Even though the price of cannabis has been massively increasing in India for the past years, some privileged stoners are getting high… with hash oil!
Hash oil is a concentrated cannabis extract that can be smoked, vaped, ingested or rubbed against the skin. You might have heard of it under other names such as cannabis oil, honey oil, BHO or shatter.
The extraction comes from the plant of cannabis using a certain type of alcohol like butane with heat. This process enables the cannabis product to have a higher concentration of THC, the psychoactive component of the marijuana plant.
Hash oil has been quite popular in countries like the U.S, the UK or even Afghanistan but India is now seeing a massive boom since the beginning of the lockdown.
“My friends and I have started smoking it more since last year’s lockdown,” an anonymous 24-year-old music producer from Goa, told VICE. “It’s a cleaner, more potent high, and easier to smoke because you can just dip a cigarette into it.”
Hash oil seems to be more socially acceptable and most of all, more discreet than regular weed. In fact, it can easily pass off as CBD oil. The THC level being higher, hash oil tends to get its user stuck on the sofa.
“I’m a high-functioning stoner usually, but when I smoke hash oil, I have to be sitting down,” an anonymous 27-year-old pastry chef from the city of Mumbai, told VICE.
“We wouldn’t have survived last year’s isolation without hash oil,” admitted a 27-year-old woman from the south Indian state of Bengaluru, to VICE.
According to data from India’s excise department, weed dealers in India have recently shifted to hash oil since it’s easier to conceal and smuggle across the country, especially as dealers seek creative ways to fly under the radar.
In fact, hash oil is light and doesn’t smell. It is easy to hide in cosmetics, tablets or small cases. The prices vary from Rs 5,000 to Rs 8,000 ($66 to 106$ respectively) for about 10 grams of oil. The oil is however uneasy to find. Most of its users need to have the right contacts and most of all… the money!
Mainly used for relaxation and well-being, the product is not recommended for novice smokers as it can sometimes create anxiety and paranoia.
“The high is stronger, so even people who’ve built up a tolerance level to regular weed have a more intense experience.” Kripi Malviya, the co-founder of TATVA, a rehabilitation centre, told VICE.
