High with Marijuana

2009.04.27

Marijuana and hash have a centuries-old history. The first usage of the magic weed is supposedly in the 2700 B.C.in China when the Chinese emperor Shen Nung wrote about it. It was known for its medicinal properties in those days, though in India their intake was for pure pleasure.

The source of this drug is a plant of the Cannabis genus. It has been commonly referred to as Common Hemp. C. indica, C. sativa and C. rudelaris are the three best-known species. Various parts of this plant have been used by humans for a variety of their needs. For instance, the first use of the plant was to extract fibre from it. Cloth and rope were fashioned out of it.

The Cannabis plant is rich in an alkaloid called delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). THC is present in small or large percentage in almost all parts of the herb.

Different formulations and different concentrations of the THC give the various forms of hemp ingestion – major being Marijuana and Hashish, often called hash for short.

Marijuana contains 9% to 22% THC. Hash is highly concentrated – and depending on its various methods of preparation – is ingested in various forms.

Hash is obtained from the trichomes of the Cannabis flowers – these trichomes are processed variously.

How to make hash –

• Uncompressed dry trichomes are called Kief or Dry hashish

• The alkaloid-bearing resin-reservoirs are separated from trichomes using several methods:

  • Rolling the ripe trichome-covered flowers of the plant between the fingers and collecting the resin that sticks to the fingers – Finger Hash

  • Workers clad in special leather aprons walk through hemp fields and get the trichomes attached to their apparel

  • Passive collection from the scissors used to cut the flowers or other parts of the plant, or from kief boxes

  • Hemp is mixed with iced water, where the coldness causes the trichome to break off. A series of filters are adopted to separate the trichome from the other debris. The end-product is such fine hash that it bubbles when heated. These filters come in a kit, wherein they are shaped to fit inside buckets. These are also called Bubble Bags

  • Hash press is a T-shaped pressure-producing instrument that is used to compress hash. Compressed hash looks like tablets

  • If fat or butter is used to extract the hash, the end product is a highly potent liquid called Hash Oil

Marijuana and hash may be called pleasure or recreational drugs, but they are psychoactive in nature – they end up affecting the thought processes in the brain. They are addictive in nature and long-term usage may lead to serious behavioural impairments.

Much as hemp-lovers may dislike it, hash and marijuana are banned substances and their trafficking a serious felony.

“Why is marijuana against the law? It grows naturally upon our planet. Doesn't the idea of making nature against the law seem to you a bit . . . unnatural?”

Bill Hicks may feel so – but, sorry to say, he is quite wrong.