Pubdate: Mon, 28 Apr 2014
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Copyright: 2014 The StarPhoenix
Contact: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/letters.html
Website: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400
Author: Andrea Hill
Page: A5

MAKING HASH OIL FOR E-CIGS DANGEROUS, POLICE SAY

Explosive hash oil extraction operations that cater to electronic 
cigarette users wanting to get high are not yet a concern in 
Saskatchewan, law enforcement officials say.

Provincial RCMP shared its view on the problem shortly after the 
Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team warned citizens about the 
dangers of volatile hash oil production operations, which are 
believed to be increasing in number as the popularity of electronic 
cigarettes surges.

Hash oil - which can be produced by soaking marijuana leaves, stems 
and buds in liquid butane or isopropyl alcohol and then boiling away 
the liquid to leave a potent resin - can be easily and 
inconspicuously "vaped" through the vapour-cigarettes. The process of 
extracting the resin is highly volatile and has been blamed for a 
handful of fatal fires in the United States and Alberta.

"It's difficult to say whether that particular trend will come to 
this province," said Sgt. Craig Toffoli from the Saskatchewan RCMP's 
integrated organized crime north unit. "We haven't seen any 
explosions or fires associated with resin production."

Toffoli said the provincial RCMP is "not at the point" of putting out 
safety bulletins about hash oil extraction sites and that his unit 
has identified just two hash oil extraction sites in the province 
since 2013, neither of which was associated with a fire or explosion.

By comparison, Alberta has seen two significant explosions as a 
result of hash oil extraction gone wrong. In May 2013, a man was 
killed in Evansburg, about an hour west of Edmonton, when an 
explosion caused by isolating marijuana resin levelled his house. Two 
months later, a Calgary man attempting to extract hash oil blew out 
his garage door and suffered minor burns.

"It's volatile. When you start using the isopropyl and butane or 
whichever method you're doing, it's extremely dangerous," said Sgt. 
Dwayne Karpo of the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team's Green Team North.

Karpo said, while the number of explosions in Alberta is small, 
there's a potential for the problem to grow as demand for hash oil 
increases - and his team is trying to proactively crack down on hash 
oil production before it takes off in the province.

"These e-cigarettes for smoking weed oil, it's big in the States and 
now it's making its way up here and you see it everywhere from the 
school yards, to concerts, you name it," Karpo said.

He said the current hash oil market is "very lucrative" and is 
encouraging some people with marijuana grow operations to delve into 
the dangerous practice of resin extraction in order to maximize their 
profits by harvesting parts of the plant not previously used.

"Years ago, it was strictly just marijuana grows with your typical 
process to dry marijuana but now it's a new market," Karpo said, 
adding that anyone who wants to extract hash oil can easily find 
step-by-step instructions online.

Mitch Tarala, who runs Vapor Jedi, Saskatoon's electronic cigarette 
shop, said marijuana extract can't be smoked in standard cigarettes 
and that people looking to get high by vaping need to find 
electronic-cigarette-type products, specially designed to use herbal 
and resin compounds.

Standard electronic cigarettes, such as those sold at Tarala's shop, 
are typically used by former smokers who inhale nicotine through 
disposable cartridges filled with flavoured "e-juice."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom