FIVE TECHNOLOGICAL BREAKTHROUGHS IN CANNABIS
1 HASH OIL
Butane-blasted “honey oil” gained popularity in the ’70s, which launched a flow of illegal cannabis concentrates in the US. The Brotherhood of Eternal Love smuggled the first honey oil from Kabul, Afghanistan, before any Americans had learned the technique of concentrating THC in liquid form. Hash oils seized in the ’70s raised the THC content up to 30 percent or higher—providing a different high. This eventually led to later forms. Hash oil extraction companies were never licensed in the US until 2014, when Colorado and Washington began issuing licenses.
2 GLASS PIPES TAKE OVER
Fragile glass pipes have been around since at least the ’60s, but it wasn’t until later that thick, borosilicate blown glass took over. Glass pipes reduce thermal conduction compared to metal pipes. Blown glass pipes can be traced to Bob Snodgrass, who sold them at Grateful Dead shows throughout the ’70s and ’80s. He was followed by other legends such as Jerome Baker and others. They mesmerized buyers with swirls of colored glass, and other techniques like adding marbles and texture that fit the psychedelic lifestyle typically associated with smokers. By
