The legalization of marijuana in the state of Washington has raised a new, related issue: What about hash?
The concentrated marijuana extract, considered by some to be the “cognac” of the pot world, is specifically precluded by the law approved by voters last fall. But there’s a loophole. While pure hash oil is verboten, hash “infused” products are fair game. So, in theory, a substance made of 99 parts hash oil to 1 part olive oil is fair game.
Washington’s Liquor Control Board, which has authority to regulate the sale of marijuana is still hashing out (sorry) the specifics, but as it stands now, extra virgin olive oil hash is a possibility. At present, the law allows adults over 21 years of age to possess an ounce of dried pot, 16 ounces of pot-infused solids (e.g, brownies), or 72 ounces of infused liquids.
This is tentatively good news for Jim Andersen, whose company XTracted has already contracted with Seattle-area pot dispensaries to supply hash oil. Andersen has a long history with hash, having brought it with him from an Air Force tour 40 years ago. He praises the fact that hash yields an immediate high, rather than taking up to an hour to feel the effect as can happen with a pot brownie, thereby making over-using the drug less likely. He also notes a long-established cultural relationship between marijuana and hash, saying, “every major culture that has marijuana associated with it has hash associated with it as well.”
Critics have voiced concerns that the loophole might make for easy smuggling of high-potency hash into neighboring states or for people to buy far more than what they need for individual use.
In other “legalize it” news, a group calling itself “a Few Autonomous Flower Children” planted several pounds of pot seeds in Gottingen, Germany, in June. The seeds are now sprouting all over town, including in the flower beds of police stations. FAFC has posted pictures of the plants online—the cops are using those pictures to find and destroy the plants.
