At least five explosions at marijuana extraction labs have been reported in Riverside and San Bernardino counties in 2016, causing injuries as serious as third-degree burns.
The labs have operated illegally and often times dangerously in homes, garages and other facilities throughout the state as the demand for the strong marijuana byproduct known as wax or honey oil has risen. In an effort to deter people from running the labs under dangerous conditions, and to provide a framework for legitimate marijuana manufacturers, a law was recently signed that allows the extraction process under certain conditions.
It kind of takes that industry out of peoples garages, said Coachella City Manager David Garcia, whose office helped draft the bill. It continues to make (unlicensed extraction) illegal but also (allows) a safe, licensed process to be in place.
AB 2679, which will go into effect in 2018, spells out strict protocols for operating an extraction lab and says patients, pot identification card-holders, caregivers, collectives and cooperatives will not face state criminal sanctions if they follow the new rules.
The regulations include having a licensed engineer certify the system, ensuring the system doesnt allow highly flammable solvents to escape and following local ordinances.
Since ordinances in most of the Inland Empire that outlaw the sale of medical marijuana also outlaw the manufacturing of medical marijuana, licensed labs would be permitted only in Cathedral City, Coachella and Adelanto. Operating a lab without obtaining a license and following the new regulations would result in the same fines and punishments that were in place before the law was passed.
Garcia said Coachella officials endorsed the bill after issuing a permit to Irvine-based cannabis branding firm Cultivation Technologies Inc. to build a 6-acre, $24 million cannabis industrial complex in the city. In addition to cultivation and testing facilities, the complex will feature a 9,000-square-foot manufacturing facility where wax will be made, according to the companys website.
The facilitys proposed closed-loop, food-grade extraction system would fall in line with the new laws regulations, Garcia said.
It establishes a safe, regulated environment for the manufacturing of cannabis-related products, Garcia said.
The new law does a few other things, including authorizing a University of California research program to study marijuanas effects on motor skills. Also, agencies that issue medical marijuana-related licenses will have to include additional information on denials and complaints in their annual reports.
WHY WAX?
John Blue Whinnery, owner of the Orange County-based medical marijuana delivery service Pats Legacy, said wax, also known as honey oil, hash oil, shatter and dab, has become more and more popular among his customers over the past five years.
Its kind of like concentrated orange juice, Whinnery said. Its at its strongest form.
For medical marijuana patients with chronic pain, hitting a dab can provide instant relief, he said.
Its like taking a shot of Motrin, he said.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker
Full Article: Marijuana ‘Honey Oil’ Labs OK Under New California Law
Author: Ali Tadayon
Contact: The Press Enterprise
Photo Credit: Ken Steinhardt
Website: The Press Enterprise
