Hash is a type of marijuana concentrate which is four to six times as strong as marijuana. It is an extract which can be smoked, vaped, eaten, or used as a topical. Hash oil is what is referred to if someone is talking about dabbing, normally.
Since the hash oil is so strong in comparison with normal cannabis, it tends to be sold both at a lower quantity and at a higher price. It takes about a pound of cannabis to create between 1/10 to 1/5 of an ounce for hash oil—so that explains the great cost increase between the raw flower and the oil. However, the part that matters, is that its effects are also stronger too, so you end up using less of it as well. Many medical marijuana users approach hash because of its strength.
Hash oil is collected by one of many extraction methods. The most common is an alcohol extraction, a CO² extraction, or a butane extraction. There are other extraction methods as well, but the best concentrate, with the strongest results, comes from these three.
Alcohol & Butane Extractions
Alcohol extraction involves steeping the flower in alcohol for a period. This removes the THC qualities from the plant and is then filtered into a liquid. This liquid then has its alcohol evaporated and what is left can be processed again, into an oil.
Butane extraction happens by pressurizing cannabis and liquid butane together in a hot environment. This hot vacuum, created by the pressure, will then evaporate the butane. What is left, is a substance known as shatter (for its transparency and brittleness). This is then able to be rendered further to create oil, or it can be smoked and used as is.
CO² Extraction
This is the most complex of extraction methods since it uses a gas in place of a solvent liquid. High heat and pressure mixed with carbon dioxide and cannabis encourages a separation of the plant and its THC. This is considered the superior method of extractions because of it yielding more pure results than the others. This process also lets us separate THC from other qualities in the plant.
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