Pubdate: Thu, 31 Aug 2017
Source: Detroit Free Press (MI)
Copyright: 2017 Detroit Free Press
Contact: http://www.freep.com/article/99999999/opinion04/50926009
Website: http://www.freep.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/125
Author: Robert Allen

POLICE SUSPECT MARIJUANA LAB IN REDFORD HOUSE EXPLOSION

An explosion in a house Wednesday night in Redford Township seriously
injured three people, and police suspect it involved an explosive
marijuana processing operation.

The three people in the house when the explosion occurred, at 8:15
p.m. on the 20100 block of Woodworth, were hospitalized with
life-threatening injuries, according to a news release from Redford
Police Department.

A neighbor told the station she saw three men run out of the house and
"their clothes were melted off of them" after the explosion, according
to a report from Fox 2 Detroit (WJBK-TV). .

Users make hash oil by running butane or another solvent through a
tube filled with dried marijuana clippings, left over after the
flowers have been cut off for smoking, as reported by USA Today.

The solvent strips the THC, or psychoactive compound, out of the
plants, leaving behind an oily liquid that can be further solidified
by heating the mixture to evaporate the butane. Because it's heavier
than air, the butane sinks to ground level, where it can be ignited by
a stove's pilot light or a refrigerator's compressor motor. People
making hash oil also sometimes store it in their refrigerator, where
the butane continues to evaporate, USA Today reports.
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