Explosion from making hashish burns man, blows off wall
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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A medical marijuana patient suffered severe burns to the upper half of his body in an explosion caused by his attempt to make hashish oil, the Washington County Sheriff's Office said Friday.
Nicholas Broms, 22, was in stable condition at Portland's Legacy Emanuel Hospital. The explosion heavily damaged his apartment, tearing out the back wall, blowing the windows out and sending household items across a 50-foot area.
It's unclear if the incident will be treated like a kitchen accident or if Broms will face criminal charges. Broms can legally possess marijuana, but the sheriff's office contends it's illegal to change its composition in a way that places people in danger.
Sheriff's Sgt. Bob Ray said the investigation remains active.
"He's still in the hospital," Ray said. "First things first, he needs to get taken care of."
The explosion happened late Thursday at an apartment complex at 7540 S.W. Barnes Road in Sylvan near Beaverton. Residents of three adjoining apartments were evacuated but no one else was hurt. The county activated a team to remove any potentially hazardous chemicals.
Hashish oil is concentrated marijuana, and its production can be a fire risk because it's prepared using butane. Ray confirmed that butane was found in the apartment.
The Oregon Medical Marijuana Act allows patients to convert marijuana to hashish or hash oil. The state acknowledged the legality earlier this year in a response to a lawsuit filed by medical marijuana user Anthony Beasley, who claims Keizer city police illegally searched his home in October 2007. The suit is now before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Beasley's attorney, Brian Michaels, said this is the first time he has heard of a blast caused by someone legally making hash oil. Without knowing more specifics of the case, he likened it to an unfortunate accident rather than a crime.
"If he's doing something legally, and it's not a dangerous act in general — thousands of people do it, nobody gets hurt — what's the crime?" Michaels said. "Just because there's an injury doesn't mean there's a crime."
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
I wouldn't wish being burned on anyone... he's really gonna need that medical MJ now.
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That said, I wouldn't blame his neighbors one bit if they sued him for putting their lives and property in danger, but it would probably be like getting blood from the proverbial stone.
He probably got what he deserved along with a realy big "HIGH".
I hope he heals quickly.. Burns are so painful
What an Idiot!!! I hope he gets charged with attempted murder for everyone that was home in thier apt's at the time.
Well, I'll bet he doesn't get his security deposit refunded. :-P
Stick to making butter.It's safer.
Unexpected things can happen when you mess with the chron!
"If he's doing something legally, and it's not a dangerous act in general â thousands of people do it, nobody gets hurt â what's the crime?" Michaels said. "Just because there's an injury doesn't mean there's a crime."
Really? So if I were to make a pipe bomb, that's ok.Â
The crime, Mr. Michaels, is the fact that anyone could think that just because it USUALLY is not harmful it is ok. If there is a possibility of danger that can be avoided, one should avoid it! What if a child was hurt or killed because of this?
 @Norm Harding No.  I'm pretty sure making or possessing a bomb is a crime in and of itself.  Pretty sure you missed the point of what the attorney was saying.
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This doesn't add up. Making oil of any product doesn't require enough "gas" (generally butane) to blow the entire wall. This guy might of been smoking near some type of other project with enough energy to do the damage reported. I'm sure anyone familiar with the process would find this bizarre.
http://www.google.com/search?q=butane+extraction
Looks like this guy is now going to actually NEED his medical card for the chronic pain he will be in while recovering from those burns.
Oh i know what the dumbass was doing .. I bet he was making rubbing alcohol hash. A process that will melt the trichomes on the weed using rubbing alcohol. Then you let the alcohol naturally evaporate leaving only the hash. bet he thought he could speed up the process.
More like to much butane.
shouldnt have taken him to the hospital.
 @LostSoul How mean! He is an ex Marine and former Combat Marksman Coach.  What have you done for anyone lately?
This story is erroneous. He was cooking hash in his oven and it exploded. He was not cooking meth nor did he have a meth lab. Full story on Oregonian online.Â
@KKStJohn  It doesn't say meth.  Did the story get changed?
I like the creativity of tweekers. They'll steal somthing from you and then help you look for it.
@Billy Batts that way while looking for the original item tthey can pu something else in their pocket. Out loud:"Sure I will help you find your watch", Â thinking "hmm, nice bracelet!"
Third degree burns mean charcoal. I bet he never does that again. Methy people deserve to be burned. They'll rob you blind as soon as your back is turned. ...wait, was that a song I just wrote?
