Marijuana Horticulture: The Indoor/Outdoor Medical Grower's Bible

1970s. The oil was a translucent golden-amber color. The oil transformed from stiff, toffee-like consistency to runny oil whenwarmed. Cannabis oils are normally dark in color because they contain chlorophyll and other contaminants. Filtering the oil through charcoal will remove virtually all of the impurities.
    Hash oil never became super popular because it is inconvenient to smoke and many users do not want to be exposed to the health risks associated with the solvents used for processing. There are many safe ways to separate the THC-potent glands from the foliage.
    The oil can be wiped on joint papers, cigarettes, pipe screens, hot knives, etc. A popular smoking method is to smoke it in an oil pipe, a stem with a glass bubble on one end. A little oil is placed inside the glass bubble. When heat is applied, the THC vaporizes and is inhaled through the stem.
    We do not recommend volatile solvent extraction because it requires the use of dangerous chemical solvents such as isopropyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, and white gas.
    Cannabis is soaked in the solvent, and the solvent is removed by evaporation. The resulting residual is a sludge that contains chlorophyll, plant waxes, other debris, and cannabinoids.
    Isomerization is a chemical resin extraction process that was very popular in the 1970s and early 1980s. The process has fallen out of favor because of the harsh and dangerous chemical solvents-white gas, sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, etc.-used in the process.
    Butane cannabis oil is made by passing butane gas through chopped cannabis. The butane dissolves the THC and transports it out a drain where it is collected. The captured butane contains THC. The butane is evaporated away by setting the collection container in a pan of warm water. Once the butane has dissipated completely, the residual honey-colored oil is scraped from the bottom of the collection pan.
    Butane hash oil is dangerous to make because the process involves using a quantity of butane in an open container. The fumes are toxic and a small flame or spark could cause the butane to explode. People who make butane hash should make it in a well-ventilated or outdoor location.
    Jelly hash is a combination of high quality hash and cannabis oil made from butane extraction. The typical recipe contains eight parts hash and one part cannabis oil (AKA hash oil) usually extracted with butane. Although very strong, the dark jelly hash has a characteristic sticky, oily consistency which makes it difficult to handle.
    You can find out more about these processes in Marijuana Chemistry: Genetics, Processing & Potency, by Michael Starks, Ronin Press, and Cannabis Alchemy: The Art of Modern Hashmaking: Methods for Preparation of Extremely Potent Cannabis Products, by D. Gold, Ronin Press.
Pressing Hash
    Once collected, resin powder is often pressed to facilitate handling and storage. Bulky resin powder is awkward to handle. It is easily spilled, blown away, and contaminated by dust and dirt. Resin powder is also more difficult to smoke, especially if no screen is available. Once pressed into a piece of hash, the resin is easy to handle, store, transport, and consume. Proper pressing is essential for storage and to slow decomposition.
    Pressing ruptures resin glands and warms the resin, causing many volatile aromatic terpenoids to release their aromas and flavors.
    You can press the resin powder by hand or with a mechanical device. You can elect to add heat, a drop or two of water, or alcohol while pressing to make less-pure hash stick together in a block.
    Mechanical presses must be precise and align well so pressed hash does not ooze out seams. When pressed, heat and friction cause the outer layer of pressed hash to oxidize and turn darker than the interior. In fact, hash can have a dark exterior and a blonde interior packed with creamy resin glands.
    Make sure to pre-press water-extracted hash in a piece of cellophane to contain it and help get rid of the water. The cellophane will give the pressed hash a shiny skin.

Remove a few clumps of water-extracted hash from the glass cone.

Ball up the clumps of resin and work it in the palm of your hand, pressing it together with your

Continue to knead the resin in your hands until it forms into a solid shape.

Press the resin into a wafer. Check out this compressed resin powder. You can see the resin glisten!
Pressing Small Amounts of Hash
    By hand pressing, you experience the transformation of the resin powder into your