Hash oil

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Hash oil is an oleoresin obtained by the extraction of marijuana and/or hashish.




The following compounds were found in naphtha extracts of Bedrocan Dutch medical cannabis:[5]


Hash oil is consumed usually by smoking, ingestion, or vaporization. Smoking or vaporizing hash oil is known colloquially as "dabbing", from the English verb to daub (Dutch dabben, French dauber), "to smear with something adhesive".[6] Dabbing devices include special kinds of water pipes ("oil rigs"), and vaporizers similar in design to electronic cigarettes.


Hash oil is produced by solvent extraction (maceration, infusion or percolation) of marijuana and/or hashish. After filtering and evaporating the solvent, a sticky resinous dark liquid with a strong herbal odor (remarkably different from the peculiar odor of hemp) remains.[1][7]

Fresh, undried plant material is less suited for hash oil production, because much THC and CBD will be present in their carboxylic acid forms (THCA and CBDA), which may not be highly soluble in some solvents.[1] The acids are decarboxylated during drying and heating (smoking). Fresh, undried plant material is best suited for concrete production.



One pound of marijuana yields from 1/5 to 1/10 of a pound of hash oil.[7] The oil may retain considerable residual solvent: oil extracted with longer-chain volatile hydrocarbons (such as naphtha) is less viscous (thinner) than oil extracted with short-chain hydrocarbons (such as butane).[5]

Artificial hashish can be made by adding hash oil to blenderized marijuana in a ratio of from 10 to 50% oil, kneading and drying.[1]


Most of the solvents employed are flammable, making the extraction process dangerous. Several explosion and fire incidents related to hash oil manufacturing attempts in homes have been reported.[7]



Hash oil may cause death due to CNS depression and hypothermia. The lethal THC dose is 30 mg/kg, the toxic dose is 15 mg/kg. Hash oil contains 30 % to 50 % THC (or more if washed with alkali). Intravenous administration can cause diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, fevers and can progress in 12 hours to cyanosis, hypotension, renal failure, thrombocytopenia, and rhabdomyolysis.[10]

Hash oil is a bile acid sequestrant, leading to increased levels of bile acids in the stool (and thus lowering cholesterol levels, since cholesterol is used in making bile)[citation needed].

Hash oil is very lipophilic and penetrates the skin and inner organs by diffusion. It may ooze through and swell common glove materials such as natural rubber, except maybe polar materials such as cellulose film, neoprene and nitrile.[citation needed]


Hash oil should be stored in airtight containers and protected from light. When exposed to air, warmth and light (especially without antioxidants), the oil loses its taste and psychoactivity due to aging. Cannabinoid carboxylic acids (THCA, CBDA, and maybe others) have an antibiotic effect on gram-positive bacteria such as (penicilline-resistant) Staphylococcus aureus, but gram-negative bacteria such as Escherichia coli are unaffected.[11] The effect of hash oil on protozoa, fungi and viruses is unknown.[citation needed]


See also



  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Michael Starks (1993), Marijuana Chemistry: Genetics, Processing, Potency (2nd ed.), Ronin, pp. 111–126, ISBN 9780914171393 
  2. "Cannabis: Overview", World Drug Report (PDF), United Nations Publications, 2014 
  3. Marilyn A. Huestis; Michael L. Smith (2007), "Human Cannabinoid Pharmacokinetics and Interpretation of Cannabinoid Concentrations in Biological Fluids and Tissues", in Mahmoud A. ElSohly, Marijuana and the Cannabinoids, Humana Press, pp. 205–235 
  4. Rudolf Brenneisen (2007), "Chemistry and Analysis of Phytocannabinoids and Other Cannabis Constituents", in Mahmoud A. ElSohly, Marijuana and the Cannabinoids, Humana Press, pp. 17–49 
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Luigi L. Romano; Arno Hazekamp (2013), "Cannabis Oil: chemical evaluation of an upcoming cannabis-based medicine" (PDF), Cannabinoids, 1 (1): 1–11 
  6. Samuel Johnson (1785), "daub", A Dictionary of the English Language, 1 (6th ed.), p. 541 
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Alison Hallett (2013-02-20), "Hash Oil is Blowing Up Across the U.S. - Literally", Wired 
  8. Yechiel Gaoni; Raphael Mechoulam (1964), "Isolation, Structure, and Partial Synthesis of an Active Constituent of Hashish", Journal of the American Chemical Society, 86 (8), doi:10.1021/ja01062a046 
  9. Alfred Thomas (2007), "Fats and Fatty Oils", Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry (7th ed.), Wiley, p. 31 
  10. Jerrold B. Leikin; Frank P. Paloucek, eds. (2008), "Marijuana (Cannabis)", Poisoning and Toxicology Handbook (4th ed.), Informa, pp. 907–908, ISBN 978-1-4200-4479-9 
  11. Jan Kabelik (1955), "Hemp as a medicament" (PDF), Acta Univ. Olomuc., 6