With over 200 kg hashish oil (liquid ganja), Andhra Pradesh achieves rare high

VISAKHAPATNAM: With a liquid ganja (hashish oil) haul of over 200 kgs in 2024, Andhra Pradesh has left behind neighbouring states in terms of the seizure of the hashish oil. If seizures during 2022, 2023 and 2024 calendar years are taken into account, the enforcement officials confiscated over 230 kgs of hashish oil from the smugglers.
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) puts the figure at 231 kgs of hashish oil for the three years from 2022 to 2024. In comparison, Telangana seized around 190 kgs, Tamil Nadu’s haul stood at around 90 kg while Karnataka managed 42 kgs
Of the 582 kgs of hashish oil seized in the country during the period from 2022 to 2024, around 40 per cent of the hashish oil was seized in Andhra Pradesh itself.
Hash oil is a concentrated form of cannabis and is said to be at more than four times more potent and stronger than the traditional dry cannabis. The extraction of hail oil from ganja is a simple process and all they need to do is to crush the dry cannabis in a machine. It could be in the form of oil or at times even in the form of wax.
Some inter-state smugglers have shifted their base to Andhra Odisha Border (AOB) for making and transportation of hashish oil or hash oil or weed oil. Some gangs have been trained in making the weed oil along AOB as the hash oil emerged as a best alternative and much more profitable than dry cannabis. Unlike dry cannabis, hash oil is easy to conceal and transport.
The huge seizure points at aggressive enforcement by Andhra Pradesh police and other enforcement agencies, it also puts focus on the ballooning demand for the weed oil and its proliferation. In fact, the Sheelavathi variety of ganja grown in the AOB region has a huge market and finds its way to all the major cities in the country and now AOB based weed oil finds its place in the national market.
A senior police officer said while one kg of dry cannabis is sold for Rs80,000 to Rs one lakh per in big cities, an equal quantity of hash oil fetches around Rs15 lakh in same cities. Hash oil is easier to smuggle as it can be smuggled in water bottles, he added.
About 10 ml of the oil can be used for smoking more than 50 times and intoxicates more than dry weed. In big cities, smugglers sell a 10 ml vial of hash oil for RS7,000.