 @PDXBEAR He was cooking hash not meth. Full story in Oregonian online.Â
 @KKStJohn Dammit KATU. When you put, "Drug related explosion" in a headline, people automatically think it's meth. Stop painting the medical marijuana community as people who run drug labs. Your choice of words are VERY poor.
@KKStJohn @PDXBEAR Ahh the alcohol caught on fire and "just blewed up".
Every year some genius puts a frozen turkey into a vat of super-heated oil over an open flame and BOOM! Â can't fix stupid
I was cooking split peas in a pressure cooker one time . . . the kettle's steam outlet plugged up, the pressure relief safety plug jammed and the thing flew around the kitchen like a jet engine without a plane! Took us all night to clean up the mess; years later when we moved we were still finding split-pea green splotches on the walls.Â
Guess it's not the same thing, hmmm? Well . . . , all righty, then!
I was cooking a turkey in one of those cooking bags. It exploded and blasted turkey drippings all over the oven, kitchen, floor. That was three years ago .... the last time I cooked Thanksgiving dinner. Never again. It was a sign.Â
@KKStJohn a sign you don't read the instructions. It says right on the package to cut slits in the top to let the steam out. we have used them for years, no problem.
 @Gravity Works! I lived in the south and they are very common in every kitchen. They'll cook dry beans in an hour. One time my friends mom made a pot and didnt let them cool long enough. She opened it and it exploded. The lid flew up and broke her front tooth and she was blistered all over her face. I wont use one now.
 @PDXBEAR  @Gravity Works! Crock-pot them thar' beans.
 @Gravity Works! Those things are dangerous. That happened to my son's babysitter once when she was cooking rice, fortunately the babies were in the other room when it happened.
 @QuandoQuandoQuando  @Gravity Works! Hmmm ... I think EVERY pressure cooker I have EVER owned tells you not to cook starchy foods in a pressure cooker. Pasta and rice are not pressure cooker foods.
 @Cindy B.  @QuandoQuandoQuando  @Gravity Works! I love, love love my stainless steel rice cooker!
Egads, he aught to be given the full book including building an incendiary device and then some..Bottom line, Put this guy away for his own safety and the safety of others.
@lee986321 I agree with the safety of others, but the hell with his! When he decided that it was ok to poison people with the crap he was manufacturing he gave up his right for anyone to be concerned for his personal safety!
It's always nice to have such a thoughtful neighbor. I don't think I'd ever rest if I had to share walls with people not of my choosing.
 @Lips Some of us have no choice, unfortunately. At least I'm on the ground floor, so I can get out quickly.
 @QuandoQuandoQuando  @Lips Are you sure you don't want to reconsider that location?The ground floor pancakes in an earthquake. I am on the top of 3 floors, so I won't get squished in an earthquake, I won't have people climbing into my windows, I can leave stuff on the balcony and no one can steal it,  and I am much more unlikely to get mold, ants, (cinnamon stops them from coming in, BTW) and am forced to exercise by using the steps daily a few times. I can still get out via the balcony or windows with a rope ladder or sheets tied together as it is not a skyscraper. And I NEVER hear feet stomping above me. Do I miss having a house again? Yes in ways but one nice thing about renting  it is easier to get your neighbors who are horrible evicted when you are a renter ( or move away) than  it is to deal with bad homeowners (drug dealers, drunks, weirdos, domestic violence that never ends with both parties carrying on) across the street or next door.
I can only hope that he is in a lot of pain and has some permanent facial injuries.
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Being this stupid has to hurt.
 @RalphCramden WTH?? That is a mean, sadistic thing to wish on anyone. SADISTIC.
 @whirledworldÂ
Depends on ones perspective.
 @RalphCramden Well, sure...if you are a sadist that *would* be your perspective.
Call me cold and unfeeling, but I have a hard time working up much sympathy for somebody who's cookin' meth in their house or apt and gets hurt as a result... Â I just figure it's karma catching up to them...
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I only hope that no innocent people were hurt..!
 @margay1 Well said margay, the only people my heart goes out to are this bonehead's neighbors who have had their lives disrupted by an idiot.
 @margay1 You crack me up margay. You're one of the nicest posters on the board. Even when you're being critical you're sweet about it.Â
 @margay1Â
sadly innocents are hurt,,, the apartment and the surrounding apartments now need to be hazmat and possibly that whole part of the condo complex may need to be demolished. When meth cooking happens its one bad thing... when it explodes... well,,, its worse. I feel sorry for the neighbors now.. this idiot just screwed their deductibles.
 @margay1Â
Okay, you're cold and unfeeling....8-} Â You did ask me to call you that.
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I guess I am cold and unfeeling as well. I agree with you.