Dunque, perché non esplorare le possibilità di queste sostanze che fra l’altro possono essere ottenute separatamente sul mercato? Cosa sono i terpeni e quali proprietà possiedono? Scopriamolo subito!
The history of hash
In the ancient world
One of the earliest mentions of hash is in Iraqi alchemist Ibn Wahshiyya's Book of Poisons, written in the 10th century. There are also Muslim texts from the 11th century where religious and secular leaders debated its usefulness. Shortly thereafter, a story of hash consumption was included in the book Arabian Nights. Hash was known and used in what's now Iran and throughout the Arabian peninsula though locals seem to have blamed Mongols and Sufis for bringing the practice to the region.
Then there are the historical legends of the Nizari Ismailis, more commonly known as the Order of Assassins or the Hashishin Assassins. The Assassins, with strongholds in Persia and Syria, were a religious sect formed in the late 11th century, approximately 1090 CE. The name Assassins is “Hashâshīn” in Persian and “asāsīn” in Arabic. Legends exist that the group's founder, Hassan-e Sabbāh (also spelled as Hasan-i Sabbah), consumed hash and provided it to his disciples to instill loyalty to the group. Scholars debate the validity of these tales, arguing that the word “Hashishin” is actually a misnomer. Hassan-e Sabbāh is said to have referred to his followers as “asāsīyūn,” which means "people who are faithful to the foundation [of the faith]."
It's believed the sect was incorrectly referred to as “Hashishin” in the Arabic sense, which means “users of hashish.” It was said that the Assassins were described as being hash eaters and referred to as hashish in a derogatory way by rival sects, and these descriptions weren't based in fact.
Although no archaeological or written record provides clear evidence on whether the Assassins consumed hash as part of their traditions, the legend itself was written around 1210 CE by Arnold of Lübeck. The historical documentation of this legend in the early 13th century does link the geographic region of Persia with hash, as well as providing descriptions of the cannabis concentrate and its effects.
Meanwhile, in 1206 CE Genghis Khan had united the Mongol tribes and moved them from Russia to Persia and Central Asia, taking cannabis and hash use with them.
In the same century, Ibn al-Bayṭār, a scientist born in the modern-day province of Málaga, Spain, described an intoxicating substance from Egypt that he referred to as “hashishah.” The following century, in 1378 CE, a public notice announced that the act of consuming hashish was prohibited by Soudoun Sheikhouni, an Ottoman emir in Egypt. In his edict, he called for the destruction of all cannabis plants and the punishment of anyone using hashish by imprisonment and having their teeth pulled out.
The use of hash continued to gain in popularity in Egypt to the end of its medieval period and throughout its time as an administrative division of the Ottoman Empire, despite prohibitive policies and harsh punishments by authorities.
Once it reached Egypt, the spread continued. Berber tribes from North Africa are said to have introduced hash to one of its modern-day havens, Morocco. Hash production didn't take off in the country for some time though.
Hash in modern times
Hash consumption continued to expand and the primary method of consumption switched from eating to smoking with the arrival of tobacco in the 1500s. During the 18th and 19th centuries, changes to production methods helped increase output and distribution as demand for hash grew.
In 1798, during the French occupation of Egypt, Brigadier General Napoléon Bonaparte outlawed cannabis and hash consumption and ordered the public burning of hash coming into the country. He believed that hash and cannabis use resulted in mental disturbance, overindulgent behavior, and interfered with rational thought. Despite Bonaparte's attempts, his own French troops from the Armée d'Orient as well as a group of scientists, engineers, and artists from the Commission des Sciences et des Arts took hash back to France after serving in Egypt.
Le Club des Hashischins — also spelled “Club des Hashishins” or “Club des Hachichins,” which translates as the Club of Hashish-Eaters — formed in Paris in 1843. The group held monthly meetings at the Hôtel Pimodan, which is the modern-day Hôtel de Lauzun, to experiment with and explore the effects of hash, as there was an interest among the club's members about the possibility that it could heighten their artistry and ingenuity. A number of the participants were part of the Parisian intelligentsia, including famed writers (Alexandre Dumas, Théophile Gautier, Victor Hugo, Honoré de Balzac), painters (Eugène Delacroix), and other members of Paris' intellectual elite.
