MAY 23, 2015
DENVER, COLORADO
A potentially explosive technique used to make a powerful
marijuana concentrate from pot leaves and stems has federal investigators
cautioning the public about the risks of hash oil extraction.
When done wrong, the process can cause a fireball or flash
fire that blows out windows and doors. Authorities say they've seen an uptick
in hash oil-related incidents from California to Washington and New Jersey, and
say it's in part because people learn the basic technique over the Internet but
often lack the sophistication to do it safely.
While the technique to make hash oil — also known as wax,
shatter, butter or dabs — isn't new, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives experts say the danger can be greater in states that have legalized
marijuana because people have access to larger quantities of marijuana plants.
ATF agents aren't taking a position on marijuana legalization but are asking
lawmakers to consider the ramifications of permitting hash oil extraction.
"I don't think they realize it's unsafe," said
Billy Magalassi, chief of the ATF's fire investigation and arson enforcement
division. "Kids are curious but they're dealing with things that are very
dangerous."
Colorado's constitution permits residents to make marijuana
extracts like hash oil, although Gov. John Hickenlooper is considering whether
to sign a proposal specifically banning the use of butane for hash extraction.
Users make hash oil by running butane or another solvent
through a tube filled with dried marijuana clippings, left over after the
flowers have been cut off for smoking. The solvent strips the THC, or
psychoactive compound, out of the plants, leaving behind an oily liquid that
can be further solidified by heating the mixture to evaporate the butane.
Because it's heavier than air, the butane sinks to ground level, where it can
be ignited by a stove's pilot light or a refrigerator's compressor motor.
People making hash oil also sometimes store it in their refrigerator, where the
butane continues to evaporate.
Users like hash oil because it allows them to extract
marijuana from otherwise unusable trimmings. In states where marijuana is
illegal, black-market dealers generally sell only the flowers. But in Colorado
and Washington, where recreational marijuana is grown and sold openly, users
can easily and cheaply acquire the trimmings. The extract is far more potent
than marijuana "bud," and more easily transported.
Last year, Colorado had 32 confirmed hash oil extraction
explosions and 30 injuries, up from 12 explosions and 18 injuries in 2013, said
Kevin Wong, an analyst with the federally funded Rocky Mountain High Intensity
Drug Area task force. In 2015, only two explosions have been confirmed through
mid-May.
Wong said the drop in reported Colorado explosions is likely
due to a combination of factors, including users being more careful or
switching to a different solvent, such as hexane, propane or carbon dioxide.
Publicity about the danger also helped, he said.
"I feel the coverage has really helped to educate the
public, to spread the word, to publicize the dangers," Wong said.
"Does it mean they've stopped doing it? No. Does it mean they've gotten
smarter about how they report it? Yes. (And) they're finding other chemicals to
use in place of butane."
Colorado prosecutors have frequently brought charges against
users who cause explosions while making hash oil, but also usually end up
dropping them. That's because the amendment that legalized marijuana use and
possession also guaranteed residents the right to make extracts.
Denver marijuana advocate and attorney Rob Corry says some
of the fears are overblown. Corry has represented hash oil manufacturers facing
arson charges following explosions. He said cops and prosecutors are wrongly
targeting a small number of hash oil extractors who make mistakes not
significantly different than those of a bad cook.
"If you fry a turkey indoors, that's very dangerous.
That can cause a major problem. It doesn't mean you've committed a felony
offense though," Corry said.
////////////////--------------------////
MAY 21, 2015
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA
Tip: Ventilate, ventilate, ventilate. This is the key to avoid explosions.
A vintage drug is making a comeback in a number of states
and right here on the First Coast.
Investigators say people are making it in their homes and
it's dangerous causing big explosions that have taken homes and more
importantly taken lives.
It's happening because people who use Marijuana to make
something called 'hash oil', 'honey' or 'wax' leave behind a flammable and
unpredictable gas.
"Plant material is put into a tube and butane is
introduced to extract the oils from the plant material," said ATF Senior
Special Agent Lance Hart. "The result is the butane evaporates off and
what's left over is honey oil and usually much higher concentration of
THC."
At their training center in Huntsville, Alabama, agents from
the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms or ATF are learning about the
vintage drug turning vogue.
Hart says the juice left over from the manufacturing process
isn't hard to make but relies on highly flammable gas in the process.
"You're taking great chance and risk when you do
this," Hart said.
