rub hash depends on the quality of the plants used, the gathering method and the manner of processing. [1]
But nowadays hashish is also produced by a new method, ICE-WATER separation is another mechanical method of isolating trichomes. The clarity of the final product determines quality of the final product.
It is based on the principle that the resin glands of the cannabis plant are more dense than water. Iceolator tends to have a very high THC content compared to traditional methods of making hash.
Trichomes may break away from supporting stalks and leaves when plant material becomes brittle at low temperatures. After plant material has been agitated in an icy slush, separated trichomes are often dense enough to sink to the bottom of the ice-water mixture following agitation, while lighter pieces of leaves and stems tend to float.
The ice-water method requires ice, water, agitation, filtration bags with various-sized screens and plant material. With the ice-water extraction method the resin becomes hard and brittle and can easily be separated. This allows large quantities of pure resins to be extracted in a very clean process without the use of solvents, making for a more purified hashish.
Below you can see the tree methods hasish is produced.
Ice-water method & Sieving
Rubbing method
What type of hash you can find in Barcelona?
In Barcelona a large amount of the hashish comes from Morocco but it’s also produced from cannabis plants grown in Spain. Plants are cultivated Indoors but there are also large Outdoors and Greenhouse cultivations thanks to the sunny climate.
The manufacture method varies with the producer. Most of the Hash is produced thru screening like in Morocco, however there is also a small quantity of hand-rubbed Hash produced using the Afghani method (which of course is much better). However only a very small quantity of the Weed is transformed in Hashish here in Barcelona.
The kind of high depends from the strain of weed which was used, however usually the high is quite active and cerebral.
The quality varies widely however the price is not very high. There isn’t any standard denomination for the Spanish Hash. High quality powder can come under the name Pollen which is simply highly compressed THC crystals and the popular Ice-o-lator or bubblehash which most of the times is produce from the leaves remained after trimming.
Price: 6-15 € / g
Butane Hash Oil (BHO)
Butane Hash Oil, commonly referred to as BHO, is a type of cannabis concentrate made using butane as the main solvent. While a number of variables can determine the final consistency of BHO (mostly temperature), people use different names when referring to each of the different consistencies. Shatter for instance, refers to the glass-like consistency that often snaps or “shatters” when handled. Budder, honeycomb, crumble, and sap are also used to describe the different textures, though they all fall under the category of BHO.
BHO is a new player in the hash game, bringing with the benefit of modern day tech and science. When made properly this stuff is almost pure THC and flavor with no impurities or contaminants. As you may imagine butane hash oil is made using butane, this is forced through the weed to extract the cannabinoids. This creates a waxy, oily substance that is very high in THC and CBD; depending on the strain it was made from. This oil is then heated and purged to get rid of any butane or impurities left behind.[2]
Depending on how the hash oil is treated it will then become a hard clear orange colored form called shatter, or if heated and whipped will become a softer wax like material called wax. Both will soften and melt when heated.
Under this form of extraction, THC content can be as high as 50-90%. This makes BHO a popular choice for many medical marijuana patients suffering from chronic pain, sleep disorders, and other intractable symptoms.
This form of extraction is very famous in the U.S. and Canada and is also becoming increasingly demanded in Barcelona, as evidenced by the success of Dab-a-Doo that last week hold the 11’th edition in Barcelona and other cannabis events which gather cannabis extract lovers.
Always be sure that your oil is lab tested for purity, as many clubs provide improperly purged BHO that contain traces of butane, pesticides, or other unhealthy ingredients/contaminants.
You really need to burn some of it and look for ‘fireworks’ or a sizzle, if it lights or sizzles then its not purged completely. Usually underpurged waxes leave a sore throat at the end of the hit. The cleaner it is the smoother the hit will feel and taste.
Concentrates can be more cost-effective than flower, but it all depends on the product’s potency-to-price ratio. A gram of flower costs a lot less than a gram of oil, but keep in mind the difference in potencies: while bud tends to test between 10-25% THC, a concentrate can reach heights of 50-90%.