Dr. Jacques-Joseph Moreau, a psychiatric physician, was another notable member of the club who wrote the first publication by a medical doctor about the effects of a drug on the human nervous system. Moreau wanted to learn about treating mental illnesses; he gained a lot of firsthand knowledge about hash from self-experimentation. His book, titled Du Hachisch et de L'aliénation Mentale — Études Psychologiques (Hashish and Mental Illness — Psychological Studies), was published in 1845 and received an honorable mention distinction from the French Academy of Sciences in 1946. The recognition of Dr. Moreau's work helped substantiate and legitimize hash, supporting its possibilities as a medical treatment in the scientific community.
Beginning in the mid-1950s, hippies from Western countries began traveling from the UK, France, Germany, and Italy through Central Asia to India and Thailand on what was called the Hippie Trail or the Overland. A big draw was the easy, inexpensive, legal drugs to be found along the way, including cannabis and hash. In the '60s, Morocco's hash production really took off, in part because of the Hippie Trail.
Hash history is a bit difficult to pin down with certainty. Some sources say the oldest continuous culture of hash production can be found in Afghanistan, the biggest producer of top-notch hashish today. But hash-making still happens in India, Nepal, and other areas where it was born. Morocco and Spain definitely contribute but so do California and other parts of the US. As cannabis legalization has spread, so has cultivation and interest in resin production, including the ancient form popular with Mongols, Persians, and hippies alike, hashish.
Early beginnings of hash use
The history of using cannabis for its anesthetic qualities can be traced as far back as the Neolithic period, approximately 4000 BCE. Hash consumption began a little later in Persia (primarily Iran) and Central Asia (primarily Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan). It's likely that hash, like cannabis, traveled the Silk Road out of eastern Asia to the Middle East. Early on it was more likely used as incense than for anything else. Incense, like that produced using frankincense and myrrh, was quite valuable in ancient times. These substances were also resins that had been used as medicine and in religious ceremonies for centuries.
Charas, or resin produced by gently rubbing growing cannabis plants, was the earliest form of hash. But when agriculture came into being, around 9000 BCE in India, woven sieves were developed to separate grains from plants. Those same sieves were used to separate cannabis resin from the rest of the harvested, dried plant, creating the first hash, according to preeminent hash scholar Frenchy Cannolli. Charas is still made, mostly in India, by hand rubbing live plants. Hash is differentiated by the fact that it's sieved, by hand or mechanically, from dried, cured cannabis.
In the ancient world
One of the earliest mentions of hash is in Iraqi alchemist Ibn Wahshiyya's Book of Poisons, written in the 10th century. There are also Muslim texts from the 11th century where religious and secular leaders debated its usefulness. Shortly thereafter, a story of hash consumption was included in the book Arabian Nights. Hash was known and used in what's now Iran and throughout the Arabian peninsula though locals seem to have blamed Mongols and Sufis for bringing the practice to the region.
Then there are the historical legends of the Nizari Ismailis, more commonly known as the Order of Assassins or the Hashishin Assassins. The Assassins, with strongholds in Persia and Syria, were a religious sect formed in the late 11th century, approximately 1090 CE. The name Assassins is “Hashâshīn” in Persian and “asāsīn” in Arabic. Legends exist that the group's founder, Hassan-e Sabbāh (also spelled as Hasan-i Sabbah), consumed hash and provided it to his disciples to instill loyalty to the group. Scholars debate the validity of these tales, arguing that the word “Hashishin” is actually a misnomer. Hassan-e Sabbāh is said to have referred to his followers as “asāsīyūn,” which means "people who are faithful to the foundation [of the faith]."
It's believed the sect was incorrectly referred to as “Hashishin” in the Arabic sense, which means “users of hashish.” It was said that the Assassins were described as being hash eaters and referred to as hashish in a derogatory way by rival sects, and these descriptions weren't based in fact.
Although no archaeological or written record provides clear evidence on whether the Assassins consumed hash as part of their traditions, the legend itself was written around 1210 CE by Arnold of Lübeck. The historical documentation of this legend in the early 13th century does link the geographic region of Persia with hash, as well as providing descriptions of the cannabis concentrate and its effects.
