Why is there more brick weed than hash?

[CookieMan]

I have a question? why do people compress pot into tiny bricks to import it instead of processing it into bricks of has which could demand a higher price than brick weed? I would think when smuggling the pot it would be in the smugglers intrest to have the highest quality and thc containing product available to them? or do the growers make hash then compress the remaining pot and sell it off as schwag? Now that i think of it it sounds plausible because they way bricks are sometimes the stems seem to be just mixed in with compressed pot and seeds. And it makes sense financially. If you have a bunch of pot left from making hash, what do you do with it? In the case of massive scaled producers why not just compress the shake used from making the hash and sell it mixed with some of the smaller stems to add some extra weight, and while your at it throw in some seeds too? I don't know i was just thinking about why people even bother importing schwag into the country, but i guess its just cheap and easy to import with a large profit margin. Maybe illegal immigrants bring it across so they have some money to get started in the new country.

 

[Smokin Moose]

It comes down to culture, customs and smugglers.
As far as culture goes, hash has always been a major cultural part of Eurasian societies. Cannabis has been refined and processed to make hash for centuries. Take Morocco, Turkey, Kashmir, Nepal for example. These counties have long ago learned that hash is stronger, so why waste time with the niceties of buds.
From a smugglers point of view, good hash is compact and transportable with high returns on investment. Carrying weed is bulky, prone to mishap, and perishable. That is why weed is compressed - to make it easier to transport.
In the 70's in Europe, not a lot of green weed was seen, except for in Amsterdam. Most other areas were only seeing hash. It was vice versa in the US, where weed was the norm and hash the rarity.
I think the issue of poor schwag from Mexico came about because of a shared border, lack of education, greed and an insatiable market. There is a measure of deception in compressing weed, in that it can disguise poor grades of weed.
Compressing weed is purely and simply a result of the need to have the drug as compact as possible, so you can ship as much as possible.
The Canadians learned from the ongoing mistakes of the mexicans, and improved on variety, quality, and presentation. I also believe the Gringos are more adept at smuggling than the southern neighbours lol.

 

[PFlynn]

Unstable market, if pot was taxed for medical use there would be no market for mexicali swag.

 

[Damagoman]

Yeapper

I've noticed some of the green weed now days is compressed too.
This looks and tastes like a commercial Thang,
Dry, Pack and ship, no time to cure.
Trick is to dry it enough so it doesn't mold&mildew during transport.

It's compressed by the weight of the load sometimes.
You start tryin to put 50 lb. of green sticky buds in a 25 lb. sack
then stack a few of those on top of each other,
and Stuff happens.

 

[PFlynn]

I've been seeing alot of that where I live.

 

[Boss]

Yep, I always ran pound bricks from S.D up north on my bike.

 

[DaHui]

I think Moose nailed it.

And for what it's worth, I've never come across any bricks in my area..

 

[Boss]

Rub it in Naw that was a long long time ago.. I havn't seen it here either.

 

[Damagoman]

Yeapper, like He says:

improved on variety, quality, and presentation

Good SalesmanShip, it's Key
The Africans have picked up on it also.
Some of them Ol'bricks, use to be Columbian and much better than the Mexican.
The Mexicans have never really been Passionardos
More of a Hack&Sack supply.

 

[Smokin Moose]

The Mexican weed reminds me of the New Guinean's weed. Same deal with schwag, on what could have been nice weed. The NG weed has a really deep rich jungly smell, but lots of sticks and seeds, and in some cases there was come composting in transit YUCK!

 

[hapytimeharry]

I don't think Ive ever seen any bricked weed, here on the west coast.(thankfully) Although I'm sure it exists. I am glad that now, we worship the beauty of the buds, as well as the effects.

I don't miss that dry, Mexican swag at all. Squashing/compacting, some yummy, sticky buds, seems like a shame, if not a crime against weed. hehe

ps: "some yummy, sticky buds * we worship the beauty of the buds"
Hehehe, can ya tell I am completely out of weed, and money right now?

 

[Smokin Moose]

Smugglers don't convert bricks of schwag to hash. That is the choice of the end user. Smugglers will always choose the most convenient to transport.

 

[Smokin Moose]

Money is at the heart of it. I don't know any smuggler who knows the ropes and the end market, who would carry shit that was not premium.

 

[Whoa Irina]

I have always wondered this also, hash is much more profitable.. and if you do your research, cramming and compressing weed makes it lose it's potency.

 

[CookieMan]

maybe the mexicans have machines that brick the weed while extracting a weed juice which is just a hash oil type thing from the bricks? they keep this shit for themselves and sell the leftovers of their hashoil pressing. Why does pressing weed make it lose its potentcy. i have some schwag right now that has kief on it and its green. makes my hands feel dusty, but it is real dry. Where did the stickyness go?

 

[Smokin Moose]

When mexican weed is baled and compressed, you can find that it will compost in transit. That accounts for the degradation of quality, and change in colour and smell. It amazes me that after all these years, the Mexicans have not cottoned onto what the market is demanding. I do recognise that they are less well educated, limited in funds for seeds and supplies etc, and are basically poor cottage farmers who know no better. In Eurasian areas where hash is common, there is a cultural background in hash making, and techniques and seeds are passed on from fathers to sons. Whether it be in Kashmir making hand rubbed hash, or in Morocco or Lebanon, making sieved and compressed hash.

 

[wannahit]

I'm from MO, and all we can get anywhere is brick weed.The only time you get fluffy,stickey weed is a homemade closet grow and it is still from commercial bud.Right now it's more of a stringey seedy herb.It won't be long though and there will be a diffrent strain.One thing is it is always different.I can't really complain because it's a lot cheaper and easier to move around here.Never smoked any bad weed,just weed that is not as good as the last one

 

[CookieMan]

i think there is also a market demand for cheap weed. When i'm low on funds i buy brick weed and this shit seriously has kief on it. I suppose the composting could account for that earthy smell. I've heard of some strange things being found in bricks too. Unopened condoms are the strangest i heard of. Shit when they have a whole field to grow pound sized plants then i guess its easy for them to be happy with selling it for 1-200 a pound initially considering mexico's economy. Has anyone else read that article in a recent high times about mexican growers using artificial lights to extend veg stage along with greenhouses to regulate temp and humidity. They are also doing their own breeding program with their seedstock which consists of basically every cup winner from the past several years. I doubt there is only one operation that is trying to step up the quality. Now i bet that most of this pot then gets shiped to the us and i bet it gets bricked up. So top quality buds are bricked for transport. Its ashame but it doesn't make sense to leave it all fluffy when you can make two ounces fit in the size of a half ounce or less. Although if it was left fluffy it could demand atleast 5x the price.