WNBA star Brittney Griner is facing a nine-year jail sentence in Russia after customs officials discovered contraband in her luggage in February.
According to the Russians, Mr Griner allegedly packed hashish oil in her bag, likely in the form of a vape.
It was that discovery that led to her nine-year sentence, after Ms Griner pleaded guilty in July to charges of smuggling less than a gram of hash oil.
As she awaits a 25 October appeal hearing and potential movement on US attempts to negociate her release, here’s what to know about the substance.
What is hash oil?
Hashish — also known as hash — is a drug made by compressing the parts of a cannabis plant that contains the highest levels of THC. Hash is traditionally associated with Middle Eastern and and Mediterranean cultures, but has been used globally for decades.
Hash oil is, predictably, an "oil" version of hash. The term "oil" refers to the concentrated liquid that is formed when cannabinoids are extracted from the cannabis plant. Consumers usually smoke — or more recently vape — the liquid. Hash oil is available in cartridges and vapes, similar to THC pens and common nicotine vapes.
Is hash oil legal in the US or Russia?
In the US, hash and hash oil — like marijuana — are Schedule 1 drugs. It's still illegal to use and possess hash under federal law, and its legality varies state by state.
In Russia, cannabis is illegal. An individual possessing less than 6 grams of cannabis or two grams of hash can be fined or jailed for up to 15 days. Possessing any more than that becomes a more serious criminal offense.
Ms Griner was accused of having less than a gram.
“Being sufficiently aware that the movement of narcotic drugs is not allowed… no later than February 17, 2022 at an unspecified location under unspecified circumstances from an unidentified person [Ms Griner] bought two cartridges for personal use, which contained 0.252 grams and 0.45 grams of hash oil, totaling 0.702 grams,” the prosecutor said during the trial, TASS reported.
US officials have worried that Ms Griner's arrest is partially politically motivated, providing Russia with a bargaining chip at a time when it and the US are at odds over the war in Ukraine. The Kremlin has roundly denied those allegations, arguing that it was simply enforcing its nation’s narcotics laws.
For now, Ms Griner remains incarcerated. In an interview on CNN on Tuesday, President Joe Biden said that he would consider meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin at the G-20 summit if the meeting were set to discuss Ms Griner’s freedom.
“Look, I have no intention of meeting with him,” Mr Biden said. “But for example, if he came to me at the G-20 and said, ‘I want to talk about the release of Griner,’ I’d meet with him. I mean, it would depend.” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre later said that Mr Biden believes the Russians “need to take the serious offer that we put forward on the table, or make a serious counter-offer to negotiate, but in good faith.”