Meanwhile, in 1206 CE Genghis Khan had united the Mongol tribes and moved them from Russia to Persia and Central Asia, taking cannabis and hash use with them.
In the same century, Ibn al-Bayṭār, a scientist born in the modern-day province of Málaga, Spain, described an intoxicating substance from Egypt that he referred to as “hashishah.” The following century, in 1378 CE, a public notice announced that the act of consuming hashish was prohibited by Soudoun Sheikhouni, an Ottoman emir in Egypt. In his edict, he called for the destruction of all cannabis plants and the punishment of anyone using hashish by imprisonment and having their teeth pulled out.
The use of hash continued to gain in popularity in Egypt to the end of its medieval period and throughout its time as an administrative division of the Ottoman Empire, despite prohibitive policies and harsh punishments by authorities.
Once it reached Egypt, the spread continued. Berber tribes from North Africa are said to have introduced hash to one of its modern-day havens, Morocco. Hash production didn't take off in the country for some time though.
Hash in modern times
Hash consumption continued to expand and the primary method of consumption switched from eating to smoking with the arrival of tobacco in the 1500s. During the 18th and 19th centuries, changes to production methods helped increase output and distribution as demand for hash grew.
In 1798, during the French occupation of Egypt, Brigadier General Napoléon Bonaparte outlawed cannabis and hash consumption and ordered the public burning of hash coming into the country. He believed that hash and cannabis use resulted in mental disturbance, overindulgent behavior, and interfered with rational thought. Despite Bonaparte's attempts, his own French troops from the Armée d'Orient as well as a group of scientists, engineers, and artists from the Commission des Sciences et des Arts took hash back to France after serving in Egypt.
Le Club des Hashischins — also spelled “Club des Hashishins” or “Club des Hachichins,” which translates as the Club of Hashish-Eaters — formed in Paris in 1843. The group held monthly meetings at the Hôtel Pimodan, which is the modern-day Hôtel de Lauzun, to experiment with and explore the effects of hash, as there was an interest among the club's members about the possibility that it could heighten their artistry and ingenuity. A number of the participants were part of the Parisian intelligentsia, including famed writers (Alexandre Dumas, Théophile Gautier, Victor Hugo, Honoré de Balzac), painters (Eugène Delacroix), and other members of Paris' intellectual elite.
Dr. Jacques-Joseph Moreau, a psychiatric physician, was another notable member of the club who wrote the first publication by a medical doctor about the effects of a drug on the human nervous system. Moreau wanted to learn about treating mental illnesses; he gained a lot of firsthand knowledge about hash from self-experimentation. His book, titled Du Hachisch et de L'aliénation Mentale — Études Psychologiques (Hashish and Mental Illness — Psychological Studies), was published in 1845 and received an honorable mention distinction from the French Academy of Sciences in 1946. The recognition of Dr. Moreau's work helped substantiate and legitimize hash, supporting its possibilities as a medical treatment in the scientific community.
Beginning in the mid-1950s, hippies from Western countries began traveling from the UK, France, Germany, and Italy through Central Asia to India and Thailand on what was called the Hippie Trail or the Overland. A big draw was the easy, inexpensive, legal drugs to be found along the way, including cannabis and hash. In the '60s, Morocco's hash production really took off, in part because of the Hippie Trail.
Hash history is a bit difficult to pin down with certainty. Some sources say the oldest continuous culture of hash production can be found in Afghanistan, the biggest producer of top-notch hashish today. But hash-making still happens in India, Nepal, and other areas where it was born. Morocco and Spain definitely contribute but so do California and other parts of the US. As cannabis legalization has spread, so has cultivation and interest in resin production, including the ancient form popular with Mongols, Persians, and hippies alike, hashish.
Why there aren’t more CBD strains. (and why that’s about to change)
Why there aren’t more CBD strains
Right now, CBD is all the rage, but ten years ago it took a team effort of growers, researchers, breeders, and scientists to identify the few remaining high-CBD strains in existence and match them up with growers willing to take a chance on the then obscure cannabinoid.
