Most cannabis growers share the same concern after they give their plants the regular trim and prune: what can you do with your growing pile of stems? Cannabis stems are often discarded right away and just add up to our waste. However, stems can still be put to good use. It’s important how to make hash with stems for pure enjoyment. Though they do not have as much THC and terpenes, you can easily process the stems yourself to maximize the potency that can be harnessed even from a small bundle.
The easiest product you can craft from stems is making your hash, dark and tacky clay that you can smoke and craft with just a few tools. Using stems to produce hash is an effective and convenient way to get the most out of your cannabis plants and have an emergency supply to smoke when flowers are not in season. This guide provides you with how to prepare your stems and different ways to craft a traditional and healthy hash.
Using Stems as an Alternative to Smoking
Dealers and medical experts advise that smoking stems should be avoided if you have asthma, shortness of breath, or lung disease among other related conditions. If stems are not properly treated, smoking or ingesting them may cause abdominal pain, vomiting, severe migraines, and can damage cognitive functions.
If you do use stems, always remember to decarboxylate them first if needed and carefully follow procedures to prepare them for use. For your health and safety, it is recommended that you only take small doses at a time. Craft your pot responsibly and always smoke in moderation.
How to Decarboxylate your Weed Stems
Decarboxylation refers to a heating process for cannabis to extract the THC and other valuable elements from it such as terpenes and cannabinoids and separate it from the plant cellulose. Some hash processes require it, and others may not so do check the procedure of each hash method.
To decarboxylate, take the following steps:
1. Break your stems into small sticks and lay them flat on a tray.
2. For a regular oven, set the temperature to 100 degrees Celsius, and for a fan-assisted oven, adjust to only 100 degrees Celsius. Let the stems bake for one hour.
3. Remove the stems from the heat and let them cool.
How to Make Hash with Stems
Over the years, different methods of making hash have emerged as this craft has been known to root back to our small indigenous communities. Here we have selected the best ways to create a hash that does not require many tools. As a heads up: your hands will be doing most of the work to make it. You will also need a few bowls
and a cheesecloth or silkscreen throughout some of the procedures of these methods.
The Original Charas
Charas is the traditional way Hash is made. It is messy and will need your bare hands to make, but uses the fewest of tools. Charas is made with fresh flowers or stems preferably picked or pruned on the same day. For stems, proceed to do the following:
1. Gather a small bundle of stems between your palms and start rubbing them tightly. After some time you can see a dark green resin build up on your palms. This is the hash packed with trichomes separating from the stems. Keep rubbing until no more resin comes off from your bundle.
2. Discard the first bundle and rub or scrape off the hash into a bowl until your hands are clean. Repeat the first step with another bundle and scrape of the hash. Repeat until you have gathered enough charas in the bowl.
3. Take a small clump of charas in your hand and roll into a log that you can smoke like a blunt. Roll the charas in a blunt wrap or shape them into balls to toss into your pipe. Smoke and enjoy.
Silkscreen Hash
As the name implies, silkscreen hash uses a silkscreen or cheesecloth to collect the hash from the stems. This method will also need a fresh pile of stems to make.
1. Start by preparing the stems. Break them into smaller pieces and pack them in a resealable bag. Put them in a freezer to extract the THC and trichomes. Let them cool for a few hours until they feel cold and moist.
2. Take out the bag from the freezer and grab a small bundle of stems. Put your silkscreen or cheesecloth over a bowl and start rubbing the bundle against the fabric until the stems no longer excrete any juice.
3. Check the bowl and see if any sediments settle at the bottom, separated from the liquid. The sediment is the hash. Repeat the second step with all the other stems until you fill-up the bowl.
4. Remove the silkscreen or cheesecloth and slowly pour out the juice, making sure that the hash stays inside the bowl.
5. Scoop some of the hash in your palm and roll into balls or logs for your pipe or blunt to smoke.
Blender Hash
Blender hash is easiest to make if you are looking for a method that will keep your hands clean and have any stems that have been piling up in a corner for too long. The blender method requires decarboxylated stems so bake them first before you proceed with the process below.
1. In a blender, combine your decarboxylated stems with one part water and one part ice. Blend for one minute.
2. Pour the mixture into a bowl covered with a silkscreen or cheesecloth. Watch the water separate from the hash. You will see the hash settle at the bottom of the bowl.
3. Once all the hash settles, pour two-thirds of the water in a separate glass or bowl. Then, fill the remainder of the hash mixture with cold water. Watch for more hash to settle and repeat this step until all the plant slush is separated from the hash
4. Pour out the water and plant sediments slowly, leaving the hash inside. Strain the hash with your cheesecloth or a coffee filter to squeeze out the water. Shape into logs or balls depending on how you prefer to smoke it.
Conclusion
Learning how to make hash with stems is a great way of enjoying your cannabis. Smoking stem hash is similar to flowers except they have lower THC and barely any flavor. The adverse effects of smoking hash can be worse if your stems are not properly prepared. Be sure to decarboxylate the weed stems if needed and use fresh ones as much as possible. Making hash helps maximize how you use your plants and help reduce your waste production. Be guided by the methods provided and have fun crafting hash that you can smoke while waiting for your plants to bloom once again.
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