Pubdate: Fri, 31 Jul 2015
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Copyright: 2015 The StarPhoenix
Contact: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/letters.html
Website: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400
Author: Charles Hamilton
Page: A1

NEW WARNINGS ABOUT DANGERS OF 'SHATTER'

Police and pharmacists are warning producers of a marijuana extract 
called "shatter" after two explosions related to the manufacturing of the drug.

Shatter is an increasingly popular form of hardened, glasslike 
cannabis oil made by extracting psychoactive ingredients from the 
leaves and buds of marijuana plants.

The extraction process often involves soaking the plants in alcohols 
like isopropyl or butane.

"Some of these chemicals are highly volatile. If you don't know what 
are you doing you could bring your whole house down," said Lori 
Postnikoff, a field officer for Saskatchewan's College of Pharmacists.

The process of extracting cannabis resin has been linked to at least 
two explosions in Regina in recent years. Three people were arrested 
and charged with production of cannabis resin after a Regina house 
exploded on Feb. 24. Two of them were hurt in the explosion. In a 
separate case, a 21-year-old Regina man was charged with producing 
cannabis resin after an explosion at his mother's house in 2013.

Saskatoon police Insp. Jerome Engel said not only is the product more 
powerful than traditional dried marijuana, the manufacturing process 
makes it far more dangerous.

"The chances of explosions are so huge because of the alcohol you are 
cooking. If you are cooking it over an open flame, you are going to 
have problems," Engel said.

Various forms of the oil are also known on the streets as "wax" or 
"budder" or "butane hash oil" and involve a similar production 
process. Jeff Lundstrom, a marijuana advocate and owner of Skunk Funk 
Smoker's Emporium, agrees making homemade marijuana extract is 
dangerous, but he advocates a different solution.

"It's the black market that caused all this. If you didn't have 
prohibition, you wouldn't have stupid stoner kids in the basement 
with butane cans and homemade extractors making (butane hash oil) 
because they saw it online. There needs to be regulation," he said.

Lundstrom said the process of extracting THC from marijuana plants 
can be undertaken safely in a way that resembles how other oils are 
extracted from common crops like canola. He said the dangers results 
from the lack of a legal and regulated marijuana industry.

"They want to sit there and say 'the dangers, the dangers' - well, 
you created the environment that created those dangers," he said.

Illegal labs set up to produce "shatter" aren't much different from 
those used to produce other kinds of marijuana oils, but the way 
people smoke the product has changed, he said. While people often 
spread oil on their marijuana cigarettes to make them more powerful, 
new electronic vaporizers have made the hardened oil more popular.

Engel said while the chemicals used - things like butane and 
isopropyl alcohol - are legal, people seeking to purchase large 
quantities are under increased scrutiny.

"It's legal. There are a lot of uses for it. But when you are using 
it illegally or to produce a product that is illegal, it becomes an 
issue," Engel said.

Postnikof said she has received queries from pharmacists about people 
who purchase large amounts of isopropyl alcohol - the chemical used 
in the extraction process. Sellers should be wary of people who may 
have illegal labs set up to manufacture the drug, she said.

"My advice is always to ask why."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom