LIGHTING CIG SUSPECTED IN HASH OIL-COOKING EXPLOSION

A Must Read Before Anyone Should Attempt To Cook Up A Batch Of Hash Oil, This Should Be Used As An Example On How Dangerous It Can Be. If It's Not Done Properly & Carefully.

 2 Separate Incidents In The Last 2 Months, So Lets Be Extremely
 Careful Out There Patients, You Don't Need Anymore Medical
 Problems Then Your All Ready Have. & Trust Me There is "Nothing"
 More Painful Then "Burn Injuries" Use Extreme Safety Measures!

Pubdate: Sat, 19 Aug 2006
Source: Calgary Sun, The (CN AB)

One of five people hurt during a botched bid to cook drugs may have sparked an explosion by trying to light a smoke, say fire and police sources.

Three of those people were still in hospital in critical condition yesterday with second- and third-degree burns.

Two others were treated and released.

Det.  Sid Procee with the joint forces arson unit said the individuals, two youth and three adults, are lucky to be alive.

"This could have been fatal for all of them," he said.

"It is very fortunate the individuals were not killed."

Manufacturing pot oil is both reckless and dangerous, and puts many people in the area of a pot-cook in potential danger, Procee said.

In this case, drug-related and arson charges are pending, he said.

Thursday night's flash-fire in the garage of 187 Templewood Rd.  N.E.  caused about $3,000 in damage.

Insp.  Shaun Gissing said there are about five incidents a year where people are hurt or buildings damaged when explosions and fires result while people -- many using recipes found on the Internet -- try to make marijuana oil by using flammable solvents to turn marijuana leaves into a liquid cannabis resin.

And that number, he said, are only the cases reported to cops.

"I personally once spoke to a guy who had both corneas burned out of his eyes," Gissing said.

The blast happened when a buildup of flammable fumes ignited and was so violent it blew out the overhead door, ejecting one of the victims out of the garage, Gissing said.

Investigators have not ruled out suspicions one of the males sparked the explosion when he attempted to light a cigarette. 

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OREGON: Men Hurt In Alleged Drug-Related Fire

Two men allegedly using butane to extract hash oil from
 marijuana suffered severe burns Monday when the gas
 exploded and set their living room on fire.

               Pubdate: Tue, 12 Sep 2006
          Source: Register-Guard, The (OR)

[Name redacted], 27, and [Name redacted], 26, were flown to the Oregon Burn Center at Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center in Portland.  Both men were in serious condition Monday night.

Neighbors heard an explosion and saw flames shoot about 10 feet into the air behind the house [Name redacted], owns at [address redacted], in the Churchill neighborhood south of West 18th Avenue in Eugene.  [Name redacted] reportedly lives at the house as well.

Firefighters who entered the house to fight the blaze found a pile of marijuana on the floor of the basement living room and canisters of liquid butane.

The two men suffered severe burns to their arms and legs, witnesses said.  They stumbled from the house and lay on the front lawn while someone sprayed them with water from a garden hose until paramedics arrived, neighbors said.

Fernando Garcia and another man were installing an appliance on the upper floor of the house when they heard the explosion at about 12:15 p.m.

"We looked inside through the sliding door and saw a lot of smoke," Garcia said.  "We heard guys screaming downstairs.  I called 911."

A 24-year-old woman, [Name redacted], and her 5-year-old daughter were visiting the house at the time.  They escaped unharmed, Eugene police spokeswoman Kerry Delf said.

Police believe the men were using liquid butane as a solvent to extract the psychoactive substance in marijuana to make hash oil, a highly concentrated form of cannabis extract.  The oil is added to marijuana or wiped on a joint to intensify the drug's effects.  It also can be smoked alone in a water pipe or spread on cigarette papers.

Investigators believe the chemical fumes in the air ignited during the manufacturing process and started the fire that injured the two men.

One of the residents holds a medical marijuana card, Delf said.  But Oregon's medical marijuana statute does not allow the manufacture of hash oil.

The Lane County District Attorney's Office will decide whether to file criminal charges against the three adults, Delf said.

Of the three, [Name redacted] is the only one with a criminal history in Oregon.  She was convicted in 2002 of felony identity theft, court records showed.

According to county land records, [Name redacted] bought the three-bedroom, 1 1/2 -bathroom house in June for $259,000.

Neighbor Don Stoll said [Name redacted] had been remodeling the house and was almost done.

Stoll was mowing his lawn Monday when he heard the commotion across the street.

"I saw a big ball of flame at the back of the house," he said.  "It blew the front door open and fire was coming up the stairs."

Firefighters went door-to-door and evacuated neighbors who waited behind red and yellow police tape until they were allowed to return to their homes.

District Chief Mark Grover of the Eugene fire department said firefighters were able to knock the fire down quickly.  The damage was largely confined to the living room, he said.