This Blog is about Cannabis, marijuana, weed, ganja.
Wednesday 5 April 2017
What Is Charas Cannabis Concentrate?
Lisa Rough
Cannabis,
also known as ganja, grows wild throughout Northern India, with
particular prevalence along the foothills of the Himalayas. Although it
is considered illegal in most parts of the world, certain forms of
cannabis, most notably bhang, a cannabis and milk mixture, are sold in government-sanctioned shops with great popularity.
The Cultural Significance of Charas
Another popular form of cannabis, known as “charas,” plays an
important cultural role in India. In the Hindu religion, the god Shiva
is known for his love of cannabis, and cannabis is widely used during
the Hindu festival of Holi. Shaivs, a sect of Hinduism devoted to
worship of the Lord Shiva, smoke charas freely as part of their
religious practice.
In modern practice, young professionals and sadhus, or religious
ascetics, continue to use charas regularly, usually by smoking it out of
a small clay pipe called a chillum. Before lighting the pipe, they will
often chant the many names of Shiva. The Shiva sahasranama is a “list
of a thousand names” exalting Shiva in his many forms.
Unlike the edible cannabis-based drink bhang, charas is a hand-rolled form of hashish
that is smoked rather than ingested in a drink. One of the similarities
between the two most popular forms of cannabis available in India is
that they both require freshly harvested cannabis vs. cannabis that has
been dried and cured, as is the standard in Western culture.
Charas is similar to hash in that they are both concentrated
forms of cannabis, but hash is generally created with dead, dried
cannabis flowers, while charas is created using fresh cannabis buds a
few weeks from full maturity.
The Origin of Charas
View of Parvati Valley.
The cannabis acquired to create charas is usually sourced from Northern India, typically in the Parvati Valley, Malana, and Kashmir regions, where ganja plants grow wild in the foothills of the Himalayan mountains.
From the Parvati Valley, a local hashish known as Malana Cream is
known for its high THC content and requires at least twice as much time
to create the same amount. Malana Cream commands a high price in India,
not only for its potency, but also due to the inaccessibility of Malana
cannabis. Malana is in the Himachal Pradesh region, which is known for
its abundance of cannabis. However, due to the area’s lack of access
roads, cannabis must be gathered and transported by hand or mule, making
it a prominent cash crop.
Another well-known charas is Kerala Gold, also known as Idukki Gold
or “Neelachadayan,” famed for its high-potency content. Idukki Gold
became famous after a 2013 Indian film of the same name, which follows
five friends who set out on a journey to find Idukki Gold, the first
strain of cannabis the friends tried in their youth.
In reality, Idukki Gold is no longer as prevalent as it once was in
Kerala region. Crops were burned in police raids, and what cannabis was
left has been crossbred with local plants to create a new strain,
“Sheelavathi,” which is more suited to grow in the region’s climate. The
local strain may be sold as Idukki Gold, but the quality is inferior
and yields low-potency cannabis containing about eight percent THC.
How to Make Your Own Charas
To make your own charas, the process is quite simple, albeit a bit messy:
From a cannabis plant that is 2-3 weeks from full maturity, pick a handful of cannabis flowers
Trim the excess leaves from the cannabis buds, but leave a portion of the stem
Slowly begin to rub the buds between your palms.
As the flower releases oils and THC, gradually increase your hand motions
Use your thumb to press the oils against your palm
The plant material will secrete a black, tar-like substance
Continue rolling the charas ball until it stops secreting oils
The highest quality charas requires much patient and slow, careful
hand movements. The faster you rub the charas between your hands, the
more resin will be lost in the process. During hand-harvesting, one
might easily make 8-9 grams of charas in a day, but if you want the
highest quality charas, it’s necessary to go much slower.
The process is sticky and resinous, and your hands will likely become
blackened with resin. If you’re hoping to avoid sticky hands, you might
consider wearing latex gloves, or you can easily clean the mess off
your hands with heavy-duty dish soap.
Once you have formed a ball of charas concentrate, it can be either
placed in a pipe or chillum to be smoked, or it can be mixed with
tobacco and rolled into a spliff, another popular form of cannabis consumption in India.
Have you ever tried charas concentrate? Would you consider making charas from your own cannabis plants?
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