Hashish is the Arabic word for a particular form of CANNABIS SATIVA; it came into English at the end of the sixteenth century. Hashish is the resin derived principally from the flowers, bracts, and young leaves of the female hemp plant. The resin contains cannabinoids—the one of major interest being TETRAHYDROCANNABINOL (THC). The THC content will vary depending upon the composition of the hashish, but often it is about 4 percent or more. Usually the resinous portion is sticky enough to allow the material to be compressed into a wafer or brick. Some preparations contain only the resin and are known as hashish oil. Similar preparations of the resinous material and flowering tops of the plant have been given a variety of names in different regions—charas in India, esvar in Turkey, anascha in areas of the former USSR, kif in Morocco and parts of the Middle East...