‘Marijuana Manufacturing Method Mayhem! Your community at real risk!
In light of the recent butane caused fire in a marijuana company that injured many firefighters in Los Angles, you should prosecute butane companies who sell butane to make marijuana products. In 2017, the US Attorney for Southern California successfully prosecuted a butane company for supplying butane that was used to make marijuana products. Read how they did it.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdca/pr/company-owner-admits-supplying-butane-make-illegal-hash-oil
Many methods are utilized to convert or “manufacture” marijuana into marijuana concentrates. One method is the butane extraction process. This process is particularly dangerous because it uses highly flammable butane to extract the THC from the cannabis plant. In this process, shredded or ground up plant material is stuffed into a glass, metal, or plastic pipe, with a filter on one end and then the butane is forced in the open end of the pipe. As the butane goes through the pipe, the THC within the plant material is extracted and forced through the filter usually into a receptacle. The receptacle is then heated to burn off the remaining butane creating a butane gas. Given the extremely volatile nature of heating butane and creating a gas, this process has resulted in violent explosions. THC extraction labs are being reported nationwide, particularly in the western states and in states where local and state marijuana laws are more relaxed. https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/resource-center/Publications/marijuana-concentrates.pdf
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Los Angeles Times: Criminal inquiry begins in downtown L.A. explosion
Cause is unknown in blast that damaged several buildings and injured 12 firefighters.
A criminal investigation is underway after a massive explosion in a downtown Los Angeles warehouse on Saturday injured 12 firefighters and left several buildings damaged, law enforcement sources told The Times.
- Downtown was rocked Saturday night by the blast, which broke out in an older business district off East 3rd Street, known for its various smoke shops. Authorities referred to it as Bong Row.
“We are in the early stages of an investigation. We are looking at every aspect at this stage. We haven’t determined a cause,” Los Angeles Police Department Assistant Chief Horace Frank said. “The explosion was massive and those firefighters are very lucky to be alive.”
An initial investigation identified the business that caught fire as Smoke Tokes, a warehouse distributor with supplies for butane hash oil, said Capt. Erik Scott, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Authorities said carbon dioxide and butane canisters were found inside the building, and investigators are trying to determine whether oil stores on site might have sparked the blast. The cause of the fire has not been determined.
The owner of Smoke Tokes could not be reached for comment.
The explosion damaged several storefronts, melted fire helmets and left one firetruck burned and covered in debris. Officials said firefighters had to pass through a fireball to escape.
“Firefighters were coming out with obvious damage and burns,” Scott said. They ran “straight through that ball of flame to get to safety across the street.”
Eleven firefighters received treatment for burn injuries at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, according to the LAFD. A 12th firefighter was treated and released at an emergency room Saturday night for “a minor extremity injury,” said Nicholas Prange, an LAFD spokesman.
For complete article https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-05-17/criminal-investigation-downtown-la-building-explosion