Pubdate: Fri, 27 Nov 2015
Source: Standard, The (St. Catharines, CN ON)
Copyright: 2015 St. Catharines Standard
Contact: http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/letters
Website: http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/676
Author: Tony Ricciuto
Page: A1

COPS WARN OF DANGEROUS STREET DRUG

A new street drug called shatter has surfaced in Niagara.

Police Chief Jeff McGuire wants the public to know it can be dangerous
when manufactured because one of the solvents used is butane.

"It's fairly new here. It's just another process where somebody has
developed a method of dragging out the THC, which is one of the main
active ingredients in marijuana and hashish, and making it into a more
powerful drug for use," McGuire said.

At Thursday's Police Services Board meeting, the chief touched on the
subject during one of his monthly reports.

He mentioned a recent case in Niagara Falls where two people were
arrested and charged with production of the drug. Police seized a
quantity of drugs, including a large amount of shatter, totalling
about $55,000, plus a quantity of cash.

"I'm sure the drug has been around for a while, but we're just
starting to hear a little bit about it here," said McGuire.

The drug has also started to show up in other communities.

Last week, Illinois State Police issued a warning about shatter, a
drug that is new to the Chicago area.

Police there say shatter is up to six times stronger than the average
marijuana. The drug is reported to cause users to disconnect from reality.

Shatter is described as resembling a sheet of amber or brown glass and
contains a higher concentration of THC.

Police in a number of other cities across the United States have also
reported the drug starting to show up on their city streets.

Shatter has also been described by police as resembling clear, thin
sheets of dried honey or tree sap. When it is smashed, it shatters.
That's how the name originated.

NRP Staff Sgt. Luigi Greco of the Niagara Falls detachment said to get
the THC oil out, the marijuana bud and the leaves, stock and stem are
ground up into a fine powder.

Part of the process involves packing the powder into a pipe or tube
and running butane through it.

"The resin is spread out and it almost becomes like a hard candy,"
said Greco. "People get more of a high from it, but if you read up on
it some say it can be highly addictive."

What makes the manufacturing process so dangerous, he adds, is that
people are using butane solvents in small compact places, without much
ventilation, which can result in an explosion.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt