Additives to Hash

Q - Dear IDMU,

very interesting site you have.

I live in Ireland where lots of people smoke hash. The problem is the quality is very bad, and there is never anything except "soap". I have tried hash from all around the world over the past 20 years, and I am absolutely convinced that the stuff we get here has been cut with something. It has hardly any smell. It is usually rock hard, and not at all sticky. It doesn't get you high, compared to, say, skunk from the Netherlands.

I think that the hash is cut with something, and I'd like to know what it is, because a lot of people are smoking it here, and I wonder just how safe it is to smoke what has been added in. Can you help me on this one?

Incidentally, I'd be delighted to assist you with info on cannabis etc as regards the Irish market.

A - In the mid 1980s the Moroccans changed the way they pressed hashish using the heat compression method used to make soap bars. This improved the shelf-life, compared to the lighter 'slate' which was more commonly used. Most of the 'soap-bar' samples I have seen analysed are higher in THC than slate or most imported bush, and show a typical 'Moroccan' cannabinoid profile, but are not of the higher quality associated with 'pollen'. The diesel smell often associated with soap bar is probably exactly that, as a result of being smuggled in fuel tanks. Unfortunately, most forensic analysis is only looking to identify controlled drugs, and not geared towards quality control.

There is a project underway to see what else is in hash, particularly soap-bar, but as in all things there are good and bad batches and operations.

I would be interested in any information you could provide re prices in Ireland, or if you could distribute and collect/post some of our surveys. We do have some price data from 1999 and previous years, but it is based on small samples in each case. Get in touch if still interested.