Next, they had to convince profit-minded dispensary buyers to stock their shelves with strains that don’t get you high.
Not surprisingly, those efforts were met with much initial skepticism.
But then it quickly became apparent that CBD-rich strains appeal to a lot of people, particularly those seeking the medicinal benefits of cannabis without any intoxicating effects—including seriously ill children.
The Point of It All
The earliest pioneers of cannabis horticulture (circa 10,000 years ago), though new to agriculture itself, would certainly have been capable of using selective breeding to enhance desired traits from generation to generation.
If nothing else, then by simply culling out plants that grew poorly over the course of the season and planting seeds from crops that flourished.
So what are desired traits when it comes to cultivating cannabis?
Growers would want plants that thrive in their local climate, including resistance to mold, disease, insects, and drought. But that’s just to ensure a reliable supply.
In a time long before modern science, the most observable and accurate way to gauge potency was by ingesting some of your harvest and seeing how high you got.
The point of it all is potency, and in a time long before modern science, the most observable and accurate way to gauge potency was by ingesting some of your harvest and seeing how high you got.
Which is all pretty much any cannabis breeder had to go on until about ten years ago, when analytic testing labs became widely available in California and other states with legal medical cannabis.
Turns out the medicinal and psychoactive effects of a particular cannabis strain depends on a complex interplay of cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoidsthat researcher Ethan Russo has dubbed the entourage effect. In 2006, Russo led a team that published a fascinating paper titled Phytochemical and genetic analyses of ancient cannabis from Central Asia, which has an abstract that opens like something out of Indiana Jones.
“The Yanghai Tombs near Turpan, Xinjiang-Uighur Autonomous Region, China have recently been excavated to reveal the 2700-year-old grave of a Caucasoid shaman whose accoutrements included a large cache of cannabis, superbly preserved by climatic and burial conditions.”
The samples were so “superbly preserved,” in fact, that Russo and his team were able to have them lab tested, and found through gas chromatography that the 2,700-year-old shaman stash appeared to be “a high-THC cannabis strain wherein CBD is only a minor component.”
The Unknown Cannabinoid
It wasn’t that ancient cannabis smokers had it out for CBD, they just didn’t know such a thing existed. The compound wasn’t isolated in a lab until 1940 and remained obscure long after that, largely because it doesn’t get you noticeably high.
Since the 1980s, studies have hinted at CBD’s potential for treating pain, insomnia, nausea, anxiety, spasticity, MS, Alzheimer’s, cancer, seizure disorders and a host of other serious conditions. But for the general public, it was completely unknown—and since CBD actually works to temper the high of THC, cannabis breeders had been unwittingly breeding it out of the cannabis gene pool for 10,000 years.
We Asked a Scientist: What’s the Right Dose of CBD?
When Steep Hill Lab in Oakland opened in 2007, the first commercial medical cannabis testing lab in the United States found that the cannabis flowers they tested averaged over 15% THC, but only one in every 600 samples reached 4% CBD.
The Search for CBD
In 2010, journalist Fred Gardner (editor of O’Shaughnessy’s: The Journal of Cannabis in Clinical Practice) and author Martin Lee (Smoke Signals, Acid Dreams) co-founded Project CBD, a non-profit educational clearinghouse for physicians, scientists, growers, cannabis-testing laboratories, patients, and retailers interested in learning more about the medical utility of CBD.
They fully understood that CBD has important benefits, but that finding CBD-rich cannabis in the underground market was virtually impossible.
Through years of careful research and reporting, they fully understood that CBD has important therapeutic benefits, but that finding CBD-rich cannabis in the underground market was virtually impossible. So they teamed with Steep Hill Labs and Harborside Health Center (then the nation’s largest medical cannabis retailer) to begin immediately flagging any sample that tested high in CBD. Project CBD would then meet with the grower, and work to ensure that their particular strain proliferated and reached patients who could benefit.
Most of these growers understood their heirloom strains had unique properties, but didn’t know why—including Lawrence Ringo, the late proprietor of the Southern Humboldt Seed Collective. Ringo began growing cannabis while still a teenager, and 40 years later became the first California plant breeder to stabilize a CBD-rich strain with his much-beloved Sour Tsunami.
