What is ‘Malana Cream’ or black gold, Himachal’s unique cannabis product?

Recently, The Narcotics Control Bureau in Mumbai seized the contraband ‘Malana Cream’ a person named Azam Sheikh Jummana who is the biggest drug dealer in Mumbai.

The arrested person is known to source drugs directly from Himachal Pradesh and supply them later to bigger dealers.

Malana cream

Malana Cream hash is more commonly known as ‘Malana Cream’ or simply Malana charas. In many countries outside India, it goes by the name black gold.

It is the charas or hash or hashish which comes from the Malana Valley in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh.

Charas also called bhang in Himachal Pradesh, is the resin obtained from a species or strain of the cannabis plant. It grows naturally in the valley and is also cultivated illegally.

The valley has a single village, Malana, and the hash resin produced there is generally more ‘creamy’, or clay-like, as compared to that produced in other parts of the state.

According to DNA, The cannabis plant has a number of chemical compounds called cannabinoids, among which tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the primary psychoactive constituent which produces the high sensation.

Strains of the plant with low levels of THC are used for industrial and non-drug purposes such as making ropes, paper, textiles etc. Plants with a high level of another cannabinoid called CBD (cannabidiol) are used for medicinal purposes.

Varieties of Malana Cream are generally sold anywhere between Rs 1,500 to Rs 8,000 per 10 grams in India