Another method to clean your Soap Bar

The best method is to avoid buying Soapbar, Cheap Hash and Cannabis Resin in the first place but here is a second method for trying to clean your Soapbar or Cheap Hashish - Although both methods can have effective results, some contaminants will probably still be in the Soapbar after doing either method.

All content below is from WAMEN on the ICMAG forum, THANK YOU for a detailed cleaning method.
Original Post

ok- the process im talking about can be explained basically this way: boiling it..seperating the hash powder from the chemical shits ...the hash goes to the bottom and the shit (oil and other stuff) stays on the top.than re-collecting the hash, pressing-drying.

ITEMS NEEDED:
-at least 2 grams of soap bar (crappy hashish)
-1 milk-jug
-1 bunch of paper toils
- enough water to fill 1/2 of the pot( depends by the size of it, big pots are not needed)
- 1 strainer(with small holes..as small as passible)
- 1 plastic bag ( you will brake it in smaller pieces)
- 1 little gas camping stove( or whatever your kitchen has)
- 1 a deep dish or a salad container
- 1 electric heater
- 1 tea spoon

this is the shit:

Step 1 :
the hashish( ) has to be scrumbled in small pieces...

Step 2:
when the water is boiling throw all the hash in the pot, and turn off the fire.

wait for 10 minutes keeping an eye on the little pieces that are gonna stick up to the sides of the pot. do not mix it ..let it stay chill and let the hashish fall on the bottom.
you should feel a shitty smell coming up in the vapor...let it go and dont breath it!

Step 3:
pick up the strainer

poure out the water in the dish passing through the strainer... so all the hash stops on the screen and the shit goes away with the water..
the water will still have some hash in it...so get ready to do in again.

Step 4:
catch up the resin from the strainer and put it somewhere...so u can finish passing all the water through the screen...and u can throw away that disgustin water.

Step 5:
spread the hash on a waterproof surface and start pressing it with some paper toils.. on and on..use as many paper you need..and keep pressing and pressing hard.. after a minute it will look apparently waterless..but there must be still a lot of water inside...

Step 6:
catch up all the hash and fit it on a piece of that plastic bag.. make it double..so it doesnt brake up.. twist the plastic around the hash like a tight bag... make it like a little ball.. really really tight ..twist it hard..and make some holes using a needle... the way the water can get out of it..while youre pressing it hard between your thumb and index... do it like 10 times.. cause you will see there is always some water to get...

Step 7:
the piece needs to be dryed so keep it in front of the heater for some minutes....than get it out of the bag...break it in 4 pieces..and let the inside dry out..

Step 8:
after some minutes of heat flow, it should look and feel harder and dryer...

its time to re-press it...and let it rest there near the heater(at the minimum) for 5 minutes more...

DONE

heres the final product after some minutes of hot air flow.

How to clean your Soapbar to cut some health risks

How to clean your Soapbar:

Advantages:

• Can reduce the amount contaminants in Soapbar
• Possibly a cleaner high without the contaminants
• THC content apparently stays the same because it is not water soluble
  
• No more rocky burns!
• Less harsh on the throat in some cases
  
• Good success rate of cleaning is successful
  

Disadvantages:

• Insoluble contaminants will NOT dissolve
• The time it takes to clean it
• Overall weight is reduced significently
• It STINKS the kitchen out!
• Chances of losing the shit down the sink
  

There are various forums on the internet describing how to clean Soapbar, I have extracted the following below and hope you find it a useful method to clean your lump:

(credits to the Mr Switch from the GrassCity Forum for this tutorial and photos)
Original Thread

Boil Method:

This method seems popular and the success rates are fairly good at extracting various contaminants from the Soapbar, although this may not extract everything it does minimise the risks of smoking some of the contaminants. The THC stays the same due to the temperature of boiling so the strength should not be cut down. The actual quantity of the Soapbar will be reduced significantly even up to half the amount of the original weight.

Step 1 : Break your Soapbar into smaller pieces so it dissolves faster.



Step 2 : Add enough boiling water to cover your pieces.



Step 3 : Stir well with a fork and make sure all the lumps are broken down and dissolved.
(this should leave you with some dirty water and powder floating around in the water as seen below, this apparently all the henna. The smell will also not be very nice either)



Step 4 : After approximately 5-10 minutes you can then pour the water out of the pan carefully or run it through a coffee filter to ensure you do not loose any of the remains in the pan. You can optionally run through the full process again to keep cleaning the Soapbar until the water is clean. You should end up with a "wet sand/powder" that is a light brown as seen below:



Step 5 : Now you have to get the Hash dry again, most of the water can be absorbed in Kitchen Roll although you may loose some hash or by using a coffee filter. Do this several times and the hash will start to become a dry powder.