Increased access to marijuana for medical and recreational
reasons is making explosions from hash oil more common.
So, the ATF agreed to show us what could happen. They used
gasoline instead of butane in our explosion experiment. They say it produces
similar toxins and similar explosions.
"We've seen people with all the hair singed off their
face, significant burns, damage to their airway, and we've actually had
fatalities," Hart said.
Agents say the fires in these explosions don't last long
because the gasses burn off.
"Appliances, refrigerators come apart'," Hart
said.
He showed us photos of broken windows and blown out walls
too.
Most of the explosions are happening in state's like
Colorado and Washington, where laws have increased access to marijuana.
The most recent efforts to expand access to marijuana in
Florida were stopped this session in the state legislature.
//////////////////////------------------------//////////////
HASH OIL CAUSED
EXPLOSION IN WHEAT RIDGE, COLORADO HOME.
GAS EXPLOSIONS CAUSED DURING THE EXTRACTION OF OIL FROM MARIHUANA PLANTS
ARE ON THE RISE ACROSS THE UNITED STATES
February 6, 2015
WHEAT RIDGE, COLORADO: Authorities
say an explosion that rocked a Wheat Ridge home was caused by the manufacturing
of hash oil.
Firefighters who
responded to the blast at about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday say they found evidence of
a butane explosion that was sparked during the manufacturing process. Police
later found more than 400 marijuana plants in two buildings on the property.
A person who was at
the home was arrested for cultivation of marijuana. The suspect’s name and age
have not been released.
Hash oil is typically
made by packing the castoff leaves and stems of pot plants into a pipe and
pouring highly flammable butane through it.
The concoction is heated to make
the potent oil for far cheaper than it can be bought in stores.
Building inspectors
say the home involved in Wednesday’s blast is uninhabitable.
//__________________________________________//
FIRE
IN ARVADA LEADS TO DOUBLE DISCOVERY — HASH OIL AND POT PLANTS
Published: Feb 5,
2015
First, investigators
linked a fire in an Arvada home Wednesday to explosion caused by attempted hash
oil extraction. Then police discovered something more — more than 400 marijuana
plants in two separate buildings on the property.
Wheat Ridge police
said an unidentified suspect has been arrested on charges of cultivation of
marijuana in the case, which began at about 4:28 p.m., when police officers
were called to a home in the 4100 block of Youngfield Street by firefighters
with the Arvada Fire Protection District.
The firefighters were
in the area, police said, when they observed a fire at the home. Firefighters
were able to extinguish the flames and observed evidence of a butane explosion
due to attempted hash oil extraction. Police found the marijuana plants soon
after.
Wheat Ridge building
inspectors deemed the buildings uninhabitable due to numerous unsafe
modifications. Wheat Ridge police said it will release more information on the
case as it becomes available.
//_________________________________________//
GAS EXPLOSIONS CAUSED
DURING THE EXTRACTION OF OIL FROM MARIHUANA PLANTS ARE ON THE RISE ACROSS THE
UNITED STATES
The Rise of Hash Oil
Extraction Explosions
The national media is
increasingly reporting on cases of explosions due to the production of honey
oil, also known as hash oil or dabs, across the country. The production process
uses butane, and explosions from honey oil production have blown walls out,
moved houses off foundations, and caused people severe burns.
While most home labs are small, there are
reports of bulk operations in which hundreds of cans of butane can be on-site.
Any size lab is a serious danger; first responders should familiarize
themselves with the signs of such labs: butane canisters, Pyrex dishes,
marijuana, coffee filters, and an extraction vessel that could either be glass
or a PVC pipe combination that resembles a pipe bomb.
It seems that every
week or so there is a gas explosion inside somebody’s home or inside a car or a
bathroom that have been caused during the extraction of oils from marihuana
plants. Just two days ago, another such
explosion occurred in Tigard, Oregon. In
that explosion, two men are in serious condition after police say they blew up
a gas station explosion in Tigard early Sunday morning while trying to make
hash oil with marijuana and butane.
The explosion caused
significant damage to the 76 gas station bathroom on Greenburg Road, and fire
extended through a false ceiling. The
two Tigard men who were making hash oil inside bathroom initially tried to put
out the fire themselves and they suffered severe burns; they are listed in
serious condition.
Investigators
determined that a heat gun used to evaporate the butane caused the fire.
