Delta-nine-tetrahydracannibinol is the major psychoactive ingredient in cannabis from which we obtain the 'high' feeling (Julien 202). This chemical is not soluble, or able to be dissolved, in water, but does dissolve readily in alcohol, fatty substances, and other non-polar solvents. Polarity is a relatively nebulous idea of the general solubility characteristics of solvents. Polar solvents dissolve water soluble substances but not oily substances, and non-polar solvents dissolve oily substances (like T.H.C.), but not water soluble substances. Moderately polar solvents have a tendency to dissolve both types of substances. For creating "American hash", high quality isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) of at least a ninety percent concentration is a suit

After letting about 1/2 ounce of finely ground cheap marijuana steep in a Tupperware container for a week, the alcohol had turned a beautiful emerald green. The dark color does not connote potency, however. Rather, it signifies quite the opposite, the presence of non-psychoactive chlorophyll found in all plants. This occurred because alcohol is not a terribly selective solvent when used to extract cannabinoids (the multitude of psychoactive agents occurring in cannabis, including T.H.C.). Now that I had this alcohol based tincture, I needed to convert it into a solid, smokeable substance. I poured the mixture through a clean T-shirt to filter the larger chunks of weed out and squeezed the dark green liquid into a shallow stainless steel pot. Wary of the high flammability of alcohol fumes, I opted to use an electric range for a heat source. Alcohol boils at a very low temperature so I used the lowest setting on the stove. I was able to watch the tiny bubbles of alcohol rise to the top of the liquid and dissipate into the air. After about thirty minutes, the former liquid became a thick dark green coating on the inside of the pot, at which point I removed it from the heat. I used a razor blade to scrape the stuff from the pot, and rolled it into little balls that I placed on wax paper. The stuff was incredibly sticky and my finger tips remained colored for days afterwards. Alcohol dissolves many other substances in cannabis, such as chlorophyll and sugar, creating a final product of about twenty percent purity. This rivals the best overseas style has

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