'Honey Oil' Manufacturing Could Be on the Rise, Police Say

According to the Ventura County Sheriff's Department, the explosions and house fire on the 4200 block of Cedarpine Lane Thursday morning were caused by drug manufacturing.

In a statement issued Thursday evening, the Department said, “Arson Investigators from the Sheriff’s Office and Frire Department, along with deputies at the location discovered that the residents were in the process of manufacturing concentrated marijuana (i.e., honey oil) when the explosion occurred.”

So the questions arise: What is concentrated marijuana or honey oil, and how prevalent is it in Moorpark and Ventura County?

Honey oil is the resin extract from marijuana. According to Mike Aranda, the Public Information Officer for the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, the rise of medical marijuana usage is at the root of this type of drug manufacturing.

“It’s not that common right now in Ventura County, but it’s becoming more prevalent because of medical marijuana,” said Aranda. “You can put it in food products and it has a higher potency.”

The problem with extracting the oil, however, is that the process can be extremely dangerous. The online news site 420Magazine provides directions for making what it calls “cannabis hemp oil.” YouTube also has several posted videos explaining the process.

There are several methods for manufacturing honey oil. Most involve the use of ether, alcohol or some form of benzine. The use of butane is common because it can be purchased readily and cheaply.

Essentially, the process is to run the butane through a batch of marijuana which has been loaded into an extractor. When the liquid is released, the soluble butane and THC run through the extractor into some type of cooking dish. The dish is then placed under low heat and the butane itself dissolves, leaving only the remaining oil extract.

Butane is effective because it is an oil-based hydrocarbon that works well on marijuana as an extract. The resins being extracted are an oil-based compound, so when the butane is run through the plant, it draws out the soluble THC and allows it to dissolve. It also evaporates easily under low heat. By evaporating the butane, THC oil, with little contamination in the final product, is left behind.

Butane, however, is highly flammable. Most websites and videos warn never to work with any type of flammable product indoors and to avoid any type of flame or spark while extracting the THC. In addition precautions should be taken to use heavy duty gloves and a face shield.

What it boils down to is manufacturing marijuana oil can be dangerous—a safety risk that can prove hazardous to your health and your home.