Hash oil, also known as honey oil or shatter,
is heated and inhaled in what's known as "dabbing”, a popular form of
smoking marijuana. To make it, highly
flammable butane or another suitable solvent such as isopropyl alcohol, is
poured through marijuana to extract the cannabinoids, THC (tetrahydrocannabinol)
and other chemicals from the plant matter.
Hash oil is typically made by packing the castoff leaves and stems of
pot plants into a pipe and pouring the highly flammable butane through it.
The solvent is then evaporated, leaving a
golden color sticky residue that resembles oil or honey. Of course these butane vapors linger in the
room where the extraction took place.
Only some pretty stupid people would attempt such a process inside an
unventilated room.
It typically doesn't
take much during the extraction process to cause an explosion, especially in an
unventilated small space such as bathroom or inside a car.
Anything from static electricity to a wall
socket can spark a potentially deadly explosion. Or, the flame from the heat gun to
subsequently cook the oil can explode the lingering butane fumes.
In another major case
that occurred last year, seven Seattle, WA people accused of causing explosions
while extracting hash oil from marijuana were charged Tuesday in federal
court.
The explosions -- which happened
in Bellevue, Kirkland, Seattle and Puyallup -- injured a number of bystanders
and caused thousands of dollars in damage.
Without proper
ventilation, butane fumes can linger. All it takes is a spark of static
electricity to ignite a room. Former
Bellevue Mayor Nan Campbell was hospitalized for a broken pelvis she suffered
trying to escape the flames. She later
died following complications after her hospitalization, according to
prosecutors. Two other apartment
residents suffered shattered bones as they had to jump from their upper level
apartments.
These deadly
explosions are reckless and preventable acts.
Unfortunately, as marijuana cultivation activities increase, explosions
will continue. This is a dangerous
threat.
FEMA Alert on the
Fire and Explosion Hazards
Last year, FEMA
posted an alert in its emergency services bulletin titled “Hash Oil Explosions
Increasing Across US.” Alongside more quotidian warnings of cyber terrorism and
industrial vapor clouds, it described an uptick in explosions at apartments and
hotel rooms involving “a process using butane to extract and concentrate
compounds from marijuana,” destructive incidents that FEMA warned could even be
mistaken for pipe bomb or meth lab explosions.
A clear, golden brown
cannabis derivative also known as honey oil, shatter, wax and “earwax,” butane
hash oil (BHO) has some distinct advantages over traditional marijuana: It has
very little smell, either in its solid form or when vaporized, is very
portable, and can achieve intense effects with small amounts. A pound of marijuana typically generates 1/10
to 1/5 of a pound of hash oil.
BHO has been gaining
in popularity in the past three years.
But as its popularity grows, so do the number of hash oil enthusiasts
eager to attempt their own homebrew BHO, a process that usually involves the
highly flammable solvent butane or isopropyl alcohol.
The result in a number of cases, as the FEMA
bulletin notes, has been “fires and explosions [that] have blown out windows, walls, and caused numerous burn injuries.”
Hash oil is typically
produced by filling a cylindrical glass or stainless steel canister with pot
(Bed Bath and Beyond’s metal turkey basters are a popular choice), and flooding
the canister with a solvent — usually butane — that strips the plant matter of
its cannabinoid-containing oils. The resulting mixture of psychotropic plant
oil and chemicals is then purified to remove traces of the solvent.
One common
method of butane removal includes boiling it off in a hot water bath, while
another involves the use of a vacuum pump and vacuum chamber to lower butane’s
boiling point, pulling butane from the oil.
What makes it
dangerous is not so much the extraction process itself, but rather the problem
of improper butane ventilation. Butane
is highly flammable and it tends to sink, meaning that if you use it indoors or
don’t ventilate well, you’ll run into serious trouble. Let some butane puddle in your living room,
throw in a thoughtless spark from a cigarette, stove, or — dare I suggest —
bong hit, and suddenly your apartment is missing a wall.
That’s allegedly what
happened in January, when three
people were injured after
a hash oil extraction gone wrong blew through the walls of a San Diego
hotel. A few months earlier, an Oregon
man suffered burns in a similar explosion that blew out the windows in his
apartment and sent him to the hospital.
Although it’s perfectly possible
to make hash oil safely, such explosions are the result of a relatively small
number of hash oil producers who fail to take even the most basic
precautions. The number one precaution
is to never make oil indoors.
Hash-oil
operation suspected in fatal San Bernardino County explosion
First responders were
on the scene of what was initially believed to be a gas explosion at a home in
the community of Muscoy in San Bernardino County. The blast killed one person
and left two others in critical condition.
