Hash Oil Explosion Injures 2, Destroys North Denver Garage

DENVER, CO -- Denver firefighters took two persons to the hospital Tuesday with burn injuries after a homemade has-oil experiment blew up a garage in north Denver.

"It's illegal in Denver -- and dangerous -- to use heat for extractions at home," the Denver Fire Dept. tweeted.

The explosion took place in the 4400 block of Hooker Street, said Capt. Greg Pixley. Photos appeared to show the walls of the garage blown out, in video images from CBS Denver.

A neighbor told CBS she heard an explosion. “I didn’t know what it was exactly. I thought a semi was coming through the wall,” Camden Paddock said.

Extraction of concentrated cannabis oil from marijuana plants can be accomplished in several ways, but the most popular, and the most dangerous, involves soaking the plants in flammable ethanol, then evaporating the ethanol with heat. The do-it-yourself extraction of hash oil is against the law in Denver.

Read CBS's coverage of the garage explosion here.

Image via Jonny Lindner, Pixabay