How to consume it? Budder can be vaped, dabbed, twaxed (inside the joint or blunt), smoked, or used in edibles.
Price: 35 – 100 € / g ( you can find it in smaller quantity 0,1 g )
Rosin
Rosin has been gaining a lot of attraction in the medical cannabis community as of lately and for good reason Cannabis rosin is the solid form of resin from the cannabis plant. Resin is the liquid that is found inside the cannabis plant, which contains terpenes; when you extract the resin from the cannabis, you bring out the terpenes (in other words, the oils and waxes — the potent essence of the plant) in a liquid form. When you heat that liquid and apply pressure to it, it becomes solid, and that solid form is rosin. Rosin is brittle at room temperature, but becomes a me
lty, wax-like solid when heated up.
The rosin technique is quick, simple and affordable, allowing anyone to create quality solvent-less hash in a matter of seconds. To get started making Rosin, you only need a few basic tools in order to create a quality finished product, but not nearly as many as you n
eed with other extraction techniques.
Rosin, in it’s melty, wax-like form, is sometimes also called “dabs” because of how it is enjoyed.
Rosin has been enjoying a steep rise in popularity recently, primarily because of its intense potency. Because rosin is a cannabis concentrate — and a highly potent one, at that — it can have extremely strong effects on users.
Some rosins can have as much as 90% THC (tetrahydrocannabinol — the primary ingredient in marijuana that makes you feel “high”), which means they have a potency like almost no other cannabis product.
With that said, if you are a beginner, you might want to ease into marijuana by trying something less intense at first; however, for experienced users, rosin provides a profound experience that is also highly efficient and totally natural.[3]
How to consume it?
Most people who use rosin prefer a method called “dabbing”.
Apply just a tiny amount of marijuana concentrate directly onto your dab tool (wand). Heat up the nail with your blowtorch until it’s red-hot. Finally, “dab” your concentrate onto the nail and inhale.
Make sure you don’t use too much concentrate for a single hit.
blog.getnugg.com/how-to-dab-concentrated-cannabis/
Price: 40-80€ / g
Moonrock/copycat caviar/C3PO
In the cannabis world, a Moon Rock is a celestial bud of Girl Scout Cookies, drenched in CO2 oil, and then coated in a heavy layer of “sicdust” (or kief). This cosmic blend boasts a THC percentage of roughly 52 percent and is a heavy hitting indica with powerful sativa undertones. [4]
Moonrocks caviar is arguably the strongest form of cannabis on the market. All you need is a marijuana bud, hash oil, and kief to create a product that carries at 50% THC rating.
The product speaks for itself in quality, and as soon as you burn it, you’ll understand what all the hype is. There are also several medical uses and health benefits that come with such a strong product.
The high levels of THC make moon rocks an effective pain reliever, and the high levels of CBD combat anxiety, depression, and insomnia.
For the best taste and smoke, it’s recommended to use a pipe or hash bowl, and it’s important to avoid using a grinder as you will lose most of the kief in that process.
Moonrock video
It’s very rarely found in the clubs of Barcelona and not made properly but i am sure they will become more popular in the next years.
Tinctures
Up until its prohibition in 1937, tinctures were the most common form of cannabis medicine in the United States. A tincture is a liquid concentrate procured through alcohol extraction, which pulls out many of the plant’s beneficial cannabinoids. A few drops under the tongue may be a sufficient dose, but patients can safely apply more as needed. Tinctures, which are now available in a variety of flavors, are a great way for patients to medicate without having to smoke.
With a name like “green dragon,” you might think cannabis tinctures are not for the faint of heart, but they’re actually a great entry point for both recreational and medical users looking to ease into smokeless consumption methods.
How to consume it?
Tincture dosages are easy to self-titrate, or measure. Start with 1mL of your finished tincture and put it under your tongue. If you’re happy with the effects, you’re done. Otherwise, try 2mL the next day and so on until you find the volume you’re happy with (ramp up slowly while testing your desired dosage so you can avoid getting uncomfortably high).
