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How to Make Cannabis Hash at Home

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There are so many diverse ways to consume and enjoy cannabis beyond simply smoking its flowers. Unfortunately, not all forms of cannabis are available to purchase legally in Canada under the current rules. One type of cannabis that’s still hard to come by is hash. Hash is a concentrated preparation of cannabis’s trichomes, the part of the plant that carries most of its potent cannabinoids and terpenes.

Hash can be a general term for any cannabis extract. But sometimes it can also refer to a specific type of cannabis extract that doesn’t require chemical processing.

Hash has some unique properties that makes it beneficial for people with certain conditions. It’s especially helpful for patients who need to ingest larger doses of cannabis’s active ingredients to get the effects that they want. Patients with severe pain, high tolerance to cannabis, or those who are suffering from issues like PTSD, ADHD or insomnia often report better results from marijuana hash than flower.

With hash, you need to ingest less smoke than with flower to get the same results. So, it can be a much healthier option for those who require large doses. For others, it’s more about the effects of hash. The chemical profile changes when the sticky resin is separated from the rest of the plant matter in cannabis flower. For some people that type of profile can be the best cannabis option for their needs.

While you can’t legally purchase hash from your licensed producer, you can make it for yourself at home. While not all forms of cannabis can be legally sold, the courts have ruled that medical marijuana patients can use any form of the plant they like.

Curious about hash yourself? Here are two hash recipes to try. Read on for our step-by-step guide to making your own hash at home.

RELATED: DABBING CANNABIS FOR HEALTH & WELLNESS

Dry Sift Cannabis Hash

One of the easiest ways to make hash is by dry sifting. This method uses a simple screen to separate the trichomes from the rest of the plant material. If you’ve ever used a grinder with a kief trap, this is a simple version of dry sifting. For larger quantities though, you’ll need something larger than a grinder.

Ingredients for Dry Sift Cannabis Hash:

  • Cannabis flowers
  • Silkscreen
  • Tray or box to catch trichomes
  • Non-stick parchment paper
  • Ziploc bag

How to Make Dry Sift Cannabis Hash:

  1. Prior to making your hash, you’ll need to put your cannabis into a Ziploc bag and then into the freezer. Allow cannabis to freeze for several hours.
  2. When you’re ready to make the hash, line a tray or box with parchment paper.
  3. Lay your silkscreen over the box or tray.
  4. Remove the cannabis from the freezer and place it on top of your silkscreen, breaking up any large pieces.
  5. Gently rub the cannabis against the screen, so that the trichomes fall through the screen onto the parchment paper.
  6. On average, you should be able to get about 10–20% of the weight of the flower onto the paper in a light powdery form called kief. This is one of the most basic forms of hash. When it seems like you aren’t getting any more kief from the flowers, stop rubbing.
  7. The resulting kief can be consumed as is, or it can be processed a little further. Many folks press dry-sifted kief into a hash block. To do this, form a pile of kief on the parchment paper and fold the paper over to cover the pile on both sides. Then, using a book or something else that’s flat and heavy, press the kief until it forms a block.

Marijuana Bubble Hash

A slightly more complicated method than dry sift hash is bubble hash. This method uses water and ice to help facilitate the filtering process. You also need more supplies to pull this off, including a set of bubble bags, which are bags with silkscreen bottoms in different microns (the size of the holes of the mesh) and a large bucket. While bubble hash is a little more work, some prefer the effect profile, which can be different from dry sift. If bubble hash gives you the effects you’re after, then it’s well worth the trouble of making it this way.

Ingredients for Marijuana Bubble Hash:

  • Cannabis flowers
  • Set of bubble bags
  • Large bucket (1–5 gallons and should fit the bubble bag set)
  • Large spoon
  • Ziploc bag
  • Ice
  • Water
  • Parchment paper

How to Make Marijuana Bubble Hash

  1. With this method, like the dry-sifting technique, start by freezing your cannabis for several hours.
  2. Line the bucket with a bubble bag that has the smallest micron filter first, and then line that bag with a bag that has the next smallest micron filter. Continue to layer all of the bags from smallest to largest micron filter—so that the largest micron size bag is the first one you would be able to remove.
  3. In the top bag, add layers of cannabis and ice, making sure that the top layer is ice.
  4. Carefully pour water into the bucket, filling as much as you can while still being able to stir without spilling.
  5. Let your mixture sit and lower in temperature. Some people like to leave it in the refrigerator for an hour before moving to the next step.
  6. Carefully stir the ice, water and cannabis mixture for about 10–15 minutes.
  7. Next, lift the top bag and allow its contents to strain into the bag below it. When the only thing left is plant matter and ice, set the bag aside.
  8. Strain each bag in the same way as the first. After the top one, each bag should contain some hash in purer and purer forms. As you remove each bag, fold it over and set it aside for later.
  9. Once all bags are strained, remove the hash from the smallest micron filter bag and allow it to dry on some parchment paper. Do the same with each bag, making sure to mark down which micron size was used. The smallest micron size will give the most filtered and concentrated hash, while less pure hash will remain in the bags with the higher micron sizes.
  10. If you want, you can then press your various piles of bubble hash into individual hash blocks. As with the dry sift technigue, this can be done by making a pile of hash on parchment paper, folding the paper over to cover it completely, and then pressing it with something flat and heavy like a book.

Photo credit (left to right): Weed Porn Daily & Mark