Authorities who say
they found significant amounts of marijuana and butane in the debris of a
blown-up home believe a hash-oil operation may have caused a massive explosion
that killed a man and injured two others.
Those inside the
makeshift home may have been producing "butane honey oil" when it
exploded, said Cindy Bachman, spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County
Sheriff's Department.
Firefighters sifting
through the ruins found the man's remains in what appeared to be a basement,
she said.
The explosion occurred at 6 p.m. Wednesday in a home located
in the rear of a property in the 3000 block of Gray Street in Muscoy.
Firefighters found a
man outside the home with severe burns, according to the San Bernardino County
Fire Department. A woman was partially covered by debris when firefighters
found her.
She suffered a
serious head injury as well as blunt-force trauma, fire officials said.
The basement area
sustained significant damage during the blast, causing the poorly constructed
home to collapsed into it.
"The blast was
so significant that the freshly paved road in the front of the surrounding
homes actually buckled in several places," the Fire Department said in a
statement.
Firefighters first
believed the explosion was caused by a gas leak, but later determined it
stemmed from illegal drug activity.
"Butane honey
oil” is a waxy substance that can produce a strong high when inhaled. It
doesn't have the potent odor of marijuana.
Because hash oil has
gained popularity, some beginners have attempted to make it in their homes. But
that has resulted in several explosions, officials say.
Two men accused of
operating a hash-oil extraction laboratory were burned in a similar
explosion in March in the city
of Commerce.
A suspected drug lab
at a home in Malibu exploded
in April, injuring one
person, authorities said.
Suspected
'hash oil' lab explodes in Malibu home; 1 man burned
A suspected drug lab
at a home in Malibu caught fire and exploded Tuesday, injuring one person who
had to be transported to the hospital via helicopter, authorities said.
Firefighters
responded to the home in the 1200 block of Encinal Canyon Road shortly
before 6:15 p.m. to find it fully engulfed in flames, according to
the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
Authorities later
discovered the substance “honey oil” -- a type of marijuana oil -- at the
residence, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Sgt. Fray Lupian told
KTLA-TV.
A 25-year-old man who
was burned in the explosion and ensuing fire was airlifted to Los Angeles
County-USC Medical Center to be treated for his injuries, authorities said.
The man, who was not
immediately identified, would likely be arrested on drug-related charges after
recovering, Lupian said.
A hazardous materials
crew was still at the scene shortly before 2 a.m. Wednesday, according to the
fire department.
“Butane honey oil,”
also called “wax,” has been a growing trend in the marijuana market, officials
said. Dabs of it can be vaporized and inhaled without the smoke and pungent
odor of marijuana, an act called “dabbing.” The method produces a stronger high
even among those who have strong tolerance to cannabis.
The widespread popularity of the waxy substance has led
many to attempt the extraction method, often resulting in injuries.
Two men suspected of
operating what authorities said was a “butane honey oil extraction laboratory,”
in which marijuana is turned into the "hash oil," were burned in a similar
explosion last month
in the city of Commerce.
One of several butane
bottles located inside the home may have exploded and caused the fire,
authorities said.
In January, several apartment units in El Cajon
were damaged after what authorities said was a hash oil explosion. Two men who
were allegedly operating the hash oil laboratory were severely burned in the
incident.
Earlier this month in
Glendale, police reported that they busted a
hash oil operation, saying that the
potential for a large explosion at the lab was "huge."
Hash
Oil Lab Explosion Destroys Apartment
Two people were
severely burned in the explosion, according to sheriff's officials
Friday, Feb 21, 2014
• Updated at 6:07 AM PST
Two people were
rushed to the hospital after a reported hash oil explosion in El Cajon.
The San Miguel Fire
District received calls about an explosion just after 2:30 p.m. in the 1400
block of Brabham Street.
When they arrived,
they found one apartment destroyed and several others damaged. Two apartment
residents were severely burned and were taken to the hospital.
The San Diego
Sheriff's Department said investigators found a hash oil lab had
exploded.
Residents of the
apartment had to be evacuated for a time.
Sheriff's deputies
and fire officials remained on scene to investigate.
Two
men injured in suspected 'hash oil' explosion in Commerce
Los Angeles County
fire hazmat technician Terry Wilkinson surveys the damage from an explosion
caused by a suspected drug manufacturing process in the city of Commerce.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Two men suffered
burn-related injuries in a suspected hash oil explosion in the city of
Commerce, authorities said.
