Second hash oil extraction laboratory explosion in San Diego County within two week period
EL CAJON, Calif. – Yesterday, DEA’s Narcotic Task Force (NTF) responded to a hash oil extraction laboratory explosion in the city of El Cajon. This explosion occurred less than two weeks after the significant hash oil extraction laboratory explosion in the Mira Mesa area of San Diego, which sent three people to the hospital with serious injuries.
Last night at approximately 9:11p.m., the local fire department responded to a call of an explosion at 920 El Cajon Blvd. Upon arrival, the fire department contained an active fire. One adult male associated with the fire was transported to the hospital with extensive burns.
A specialized DEA NTF unit, trained to investigate these types of incidents, responded to the scene and identified an active hash oil extraction laboratory. Marijuana, sophisticated laboratory equipment and over a dozen 55-gallon drums containing hexane, a volatile solvent, were located inside the building where the fire occurred.
Hexane is a highly flammable liquid and its vapors can be explosive. A mere spark of static electricity can ignite an entire room. This quantity of hexane could have caused extensive damage to the community, had the fire department not been able to extinguish the fire quickly. The building sits immediately adjacent to the San Diego trolley tracks, borders a business and sits off of El Cajon Blvd., a very busy thoroughfare that had to be shut down for approximately seven hours last night.
Extraction is the process of removing THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, from marijuana plant material using a solvent. The final product, a concentrated oil, can be up to 90 percent pure. Hash oil is often consumed in e-cigarettes and vaporizers, found in edible products like cookies, brownies and gummy candies, topicals/lotions, tinctures, capsules and patches.
“Manufacturing concentrated THC products pose an inherent threat to public safety due to the flammable solvents utilized in the extraction process,” said Special Agent in Charge Karen Flowers. “The labs DEA NTF are encountering are more sophisticated, commercial laboratories than those encountered in past years and the numbers are increasing.”
In 2017, there were 27 hash oil extraction labs dismantled in the county of San Diego. In 2018, that number rose to 31 labs. In 2019, 19 extraction labs have been dismantled to date.
San Diego County HAZMAT and San Diego City HAZMAT responded to assist with clean-up of this extensive laboratory operation.
This laboratory was operating in violation of both federal and state laws. No arrests have been made at this time and the investigation is ongoing.
If you are aware of an illegal hash oil extraction laboratory in your neighborhood, please call DEA at (858) 616-4100.
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