Pubdate: Fri, 11 Oct 2013
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Copyright: 2013 Hearst Communications Inc.
Contact: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/submissions/#1
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/388
Author: Henry K. Lee
Page: D1

HASH OIL LAB BLASTS PROMPT WARNINGS

Two explosions at makeshift hash oil labs in Santa Cruz in the past
two weeks are the latest in a string of similar accidents in the Bay
Area, authorities said Thursday as they warned of a growing trend that
has led to injuries and deaths.

The blasts - reminiscent of the outbreak of methamphetamine lab
explosions years ago - are linked to the production of hash oil, a
thick, yellow-orange by-product of marijuana also known as honey oil,
and the use of butane, a highly flammable gas that's used to extract
the substance.

"This particular process has become more popular, and what I think is
going on here is there's almost a playful attitude around it, like, 'I
can handle it,' " said Santa Cruz Deputy Police Chief Steve Clark.
"They're finding that, well, you really can't handle it. They don't
fully appreciate the dangers behind it."

The latest explosion in Santa Cruz happened about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday,
when a 29-year-old man was badly burned while making hash oil in the
bathroom of his home on Walk Circle, Clark said.

Two dogs were badly singed from the blast, which blew out doors and
the front window of the home. Officers found a large quantity of
marijuana and more than a dozen butane canisters in the bathroom,
police said.

An earlier incident was even more destructive. On Sept. 29, three men
were hurt while making hash oil in a storage room at an apartment
complex at 707 Third St.

Butane fumes were likely ignited by the pilot light from a water
heater, and fire flashed back to the victims, Clark said. As officers
and firefighters arrived on scene, he said, additional butane
canisters exploded, slowing efforts to contain the "incredibly hot"
blaze that erupted.

All four men are being treated at the burn unit of Santa Clara Valley
Medical Center in San Jose and could face criminal charges, police
said.

"We wish them all well, we hope they all recover, but there is an
accountability factor here," Clark said.

Murder charge

The legal exposure in such accidents can be serious: In Livermore, a
man and a woman critically burned in a hashoil explosion last year
were charged by Alameda County prosecutors with murder in the death of
a companion who died in the blast. The defendants later accepted plea
deals on lesser charges.

In an effort to curb the trend, federal disaster officials in February
issued an alert to police and fire departments around the country
about the increase in explosions linked to hash oil production,
warning that the blasts could be "misidentified as pipe bombs (because
of the extraction vessel used) or methamphetamine lab
explosions."

Hash oil is made by packing loose marijuana leaves, known as shake,
into a metal or plastic tube or pipe. Butane is poured into the device
and then burned off, leaving behind hash oil, which is rich in
concentrated THC, the chemical in cannabis.

Making hash oil with butane has a "better extraction capability" than
other solvents, Clark said, "so it takes away the chemical residue,
both in the taste and the contamination of the body and what you're
ingesting, which is ironic as hell, right?"

Butane, the fluid used in lighters, is easily accessible, but its
chemical qualities can be insidious: Butane fumes are colorless,
odorless and - because they're heavy - travel low to the ground.

Online tutorials

Authorities point to a number of reasons why they're seeing an uptick
in crude, homemade hash oil labs. For one thing, it's harvest time for
outdoor marijuana growers.

Plus, instructions on how to make hash oil can easily be found on the
Internet, said Santa Rosa police Sgt. Chad Heiser, who heads the
department's narcotics unit. Police there have investigated several
hash oil explosions, including one in July that left a 31-year-old man
with life-threatening burns over more than half of his body.

"It's easy to get the ingredients, and the process itself is not a
difficult process," Heiser said. "People think it's easy to do, and
they try it and learn, sometimes the hard way, that it's a pretty
dangerous process."

First-timers are more likely to hurt themselves, he said, "but even
people who have done it before still are at high risk of injuring
themselves, just because of how flammable butane gas is. It doesn't
take much of an ignition source in order to ignite that gas."

Profit motive

Ellen Komp, deputy director of the California chapter of the National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said her group has
issued a warning about the dangers of butane hash oil production
inside buildings without proper ventilation, as well as using butane
lighter fluid, which she said contains other chemicals that are
neurotoxins.

"People making this at home in this unsafe manner is something we're
very concerned about," Komp said.

Denny Hutton, who teaches alcohol and drug studies at Santa Rosa
Junior College, said hashoil producers are "all about making money.
It's people who don't have viable jobs, people who don't have the same
kind of lifestyle that a working man or woman may have, and they find
that they can cook up a few ounces of hash oil and make a tidy profit."

Hutton added, "They may see it on TV, on 'Breaking Bad,' or watch a
special on it or look it up on the Internet, but I think most people
aren't really familiar with it. I don't think they realize how
dangerous it is."
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MAP posted-by: Matt