Firefighters and Los
Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies responded around 8:10 p.m. to the 2300 block
of Ayers Avenue regarding a call of a tree or transformer on fire, but when
they arrived, they discovered that a home was ablaze.
The extent of the
burn injuries suffered by the two men -- ages 18 and 21 -- were not immediately
known.
It's the illegality
of this stuff that leads idiots to try to make it in "secret" labs.
legalize it, there's no more reason to hide it, and it'll be done safely,
simply because nobody wants to blow themselves up if they can help it.
Arson investigators
determined that the men -- who were not immediately identified -- had
allegedly been operating a “butane honey oil extraction laboratory,” in which
marijuana is turned into “hash oil” or “honey oil.”
One of several butane
bottles located inside the home may have exploded and caused the fire,
authorities said.
“Butane honey oil,”
also called “wax,” has been a growing trend in the marijuana market. Dabs
of it can be vaporized and inhaled without the smoke and pungent odor of weed,
an act called “dabbing.” The method produces a stronger high even among those
who have strong tolerance to cannabis.
The widespread popularity of the waxy substance has led many to
attempt the extraction method, often resulting in injuries.
In January, several apartment units in El Cajon
were damaged after a hash oil explosion. Two men who were allegedly operating
the “hash oil” laboratory were severely burned in the incident.
In April, a
22-year-old man suffered second- and third-degree burns on his face and hands
when an explosion tore through his home in Cottonwood.
Shasta County
authorities told the Los Angeles Times the man was allegedly using butane to
extract oil from marijuana leaves. At the time, it was the third explosion for
the county in the last calendar year.
Authorities said the
city of Commerce hash oil explosion caused about $300,000 in damage to the
single-story home.
Narcotics-related
charges are pending for the two men who remain hospitalized, the sheriff’s
department said.
An investigation into
the alleged drug lab remained ongoing.
//------------------------///
 
August 28th, 2013
|
"Scariest was the case of a young woman
who was hospitalized from a near-fatal allergic
reaction
in which her throat closed up after smoking dabs."
-Animal New York ("Dabs: The World's Most Powerful and
Sought After Weed Product)
What is "dabs?"
Dabs, otherwise known as butane hash oil (BHO), is an extremely
potent extract created by passing butane through high-grade marijuana.
Following the evaporation of the butane, a thick oil or resin remains.
The oil is most commonly vaporized using a special water pipe known as
a rig, although it can be consumed orally as well. Hash oil use has
recently increased and is quickly becoming a more popular method of use among
adolescents.
The resulting high is far stronger than that from marijuana, due
to hash oil's very high levels of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol). While
very strong strains of marijuana are around 25% THC, the 2009 United Nations "World Drug Report" states that
hash oil can contain upwards of 60% THC. Additional reports suggest
that the THC content of hash oil can reach as high as 90%.
Even more concerning is the fact that butane, an extremely
flammable and dangerous solvent, is used in the creation of butane hash oil.
A number of people have been injured in fires and explosions resulting
from attempts to manufacture butane hash oil. Additionally, there is
risk of the final product having dangerous impurities due to the extraction
methods and ingredients used. Exposure to butane can cause numerous
health problems, including neurotoxic effects.
It is crucial for parents to be aware of the increase in
popularity of hash oil, and know what to look for. Due to its
concentrated form, hash oil is used in smaller amounts than marijuana and is
much easier to conceal. Hash oil can appear in various forms, be
referred to by a number of different slang terms, and be manufactured using a
variety of items.
  
Names: Hash oil, hashish oil, butane hash
oil (BHO), honey oil, honey, honeycomb, dabs, earwax, wax, shatter, budder,
concentrate, whip
Looks Like: Dark brown, amber, or golden oil or resin, pale or yellowish wax, tar, honey or honeycomb
Related Items to Look For: Butane containers, glass or metal
tubes, glass baking dishes, isopropyl alcohol, coffee filters
"Among incidents related to its production and use
were untrained cooks 'blowing themselves up'
blasting
butane in jury-rigged home labs, and 'overdoses,' which
as
with strong marijuana are not fatal but involve
extreme discomfort
to the point of freaking out for long periods of time."
-Animal New York ("Dabs: The World's Most Powerful and
Sought After Weed Product)
For more information on drugs of abuse, and the many other
challenges that young people face every day, visit our Youth Challenges page.
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