Greetings from CV Alliance

At our most recent Strategic Partners meeting, Tom Lorenz talked about an issue of concern to members of the California Narcotic Officers Association: butane honey (or hash) oil or (BHO). From what I understand, when butane is added to marijuana, it evaporates and leaves a sticky, oily residue – a marijuana concentrate. It is more potent than smoked marijuana – think of it like the difference between beer and bourbon.

Some people make BHO in their homes. Lorenz said there has been an increase of 400% in the number of labs taken down in California – because they blow up!

You may have heard of concentrates described as “dab,” and the act of using them as “dabbing.” Here’s what the420times.com has to say on this topic:

Taking a dab is the latest and some say greatest way to consume cannabis concentrates these days. But what is “dabbing?” Simply put, “dabbing” is a slang term used to describe taking single dose hash hits of concentrates that are referred to as oil, errl, earwax, wax, budder or shatter using pipes and bongs that are made specifically for smoking these cannabis extracts. The pieces are designed to have a skillet or nail that are made from glass, quartz or titanium that is heated with a handheld torch; the user then “dabs” a small of the extract onto the hot nail causing the concentrate to flash into a vapor that you inhale.

Concentrates that can be dabbed are made using various methods, some of which include butane, CO2 or isopropyl alcohol. These concentrates are what you hear referred to as oils, waxes, budders and shatters and each one has its own consistency and method of being made. Oils usually have the consistency of molasses and are most often amber in color.

If you read the story about how Maureen Dowd ate a pot candy bar and thought she was dying you know it’s because she ate the entire bar. It should have been cut into 16 sections, but no one bothered to label the wrapper. There was concentrate in that bar. And, Lorenz said people also smoke BHO on e-cigarettes.

BHO/dabbing is something to keep your eye on as more states vote on the legalization of adult recreational use of marijuana.
Suzy Jacobs, Executive Director,
CV Alliance
3131 Foothill Blvd. Suite D
La Crescenta, CA 91214
(818) 646-7867  http://cv-alliance.org/