Man Questioned But Not Arrested In Hash Oil Explosion
DENVER (CBS4)- Police in Denver interviewed a man who was inside a home when a hash oil explosion ripped through the property, blowing out windows, doors and knocking bricks off the exterior.
The man was not hurt in the explosion that happened around 8 p.m. Thursday at a home in the 1300 block of South Logan Street in south Denver.
On July 1, a new state law went into effect that makes is a felony to use butane and open flames at a residential property to extract hash oil. Police and fire investigators are still examining evidence that was taken from the home.
After the explosion, officers discovered butane canisters inside along with other items believed to be used to extract hash oil from marijuana. Police questioned the man who was inside but he was released.
"I heard one big boom and my neighbor called me and informed me that a house had exploded," said neighbor Pamela Lindroth.
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"It's a danger, I'm glad nobody got hurt. I wish they did it in the woods and not the neighborhood," said neighbor Billy Bob McCoy.
In 2014, more than 30 butane hash oil related explosions were reported in Colorado.
Marijuana attorney Lauren Davis said since the new law that went effect on July 1, there have been fewer hash oil explosions in the Denver metro area.
"It is illegal to manufacture concentrates at home using butane or what the law calls 'inherently dangerous substances,'" said Davis.
Davis said she would not be surprised if the new law was challenged before the Colorado Court of Appeals because of the constitutional amendments passed in Colorado legalizing marijuana.
CBS4's Rick Sallinger is a Peabody award winning reporter who has been with the station more than two decades doing hard news and investigative reporting. Follow him on Twitter @ricksallinger.
