Speculation surrounding hash oil cook
Posted Apr 11, 2011 10:45:26 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
RCMP are investigating a Lower Sackville man for drug related offences after his house blew up while he was allegedly cooking hash oil, Saturday.
The man, who police have not identified, was in critical condition in the burn unit of a Halifax hospital Monday.
While police are looking into the possibility the man may have been trafficking drugs, there’s also the possibility the hash oil was for personal use as he has a license for medial marijuana use.
“It comes down to dollars and cents,” said Cons. Craig Foley, with the RCMP’s synthetic drug unit.
“If someone had some plants, and removed the bud – which is the most desired part – instead of just throwing out the leaf and the stalk they could use an extraction process to remove what is referred to as the oil, or the weed oil from the leaf and the stalk,” he said.
The process is extremely dangerous as it uses highly flammable solvents which can explode if sparked.
The extracted oil is less potent than the bud, but does contain Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) which delivers a high when smoked and can be used to relieve pain.
Foley said weed oil is usually sold on the streets in vials and would not speak specifically to the case in Lower Sackville.
The RCMP spokesperson said investigators are looking at the remnants of the house for evidence and reasons as to why the victim might have been making drugs.
“Possession is definitely a different sentence that trafficking,” explained Cpl. Scott MacRae. “It’s too early in the investigation to say whether it’s possession only, trafficking or a combination of both. Preliminary details point to possession.”
Drug offence penalties vary depending on prior records, and which controlled substance is involved.