In 2015, Dr. Sanjay Gupta—CNN’s Chief Medical Officer—reported on the Stanley Brothers in Colorado, who were having tremendous success treating pediatric seizure disorders with their high-CBD strain Charlotte’s Web, named for their most famous patient.
“Take the case of [six-year-old] Charlotte Figi, who I met in Colorado,” Gupta said by way of introducing his mea culpa on medical cannabis.
“She started having seizures soon after birth. By age 3, she was having 300 a week, despite being on seven different medications.
Medical marijuana has calmed her brain, limiting her seizures to 2 or 3 per month.”
This after the poor girl endured five years of failed pharmaceutical cocktails, and a series of terribly painful procedures that left her unable to walk, talk, or eat.
So no wonder, once they saw that incredible story on CNN, other families facing similar circumstances began to agitate for access to CBD.
Along the way, the rest of the world got let in on the secret that there’s a lot more to weed than just THC.
CBD is officially “trendy” now, but nearly a decade after the founding of Project CBD, there’s still a relative dearth of CBD-rich strains.
Though that’s changing—quickly.
The Hempire Strikes Back
Scientifically, the plant you smoke to get high and the plant you use to make rope are the same species. But legally, hemp is defined as a Cannabis sativa plant that’s less than 0.3% THC on a dry weight basis—no matter how much CBD (or other cannabinoids) it produces.
But wait, does that mean anyone who registers with their state can legally grow a crop of hemp that’s 15% CBD and looks just like any other budding resinous sinsemilla cannabis plant? Sure does.
And if you don’t believe me, here’s the federal government’s new definition of hemp, from the 2018 Farm Bill, with my emphasis added:
(1) HEMP.—The term ‘hemp’ means the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of that plant, including the seeds thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.
Andrew Gruver is the head of operations at Tweedle Farms in Oregon, a retailer of high-CBD hemp flower that currently ships 15 different varietals to (almost) all 50 states.
“There are certain hemp strains that for me are pretty indistinguishable from high quality outdoor cannabis other than the lack of THC.”
“There are certain hemp strains,” he tells Leafly, “that for me are pretty indistinguishable from high quality outdoor cannabis other than the lack of THC.”
His favorite at the moment is Sour Space Candy, a descendent of Lawrence Ringo’s original Sour Tsunami with a cannabinoid content of 16.52% CBDA and .08% THC.
“It’s loud, it’s resinous, and it tastes good,” Gruver says.
“Also, it’s high in terpinolene, which a lot hemp strains are not. Hemp typically exhibits high levels of myrcene, caryophyllene, or maybe some pinene. But we also get really interesting terpenes like bisabolol, farnesene, valencene.”
His other favorite strains include Hawaiian Haze from Oregon CBD, Berry Blossom from HGH, and Kush Hemp from Sovereign Fields. And we’re just getting started.
The search for high-THC cannabis dates back millennia, but this current exploration of CBD-rich cannabis breeding remains in its infancy.
Here’s why Florida’s new adult-use initiative is getting mixed reviews
Here’s why Florida’s new adult-use initiative is getting mixed reviews
Cannabis giant Trulieve committed $5 million to a new amendment that would legalize weed for all adults. But, uh, what about homegrow and social equity?
On August 19, a proposed constitutional amendment to legalize adult-use cannabis in Florida was filed with the state elections office. The proposal has a long way to go before it reaches the statewide ballot (in 2024), but it’s already causing some controversy. Even among those in favor of legalization, not everybody is a fan of how the new law would legalize the plant.
The Smart & Safe Florida political committee says the proposal would let anyone over 21 “own, buy, or use marijuana products and marijuana accessories for personal, non-medical use.” The only problem: There are no provisions that allow homegrow, or give social equity applicants support in the state’s expensive licensing process.
The Florida Constitution has a strict single-subject rule regarding citizen initiatives. This prevents the new amendment from addressing issues such as record expungement, social equity, or homegrow.
The proposal’s authors have said those issues will be addressed later. But with the new proposition not slated to hit the ballot for two years, many patients, activists and local operators want more assurance before getting behind it for the long haul.
