Hashish is the historic name, from Arabic, for compressed cannabis resin. Traditional production falls into two families. Sieved hashish, from regions spanning North Africa, the Levant and Central Asia, is made by beating or sieving dried plants over fabric screens and pressing the collected powder. Rubbed hashish (charas), from the Himalayan regions, is made by hand-rubbing live flowers. Clarke's Hashish! (1998, updated 2010) documents these traditions in detail.
In practice
"Hashish" today usually means the traditional styles and their modern descendants: pressed blocks, slabs and balls with a firm or pliable texture and dark exterior from oxidation. Seized hashish analysed in modern studies has ranged widely in potency, depending on the source and method. The existence of these traditions, often valued highly in their regions, is part of the evidence that potent cannabis isn't new.
Don't confuse with
- Hash: the broader modern grower term, including ice water hash and dry sift.
- Charas: the hand-rubbed subtype of hashish.
- Brick weed: compressed flower, not resin.
Myth check
House position: the "weak old weed" story ignores centuries of hashish and charas. See old cannabis was not weak and Mythbusters.