You have now cleaned your Soapbar. Although the powder can be quite hard to smoke you can still try it.

Details on how to form the Soapbar into a solid form again will be shown in detail shortly.

Please email any errors or amendments you think should be changed or if you know any other methods.

Good luck cleaning your Soapbar!

Quotes from other sites talking about Soapbar

This section is intended to list comments and posts from forums and website with regards to Soapbar, this will become a large collection over time. If you find your comment or name on here then please contact the site admin and we will remove them straight away.

Posted by: T. Bell [13th February 2006]
It would be better if there was research done into the substance called soapbar which is what our children are actually smoking on the streets on our inner cities. I've just been watching the BBC questioning whether cannabis should be upgraded whilst showing children smoking this stuff which is a completely different substance. Its full of toxins, bleach, boot polish, tar and all sorts of nasties and because its so cheap its being taken en masse by masse by kids in our cities whose lungs, bloodstream and brains are already receiving high levels of pollutants from such things as heavy traffic and industrial development.

Orginal Post

*S1M-2153 Tommy Sheridan: Dangers of "Soapbar" Cannabis
That the Parliament believes that the widespread sale and use in Scotland of "soapbar" instead of pure cannabis give rise to serious concerns about the health of cannabis users and that it therefore makes sense to legalise the sale of cannabis for personal use so that the quality of cannabis can be subject to legal scrutiny and these concerns properly addressed.

Orginal Post

David Liddell - SDF
“Cash-strapped young people are inhaling potentially dangerous amounts of cheap “soapbar” or “council cannabis”, often the equivalent of three to five joints at one time. “This is even though it can be contaminated with potentially dangerous ingredients such as turpentine, boot polish, aspirin, animal droppings, glues, dye, and potentially cancerous industrial chemicals.

Original Post


Posted by fummo on August 18, 2006 11:00 AM
What the government should do is concentrate their efforts in arresting people who sell soap bar hash as this is bad stuff, some of its constituants are diesel/kerosene, beeswax, coffee and milk powder it is this that is damaging our nations cannabis smokers, legalise it and everyone benefits, we get the best smoke , the government gets the tax money.

Posted by Simon on August 15, 2006 7:09 PM
I Believe cannabis should be decriminalized. People need to stop smoking soap bar, it is full of impurities such as deisel and oil, and the only reason english people smoke it is because of the rarity and price of weed here. We should learn from the netherlands. Decriminise weed. Let it be sold in liscenced outlets, even tax it if need be. Holland doesn't have a problem with this system, so it could work well for us too.

Posted by Reverend Peter Brown on August 14, 2006 1:30 PM
Where does anyone get the idea cannabis is additive??
ITS NOT, it has NO ill side effects at ALL, stop confusing cannabis with soapbar/resin its nothing like the same. Pure cannabis in bud form is clean if grown correctly, soapbar/resin contains about 4% cannabis 96% toxins such as petrochemical waste henna ketamine human/animal manure plastic and all matter of danderous stuff.
Now this so called cannabis phsycosis has anyone bothered to look into diet enviroment upbringing family history?? no why not?
I'll tell you why shall i ? because its easier to stop looking for a cause, as soon as the patient mentions cannabis.

Posted by Earl on August 14, 2006 12:52 PM
If cannabis is to be tolerated then it must be on licensed premises or in other commercial settings and as a group activity in private homes. You would be surprised what people smoke this great herb. I have smoked cannabis for many years to no ill effect and have never tried any other drug you must remember that its just a plant.
Soap-bar (resin) on the other hand should be upgraded to class A because of all the impurities it contains.

Original Post

"I challenge anyone to show a piece of standard soap-bar to coffee-shop managers in Amsterdam, and try to find one who recognises it as cannabis resin. Most would find visual assessment enough, but smelling it usually confirms its fake status (smoking it is neither necessary nor advisable)"

Orginal Post

Someone speaking of the contents of Soapbar!

An interview with someone who speaks about the contents of soapbar, seems an honest guy really.



Thanks to jellytoke for this.

Youtube Soapbar Video

Another Video from Youtube of someone trying to raise awareness of Soapbar.

Includes a few different pictures/slides a couple of which I am sure isn't Soapbar and has the Goldie Lookin Chain - Soapbar song.



The user is called "numbeek" and he has various other cannabis videos, thanks to him if he created this video it has had over 3000 views and has various comments from people.

Dopecast coverage of Soapbar

Found a couple of podcasts today talking about Soapbar, they are part of the massive dopecast series discussing various issues on cannabis including music.

Dopecast 15
This one has a dicusssion on Soapbar including ingredients and more.