Here’s why the new campaign is getting pushback
With more than 740,000 people registered as medical marijuana patients in Florida, The Sunshine State is currently home to America’s largest medical-only population, and its third largest legal market overall. But that huge pool of patients are stuck shopping in one of the country’s most limited supply chains.
Medical marijuana patient gun rights lawsuit filed against Biden Administration
The proposed amendment would end Florida’s requirement that cannabis businesses be vertically integrated, with one company controlling the entire process from seed to sale. But it still leaves most local business owners and legacy operators boxed out by high barriers to entry. And most adult users would then be stuck with the same limited options that medical buyers have been complaining about for years.
That’s why many residents were quick to tweet their lack of approval for the new amendment last week.
“I will not sign this ballot initiative, and I will likely not purchase from @Trulieve any more. Huge disappointment. #TruThieves,” wrote one homegrow advocate on Twitter. Many users on the /Florida Reddit page also passionately rejected the proposed law.
Trulieve gives its side of the story
n response to the strong pushback, Trulieve insisted that it supports home cultivation. “(Homegrow) couldn’t be put in this version if we want to get past the Supreme Court,” the Trulieve account tweeted last week.
Leafly spoke to Trulieve spokesperson Steve Vancore for more insight. “[The] Smart & Safe campaign had to choose a very narrow lane and are legally only able to tackle one issue at a time,” Vancore said last week.
“As these ballot items are extremely expensive, and upon advice of counsel, they chose the option that would benefit the most Floridians and was a logical and legal first step. It is our intention to support a homegrow amendment in Florida in the very near future.”
Trulieve spokesperson
Consequences of Florida’s highly limited licenses
Most Florida residents would love to just get legalization over with. But struggling markets like Colorado and California have shown that being first isn’t always best.
Florida’s high barriers have made licenses as valuable as lottery tickets. Many go for the tens of millions, with MedMen famously paying over $50 million for a license in 2018. For cultivators, Florida’s application fee alone is $60,830.
All Florida license applicants must show proof that they’ve run a business in the state for five years before applying. And if that doesn’t eliminate most, you’ll also need access to $5 million in assets or insurance coverage. That’s just to be considered for a license.
5 prominent women in cannabis history
Cannabis activism may seem like a contemporary issue but, in fact, it has a long and intriguing history. From an ancient Egyptian pharaoh to an illustrious American social scientist, these five women were cannabis activists ahead of their time.
Cannabis activism may seem like a contemporary issue but, in fact, it has a long and intriguing history. From an ancient Egyptian pharaoh to an illustrious American social scientist, these five women were cannabis activists ahead of their time.
Ancient world
Hatshepsut and cannabis in ancient Egypt
Hatshepsut lived in the 1400s BC and is notable as one of a select few female pharaohs in Egyptian history, according to a 2006 article published in The Smithsonian magazine. The pharaoh reportedly used hemp to manage painful menstrual symptoms.
But Hatshepsut may not have been the only woman of her era who turned to cannabis for pain relief. The Ebers Papyrus, an herbal medical text from ancient Egypt, cites the use of hemp for treating not only menstrual pain but also to ease discomfort during childbirth. The article stated that cannabis was mixed with honey and inserted into the vagina to alleviate menstrual pain.
Middle Ages
Hildegard von Bingen and cannabis as herbal medicine
Perhaps the most unlikely cannabis activist on our list, Hildegard von Bingen was a German nun who lived during the Middle Ages. Later sainted in the Catholic Church, von Bingen had much to say about medicine in an era when women were expected to stay silent on academic subjects. Von Bingen had a particular interest in herbal medicine and wrote in her health guide Physica that hemp could be used for a variety of treatments, according to Ethan B. Russo's 2013 book, Cannabis and Cannabinoids: Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Therapeutic Potential. Russo cites von Bingen's recommendations of applying a healing hemp cloth to soothe wounds and eating hemp to reduce other types of pain, including headaches.
Von Bingen chronicled her remedies for a twelfth century German audience, but modern scientific studies have indicated that her views on hemp may have been accurate. CBD oil, which is derived from hemp, has a long list of potential therapeutic usages for a range of ailments, such as anxiety, inflammation, and epilepsy.