Hash is one of the oldest cannabis products, and the idea has not changed: separate the sticky resin from the plant material and keep the resin. What has changed is how it is done, from rubbing buds by hand to sifting dry or agitating in ice water. Here is how each type is made, how hash differs from kief and rosin, and how it is treated in Canada.
What is hash made from?
Hash is made from trichomes, the tiny resin glands that cover cannabis flowers. Those glands hold most of the plant's cannabinoids and terpenes, so collecting them and leaving the leafy material behind gives a product that is far more concentrated than flower.
The plant material is mostly discarded. What remains is gathered, often pressed together with warmth and pressure, into a ball, brick or slab. The colour ranges from pale gold to dark brown, depending on method, starting material and age.
For more on the glands themselves, see the kief and trichomes guide.
How is hash made?
Dry sift uses mesh screens. Dried, cold plant material is rubbed or tumbled across the screen, and the brittle trichome heads fall through to a collection surface. What falls through is graded by how fine the mesh is.
Ice water hash, also called bubble hash, uses cold water and ice. Plant material is stirred in the water, which makes the trichomes brittle so they break off and sink. The mixture is poured through a series of mesh bags, and the resin collected in the finer bags is dried. The Ontario Cannabis Store describes bubble hash as a concentrate made this way.
Hand-rubbed hash, traditionally called charas, comes from rubbing resin off the plant with the hands, collecting it as a sticky mass and shaping it. It is closely tied to South Asian hash-making traditions.
Pressed hash is what many people picture: trichomes from any of the methods above, pressed with heat and pressure into a block or ball. Pressing binds the trichomes together so the hash holds a shape and can be broken into pieces.
| Type | How it is made | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Dry sift | Dried plant material is rubbed over fine screens, and the trichomes fall through | Fine powder, often pressed into a block |
| Ice water hash (bubble hash) | Plant material is agitated in ice water, and the resin heads separate and are collected through screens | Sticky, often tan to gold solid |
| Hand-rubbed (charas) | Resin is rubbed off living or fresh plants by hand and rolled into a ball | Dark, sticky, sometimes soft |
| Pressed hash | Collected trichomes are pressed with heat and pressure into a solid | Dense ball, brick or slab |
What is the difference between hash, kief and rosin?
Kief is the loose powder of trichomes that falls off flower, for example into the bottom chamber of a grinder. Hash is, in the simplest terms, kief or other collected trichomes that have been pressed or gathered into a solid.
Rosin is a step beyond. It is made by pressing flower, kief or hash between heated plates, and the pressure forces resin out as a sap-like extract, leaving the plant material behind. Hash can be a starting material for rosin, which is why high-end rosin is often called hash rosin.
All three are solventless, meaning no chemical solvent is used at any point. The rosin, live resin and distillate guide explains how solventless products differ from those made with a solvent.
| Kief | Hash | Rosin | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Loose trichome powder | Trichomes pressed or collected into a solid | Resin squeezed out with heat and pressure |
| Starting material | Flower, via a grinder or screen | Flower or whole plant | Flower, kief or hash |
| Solvent used | No | No | No |
| Texture | Dry powder | Dense solid, from crumbly to sticky | Sap-like or buttery |
| Plant material left in | A little | Very little | None |
Is hash stronger than flower?
Per gram, usually yes, because most of the plant material is gone. The Ontario Cannabis Store notes that concentrates can contain much higher THC than dried flower, which is why they call for smaller amounts.
The exact figure varies by product and method, so the label is the only reliable guide. Look at the Total THC number in milligrams per gram or as a percentage, and compare it to flower. The reading cannabis labels guide and the THCA vs THC guide explain what the numbers mean.
Because the same weight carries more THC than flower, a small amount goes further, and people new to concentrates are often surprised by how much stronger a small piece is.
Is hash legal in Canada?
Yes, when it is a licensed product sold through the legal market. Under the Cannabis Regulations, hash is a cannabis extract, defined as a substance produced by extraction processing of cannabis material. Licensed hash carries a standard label with the Total THC and the cannabis symbol.
The Cannabis Regulations cap a cannabis extract at 1,000 mg of THC per immediate container, counting the THC that THCA could become. A container of hash therefore cannot hold more than that total, however strong it is per gram.
Hash that is not from a licensed producer is not part of the legal market. The Cannabis Act sets out penalties for illegal production and sale, and buying from a licensed retailer is the way to know what is in the product.
How is hash used?
Hash can be crumbled into a joint or pipe, vaporized or, in some forms, eaten once heat has activated it. The how to decarb weed guide covers why raw cannabinoids need heat, and the same chemistry applies to hash.
Whatever the method, start with a very small amount. Health Canada's guidance on lowering the risks of cannabis use recommends starting low and going slow, and notes that effects depend on dose.
If you want to roll hash into a joint, how to roll a joint covers the basics, and the spliff vs joint vs blunt guide explains the difference between wrappers.
Hash vs shatter: what is the difference?
The difference is the method. Hash is made by physically separating trichomes from the plant, with no solvent. Shatter is made with a solvent, usually butane, which dissolves the resin out of the plant and is then removed.
Both are concentrates, and both are sold as extracts in Canada, but they look and feel different: hash is a pressed solid, while shatter is a glassy sheet. See what is shatter for the solvent-based side.
Sources: ocs.ca, laws-lois.justice.gc.ca, canada.ca, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, laws-lois.justice.gc.ca