Tribune News Network
Doha
Hashish weighing a little over a quarter of a kilogram has been seized from a consignment of spare parts in yet another foiled attempt to smuggle drugs into Qatar.
The contraband was stuffed inside iron tubes inside the parts, the General Authority of Customs said in a tweet on Thursday.
The seizure was made by the Postal Consignments Customs Department at the Air Cargo and Private Airports. Its inspectors recovered 280 grams of the contraband from the shipment.
Hashish or hash is the most potent and concentrated form of cannabis. Hash contains very high levels of THC or tetrahydrocannabinol — the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis. The THC level in hash is usually much higher than marijuana, which may generally have a potency of 10 to 20 percent. Meanwhile, the THC levels in hashish can range from 20 percent to 60 percent. This means that it will take much less hashish than marijuana to achieve psychoactive effects.
The word “hashish” originates from the Arabic language, roughly translating to mean “grass.”
It is believed that the popularization of hash originated around AD 900, although some argue methods such as charas, or the collection of resin from the hands of cannabis farmers, are believed to have existed prior to written documentation.