Tinctures can be incorporated after cooking into all sorts of meals and drinks: Juices; Ice creams and sherbets; Soups; Gelatin; Mashed potatoes and gravy; Salad dressing.
When dosing a tincture sub-lingually, expect to feel the effects in 15-45 minutes and reach your peak high at about 90 minutes. If you simply drink the dose, expect a slower onset that more closely resembles traditional edibles.[5]
About tinctures video
More and more clubs start to have tinctures produced by locals.
Price: 20 – 70 € / bottle
CBD hemp oil
Cannabis/marijuana and hemp are the same plant. Despite this fact, we are used to speak of cannabis when we talk about the THC plant (the main responsible cannabinoid for the euphoric effects of the plant), and call hemp to those varieties grown for fiber and with very low THC content (not inducing any psychoactive effect). Most hemp plants have large proportions of Cannabidiol CBD, a cannabinoid famous for its various therapeutic properties.
Thus, a cannabinoid extraction from hemp flowers can be made to concentrate its active principles, especially CBD. Generally, it is diluted in any vegetable oil (olive, coconut …) to facilitate both dosage and use. Since CBD cannabis oil contains no THC traces (less than 0.2%), its sale and use are legal in most countries. This type of oil is suitable for medicinal use because it has no recreational, psychoactive effect.
Within the swiftly growing cannabis oil industry is a new category of products seeing its own equally rapid rise in popularity: cannabidiol hemp oil, or CBD hemp oil.
These highly demanded hemp derived products are available for purchase online and delivery straight to your door, or at retailers in all 50 states and over 40 countries around the world.
CBD hemp oil is made from high-CBD, low-THC hemp, unlike medical marijuana products, which are usually made from plants with high concentrations of psychoactive tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Because hemp contains only trace amounts of THC, these hemp oil products are non-psychoactive.
Cannabidiol (CBD) is just one of over 85 cannabinoids presently identified in the cannabis plant and is the second most abundant cannabinoid in marijuana after THC. In hemp, however, THC is only present in trace amounts, while CBD dominates the plant’s makeup. CBD interacts with our naturally occurring systems, but is non-psychotropic, it doesn’t cause a high. This makes it a safer, less controversial alternative, while still offering significant health benefits.
How to consume it?
The best way to take CBD oil is to consume it by putting it under your tongue. To prevent over dosage, you can also first let the drops fall on your hand then consume it with your tongue. Some people don’t like the taste; in that case you can put the drops on a piece of sandwich. Shake well before use.
CBD oil does not contain psychedelic substances and you won’t get high or stoned from it. People mention that is has a relaxing effect.
Where to find it in Barcelona?
First European clinical pioneer in alternative therapies using cannabinoids open this year in Barcelona. Kalapa Clinic provides patients with an alternative treatment for their chronic illnesses. They use cannabinoids to treat patients as well as providing them with the tools for reducing the risks associated with its consumption through consultations and follow-ups with specialized medical and psychological staff.
This clinic is supported by licensed physicians that are trained in cannabinoid therapies for all those who have a chronic condition. http://www.kalapa-clinic.com/en/
Here Doctor Mariano García de Palau from Kalapa Clinic is talking about the cannabinoids treatment
We hope this article helped you to clarify the differences between the diverse cannabis extracts, oils extracted from cannabis and hemp, each one with very different properties. As BHO oil is not suitable to make a salad, CBD hemp oil should not be dabbed!
[1] http://www.hashish-center.com/hashishmaking/
[2] https://www.smokersguide.com/articles/68/cannabis_concentrates___butane_hash_oil__wax__shat.html#.V_UEyxiKTIU
[3] http://thincpure.com/2015/09/a-beginners-guide-to-rosin-and-dabbing/
[4] Andrea Greene http://sfevergreen.com/kurupts-moon-rocks-a-bud-out-of-this-world/
[5]https://www.leafly.com/news/cannabis-101/cannabis-tinctures-101-what-are-they-how-to-make-them-and-how-to/