Dopecast 58
This one has a discussion on Cleaning Soapbar.

All are part of the DopeFiend Cannabis Podcast Network

The grass isn't always green with Gritweed

Some people may not be aware of "Gritweed". This new nasty started hitting the UK nearly a year ago. It has apprently caused 2-3 deaths but I have not seen clear evidence of this but the dangers are clearer quite worrying with cases of silicosis reported on several forums and people having lung problems, coughing and chest problems.

Here is a list of useful article related to this conataminated skunk/weed:

Gritweed Awareness Website - Essential information includes 4 different types on the market!

The Poor House - Active Discussion on the situation includes people stories - very useful!

Legalise Cannabis Alliance - Contamination Section - Good for alerts of new cases!

Stoned in Surburbia Video

Stoned in Suburbia - Soapbar part

This is an interesting watch with views and information from a variety of famous people including the "cannabis gran".

Watch for yourself and this may convince you to never touch soapbar in your life!

Cardiff cannabis 'cheapest in UK'

BBC News article on cheap cannabis in Cardiff includes some comments on soapbar and how cheap and available it is:

"£20 per once for cannabis resin is very cheap compared to the rest of the country, where I imagine the average price to be somewhere around £40,".

"Cannabis resin is made up of less than ten per cent cannabis anyway," he added, "the rest is ketamine, plastic to give it shape, diesel to make it oily and henna and coffee to give it colour, so it's not very good anyway.

"Comparing resin to herbal cannabis, it's like saying both white spirits and vodka are alcohol"

Link to Full Article

Soap is poison "PDF Leaflet" by the LCA (Legalise Cannabis Alliance)

Nice work by the LCA again, they have created a PDF which has 3 leaflets stating the dangers of soapbar, these are worth printing off and giving to anyone you know who smokes soapbar or is thinking about smoking it!

Direct Link to the PDF

Dr Russell Newcome on the ACMD report on cannabis

Russell Newcombe, Lifeline Publications, Manchester; February 2006

Found this on the "Lifeline Project Website" and highlights some faults with the ACMD (Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs).

Quote:

But the ACMD failed to suggest research into the adulterants in cannabis products. Yet, during research over the last decade, numerous cannabis users have complained to me about the increasing adulteration of cannabis – particularly soap-bar resin, Britain's most popular cannabis product, but also pesticides in skunk. Indeed, one small study of five soap-bar samples seized by Customs in 2001 found huge adulteration by many toxic substances, including soil, glue, engine oil and animal shit – any of these adulterants could contribute to the triggering of psychotic symptoms in users. This problem is never mentioned in official reports, and whenever I have asked government officials about this (eg. at conferences), they simply shake their heads at me and reply with stuff like 'there is no evidence whatsoever of the adulteration of cannabis'. Yes, but that's because there has been no research, and cannabis is not routinely analysed for adulterants by the FSS like powdered drugs are. Indeed, the belief that cannabis resin is not adulterated is found only among people with no first-hand experience of the British cannabis market. I challenge anyone to show a piece of standard soap-bar to coffee-shop managers in Amsterdam, and try to find one who recognises it as cannabis resin. Most would find visual assessment enough, but smelling it usually confirms its fake status (smoking it is neither necessary nor advisable).

Full Article : http://www.lifeline.org.uk/feature.php?IDnum=25

Scottish Drugs Forum warns dangers of poor quality cannabis including soapbar

'Super-skunk’ furore overshadows risks facing young cannabis users, says SDF

This is a recent article dated 2nd August 2007 by the Scottish Drugs Forum, they highlight the dangers of low quality cannabis the implications on health the fact the media mostly covers stronger cannabis such as skunk. Thank you to the Scottish Drugs Forum for raising these issues.

Quotes:

David Liddell says: “Cash-strapped young people are inhaling potentially dangerous amounts of cheap “soapbar” or “council cannabis”, often the equivalent of three to five joints at one time.

“This is even though it can be contaminated with potentially dangerous ingredients such as turpentine, boot polish, aspirin, animal droppings, glues, dye, and potentially cancerous industrial chemicals.

“Recent press articles have highlighted ‘super skunk’, how strong it is and how it is causing severe mental health problems amongst young people.

“Yet super skunk is not a drug commonly used by most ordinary young people – they are opting for soapbar because they can’t afford the higher quality and more expensive “super skunk” herbal cannabis, which costs between £120 and £160 per ounce compared to between £40 to £60 for soapbar resin.

Full Article: http://www.sdf.org.uk/sdf/1861.html

Why is Soapbar so popular in the UK?

