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"Chernobyl" and "Yaya"
"Standard" Moroccan hashish is the most adulterated cannabis derivative available in France. Its quality has been going down steadily since the early 1990s and it has eventually become a kind of "hashish substitute", which has been dubbed "Parisian hashish" by some smokers because it is "modified" in the stash houses of the suburbs. When sold to the consumer, it does not contain much cannabis resin - 50% at the most, and of disputable quality - being largely made up of plant debris, henna, paraffin wax, shoe polish, medications, glue, used motor oil, etc. The adulterations went so far that the resulting substance was nicknamed "Chernobyl". There could be more to this name than just derision. Indeed, in 1995, a 39 year-old man, who had smoked "Chernobyl" for several years, was found to have kidney cancer: according to the doctors, "Chernobyl" facilitated the tumor's development. In France, hundreds of thousands of people have smoked this substance for years. Until 1996-1997, this "hashish" could fetch FF12,000 to FFI5,000 a kilo while the 250-gram savonnette, or "soap bar", cost FF3,500 to FF6,000. Retail, 12 grams sold for FF300 and 25 grams for FF600. The hegemony of "Chernobyl" over the market was dented in early 1998 with the arrival, on a medium scale at first, of high quality, "unmodified", Moroccan hashish, conditioned into slabs of 100 to 125 grams and wrongly called "pollen" (also - wrongly - known as "yaya", which is in fact a hashish of much better quality), which used to be restricted to a well-off clientele due to its high price of FF3,500 to FF4,000 for 100 grams and FF30,000 to FF33,000 a kilo.
While it is likely that stocks of pollen initially came from the Netherlands, where it is available under several names and grades - from Zero (equivalent to the grade available in France) at 5-6 guilders a gram, to King Hassan Pollen at 30 guilders a gram - most supplies now come straight from Morocco, where production does nor stop expanding to facilitate the supply of a market that has expanded considerably in a few months. In December 1998, pollen prices were as follows: FF500 for 12 grams; FF800 for 25 grains; FF2,300 to FF2,500 for a 125-gram slab; and FF20,000 to FF25,000 a kilo.
The year 1999 confirmed the fall of prices of both pollen and "Chernobyl", and was marked by increasing seizures of loose resin (not pressed into slabs), which the police has labelled "pollen" due to its powdery form. While some wholesalers use no adulterant, others do not hesitate to dilute the resin in order to increase profits. As a result, quality and therefore prices have dropped. Thus, it is possible to buy 25 grams of pollen for FF500, but here the resin is not very pure. Pure resin, of the "press-it-yourself" type, remains available at FF500 to FF600 for 12 grams. By late 1999, prices ranged from FF1,800 to FF3,500 for 100 grams, depending on quality, while the prices for pure resin practically had not changed from 1998.
Other resins, of less commonplace origins, also appeared in 1999, notably a Turkish hashish with a high concentration in active ingredient, which is reputed among consumers for its potency and its euphoriant effects that are stronger than those of Moroccan hashish. Strangely, the Turkish product is usually sold as Moroccan pollen and at the comparatively low price of FF450-450 for 12 grams and FF700 to FF800 for 25 grams. In addition, Lebanese hashish made some sporadic breakthroughs, it too passed off most of the times as Moroccan pollen at the price of FF500 for 12 grams and FF900 for 25 grams. Some consumers also mentioned a hashish "arriving from Israel", but it could be Turkish, Lebanese, Syrian, etc. These misunderstandings about the origin explainable by the vast range of resins (with different colors, maturity, fineness, purity and pressing), competing on the market. Indeed, because they are accustomed to poor quality Moroccan hashish, most consumers tend to view any good pollen as "yaya"
This is quite an old article, but from the research I have done, 'Chernoybl' is a french street term for the beloved 'Soap bar'. As of yet this is the only reference I've found. Your import isnt from france by any chance is it?
LS