Gov. Brown Signs Bill to Help Stop Fires, Explosions

Better Protection from BHO Labs for Families

By Roger Morgan, Founder Take Back America Campaign #stoppot  (916) 434 5629

In 2014, Butane Hash Oil (BHO) labs killed 32 people in California.

Driven by greed, and the growing popularity of this highly potent marijuana derivative, amateurs have been blowing up homes and apartments with greater frequency while making BHO, a marijuana derivative.  Governor Brown signed SB 212 on August 7.   Authored by Senator Tony Mendoza, the bill will reclassify the crime of operating BHO and methamphetamine labs as aggravated felony, if they are in proximity to residences and schools.  Senator Tony Mendoza authored the bill which will go into effect January 1, 2016.

October 31, 2014, Walnut Creek, California, nbcbayareaimage
On October 31, 2014, eight apartment units were destroyed in a butane hash oil (BHO) fire in Walnut Creek.  Photo: nbcbayareaimage

SB 212 strengthens California drug laws by allowing a judge to consider as an aggravating factor the manufacturing of BHO within 300 feet of an occupied residence or structure, or methamphetamine within 200 feet of an occupied residence or a structure.

BHO uses highly explosive butane to extract hash oil from marijuana. Three of those who died were in 2013 and 2014 were children.  Over 812 illicit drug labs were discovered in recent years on public and private land.  When an apartment building blew up near Sacramento last year, 140 people were displaced at one time!

hashoilexplosionSanDiego
Photo of a hash oil explosion  at the Heritage Hotel, near Sea World, in San Diego County.  Photo on top is from a BHO fire in Walnut Creek that happened last year on Halloween.

During the first four months of last year, 17 BHO labs were discovered in San Diego County and 10 in Yuba County.  The Shriners Hospital in Northern California has treated 68 victims in the last three years.  On average, the burns cover 28% of their bodies.  Reports from other burn centers report a surge in burn victims, which often require skin grafts and prolonged residence of 2 to 3 months, all at a huge cost to taxpayers. Tougher penalties will hopefully dissuade some from manufacturing BHO and meth.

Dispensaries Must Stop Selling BHO

The next step is to stop dispensaries from selling BHO, and educating people on the harms of using it.  Under the guise of medicine, BHO is being sold with potencies as high as 96% (see www.rivercityphoenix.info).  On the street, BHO is known by many different names including, honey, shatter, dabs, hash oil, honeycomb, toast, and wax among others

Edibles, such as brownies, contain 297 milligrams …. 30 times the limit for the legal drug Marinol, a pill form of THC.  The combined quantity and potency can be lethal, as witnessed by 19-year-old foreign exchange student Levy Thamba Pongi, and 23-year-old vacationer Luke Goodman in Colorado.  BHO is already illegal to manufacture or import in California, which begs the question …. how is a dispensary allowed to sell it?

(SEE PICTURE ON ATTACHED FROM RIVERCITYPHOENIX.INFO WEBSITE)

Note the label which says Not-For-Rookies Glazed Brownie.  294 mg THC, 16 doses.

If left in the cupboard or refrigerator, do you think a child would or cold read the label; or only take one bite?

In any event, hats off to Senator Mendoza for taking another step in the right direction to limit the harms of California’s marijuana industry.  Hopefully it will help.

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