Common theories for soapbar been a large market of the cannabis consumed in the United Kingdom is:

Cheap Price

Extremely cheaper than Skunk and can build many more joints with soapbar due to the quantity although it is much weaker most strains of herbal cannabis/skunk varieties. Prices can be as cheap as £1.50 for a gram and prices have fallen in the last 10 years but the quality is the same or even worse.

Availability

Many sources say that Cannabis Resin/Soapbar is the most popular form of cannabis in the UK, its usually available in most cities and popular among council estates.

People think its Hash?

A lot of people still think they are smoking "hash" but this is not the case when they read websites like this or other sources on the internet. Learn how to recognise it and know what you are buying.

Prohibition

With the legal status and unregulated ways in the way cannabis is smuggled/distrubuted then anyone can tamper with illegal drugs to increase profit with no consideration for the users.

Demand

People continue to smoke it or people just see it as a smoke and are not aware of the dangers.

Soapbar Purity including Ingredients/Contaminants

Here is a list of possible ingredients found in Soapbar:

Beeswax
Henna (common for the colour)
Instant Coffee Mixture (colour)
Plastic (common)
Pine Resin
Condensed Milk
Camel Sh** / Dog Sh**
Boot Polish
Crushed Tranqualisers (possibly to increase the effect!)
Aspirin
Turpentine (give more resinous look)
Soil
Glue (benzene and toluene)
Engine Oil (used as well)

Quotes:

"Recent research by the Edinburgh University Cannabis Resin Impurity Study Project (CRISP) discovered cannabis resin can be up to between 80pc and 90pc impure"

"Cannabis Resin Impurities Survey Project conducted preliminary research in 2001 on five samples of Moroccan ‘soap-bar’ resin provided by Customs & Excise (CRISP 2002). It was found that the psychoactive adulterants included glue (benzene and toluene), ketamine, caffeine, and aspirin – while other additives, varying in toxicity, included liquorice, milk powder, boot polish, beeswax, turpentine, henna, vinyl, motor oil, dyes, pine resin, animal shit, soil, and phenols"

Goldie Lookin Chain - Soapbar Song

Goldie Lookin Chain - Soapbar song

A lot of truth in the song of why people smoke it and the effects of it well worth listening to raise awareness of this nasty stuff.

What is Soapbar?

Soapbar is best described as "Low Grade Hash" or "Low Quality Morrocan Hash".

"The most unpure Cannabis is called 'soap bar'. It's contaminated with all sorts of things. This makes it cheaper but it's a false economy really as it is often harder to get stoned. Some users hate it so much they object to smoking it."

(FRANK website)

Names for Soapbar

Soapbar may also be called the following:

Formula (usually reffered to by the police)
Cannabis Resin or Rez/Res
Cheap, Low Grade, Contaminated Hash or Hashish (although not to be mixed up with real hash)
Black
Morrocan
Squidgy Black
Rocky (hence why you get burns from soapbar)

In France it is called Chernobyl or Euro-Hash

How much does it cost?

Soapbar costs can vary depending on the location.

Soapbar prices have plummeted in price over the last 10 years.

A drug price list was found here this show the current prices per gram in various currencies and other drug prices. Hopefully this gives an accurate picture on the low prices and quality. Thanks to http://www.drugs-forum.co.uk



Further References and Quotes:

"Moroccan soap bar in the UK in 1995 cost up to £2400 per kilogram. In 2005 the price has dropped to around £500 per kilogram".

"Prices of cannabis resin have been falling steadily since 1994, actually having peaked in the late 1980s, with the most substantial falls seen since 1998. Data for a range of cannabis resin and herbal varieties are available, only the most common Moroccan/Soap Bar resin is shown. Prices for imported herbal cannabis are also in decline, as is the market share, which has been overtaken by domestically produced cannabis (skunk). Skunk prices have remained relatively stable, with roughly a 50 per cent price premium as compared to resin." "Source - House of Commons - Home Affairs - Memorandum 2001"

What does Soapbar look like and how to identify it?

Some characteristics to look out for:

• The price is one of the easiest give aways!
• Colour can vary from Light Brown/Green to a Dark Brown/Black and even vary. depending on where the bar has been cut.
• Very Hard and very difficult to break until warmed up (microwave/lighter).
  
• Very fine to sprinkle like powder when warmed up with lighter although it can vary.
  
• Shiney Dark Coating on the outside depending where it has been cut
• Possible black smoke when burnt/warmed up.
  
• Smell is not very strong although you may smell mild herbal depending on strength but could also spmell of diesel due to where it has been stored, smells can vary.
• Smoking is quite harsh on the throat and not a very clean/herbal taste.
• The effects can include no stone at all, headaches, sore throat/coughing up flem/chest pains.
  

Some example photos: