There is thankfully no shortage of options when it comes to smoking, whether it be what you smoke or just how you do it. However, with so many options, some are bound to be better than others, and that is exactly the case with concentrates like hash.
One could argue that hash is just as versatile as regular flower, but the two are essentially in their own respective lane(s) based on the gap in THC (on average). But with its variety and versatility aside, hash makes for one of the wildest rides you will ever have with cannabis once you realize how to smoke hash the right way.
What is Hash?
In simple terms, hash is the result of extracting all of the resin glands, aka trichomes, from the cannabis plant, giving you nothing but the strongest cannabis component to smoke with your strains or even by itself.
Like regular cannabis, hash can be consumed in an edible, as a dab and of course, smoked. Except that instead of just using hash in place of your flower, you simply add it to what you are using to smoke and will usually infuse it better.
How Potent is Hash?
Pretty damn potent, to say the least (50% THC and up is normal for hash). Remember, those resin glands from the actual plant are what produce the cannabinoids, and you are smoking that as a concentrate. Not that a high-THC strain is not potent, but imagine you extracted everything that makes it potent and just smoked that: welcome to hash.
But as you would in any other situation, know your limits and pace yourself. If you know potent strains ‘hit hard’ for you, take it easier with hash because it hits much harder.
How to Smoke Hash
Hash can come in the form of bubble hash, hash oil, or more famously, wax or shatter. The latter is what we will use for the sake of how to smoke hash, but its other forms like bubble hash or oil can also be used in more ways than one.
Smoking hash can be as easy as infusing your pipe or joints, but dabbing or even vaping is more common with possibly the best results.
Roll it Up
For the typical cannabis consumer, what is one of the few things better than rolling up after a long day or vaping with the perfect concentrate? Doing both at the same time.
That is essentially what you are doing by infusing your rolled weed. You can do this with a pre-roll but it is better to start from scratch so you do not have to unfurl and roll again.
Simply sprinkle in some of your hash (ideally as a layer on top of the crushed flower), finish rolling it up, and what you get is not your grandfather’s joint: Every. Single. Hit can contain more than four times the amount of THC than a regular joint, so it is crucial to always know what you are getting into with what you smoke.
Bowl it Up
Next to vaping, this might be the easiest way to smoke hash, if not one of the most effective. It is time to break out the pipe once again (be honest, you were going to anyway), or you can make one out of stuff lying around the house. Either way, your hash goes into the bowl and gets sparked up exactly like your other strains: All there is to it.
Newcomers to cannabis, just users in general, should always approach hash with extreme caution as it is so much more potent and will give you more intense psychoactive effects than the average strain of flower. As fun as an extremely potent hit sounds, it always comes with the risk of not knowing where you are and unsettling hallucinations the whole time you are high, so take this into consideration when you take your hits.
Dabs
Basically the reason dabs exist in the first place, hash, and especially wax, tends to be the first thing that comes to mind when we hear ‘doing dabs’. That being said, have we found the right way to smoke hash in dabs? Probably.
After all, this is where you get the full effect of its potency by taking hits straight from the source and to your brain. Even better, setting up your first dab rig is not as complicated as it looks, so there is really not a more classic way to smoke your hash.
Vaping
Last but not by any means least, you can load your hash in your vape cartridges. Debatable as the best way to smoke hash but nearly unmatched in its convenience, vaping introduces discretion, ease of transport and cleaner hits all in one package that can fit in your pocket.
Since you are vaporizing the hash instead of burning it, some (albeit a small amount) of the carcinogens do not make their way into your lungs, giving you the feeling of a smoother, cooler hit without losing potency. Even if you do not have your dab rig nearby, this is a perfectly acceptable and accessible way to spark up something new.
Can you Overdose on Hash (Concentrates)?
To this day, no case has been confirmed of someone dying of a hash overdose, but it is technically possible. Given that the common side effects of marijuana (getting high) are anxiety, loss of awareness, drowsiness and hallucinations, hash can make all of that worse if you do a ridiculous amount of hits within a short period of time.
The fact that hash is also so much more potent than regular weed also comes with this possibility: Someone takes a hit, they do not feel anything after what they feel like is ample time. So what comes next? Another hit, and another. Suddenly, the impatient has three or more massive hits of straight THC all hit them at once. You see the problem here, right?
Of course, this is not how every user approaches smoking hash but the risk lies in those impatient few who try to rush the effects with more hits or stronger hits instead of just taking one and seeing what happens.
