How is cannabis resin made from the marijuana plant?
The common form, hashish, is made by removing the resin glands and collecting them. The most recent method is to submerge the plant matter in a bucket of ice water. This chills the resin, and makes the glands brittle. The mixture is agitated, to break off the glands. Then, it is passed through a series of filters. Resin glands are fairly uniform in size, so the result is nearly pure glands, containing exceptionally high concentrations of cannabinoids. This can be done without water or filters using canned butane, or some other pressurized solvent. The gas is sprayed through a tube filled with plant matter, and the tube is shaken. The butane, in liquid form, carries the active chemicals away from the plant, and then evaporates, leaving a crust of resin. Beware volatile, flammable chemicals… One historical method was to paint someone in honey and send them running through the hemp-fields. Once the runner returned, the resin glands (and dirt, leaves, insects, etc.) stuck to the honey wa
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 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, are separated from the plant through various methods. The resulting powder is compressed into blocks of hashish aided by heat, which can be easily stored and transported. Alternatively, the powder consisting of uncompressed, dry trichomes is often referred to as ‘kief’ instead of ‘hashish’. Mechanical separation methods use physical action to remove the trichomes from the plant. Sieving through a fine screen is a vital part of most methods. The plants may be sifted by hand or in motorized tumblers. Hash made in this way is sometimes called ‘dry
