Lompoc police and fire officials discover alleged hash oil labs

Three people were arrested in Lompoc on April 7 after police and fire fighters searched two residences where alleged cannabis honey oil labs were discovered, according to the Lompoc Police Department.

Police served warrants to search two homes on North L Street. Following the searches, Sterling Ranft, 26; Christian Wayne Attula, 25; and Edward Henderson, 58, were arrested in connection with various drug and gun allegations. The warrants came after numerous complaints of alleged substandard living conditions and narcotics activity at the residences, police said.

Fire fighters accompanied the police and inspected the residences, finding what they allege to be several building and city code violations. Police said that when they discovered honey—hash—oil labs, they cut off electricity and gas services to the two residences.

According to police, the honey oil was being made using a process called butane extraction, which uses the highly flammable liquid to strip the psychoactive part of marijuana and make a product known as butane hash oil, or BHO, also know as dabs. The product is a highly pure form of cannabis that is sometimes referred to as the “crack of marijuana.”

Law enforcement agents consider the extraction process to be dangerous. Honey oil labs are illegal and treated in much the same way as methamphetamine labs in the eyes of the law.

“We’re seeing a rise in honey oil labs,” said Lompoc Deputy Fire Marshal Capt. Dena Foose, who wants to get the word out to the public on the perils of running such a lab. “They’re extremely flammable and a danger to public safety.”

According to Foose, Lompoc experienced two fires that were attributed to honey oil lab explosions, which also resulted in injuries. Fire officials treat them as explosion hazards, Foose said.

The trend was recognized as a national issue last year. In June 2014, the U.S. Fire Administration began training first responders on how to deal with hash oil labs.

Besides the large amount of honey oil, police said they discovered during the searches, officers also reported finding two guns, approximately 6 pounds of marijuana, and a small amount of methamphetamine.

The investigation is ongoing, and police said more arrests will follow.

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