One reason why BHO extractions end up as explosions

Source: Gazette
Source: Gazette

According to Chhun Sun of the Gazzette:

It wasn’t until Thomas Chmielewski woke up and heard an explosion in his kitchen that he realized something went wrong in his attempt to make hash oil, according to his arrest affidavit.

The explosion caused an early Sunday fire at his home on the 2500 block of San Marcos Drive in southeastern Colorado Springs, police said. Chmielewski, 30, told investigators that he fell asleep on his couch after he extracted oils from marijuana, placed heating solution on a hot stove to degas hash oil and waited for the residue to evaporate.
According to the affidavit, Chmielewski was “confused and frightened” when he saw smoke throughout his home.

He told three friends in an upstairs bedroom to hurry out of the house when he realized it was on fire, the affidavit said.

Chmielewski “was in the process of extracting marijuana concentrate utilizing butane when a significant explosion and subsequent fire occurred in the kitchen of the residence,” police said.

The fire was reported just before 4 a.m. Sunday.

At Chmielewski’s home, investigators found several large plastic bags of marijuana, a burnt stove that left black scorch marks on the kitchen wall and ceiling, two large trash cans filled with used butane cylinders and a large trash can lid filled with marijuana. An officer also found methamphetamine on Chmielewski.

Butane can be used to extract the psychoactive compounds from marijuana and create concentrate hash oil. Many methods for extracting the marijuana concentrate involve subjecting the slurry of marijuana and solvents to the dangerous heat of a stove.

The Colorado General Assembly last year passed a law banning most production of homemade hash oil.

Chmielewski was arrested on suspicion of breaking the hash oil law, fourth-degree arson and unlawful possession of a controlled substance.

He is scheduled to be advised of his charges in a court appearance March 9, court records show.

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