Adopted at the 121st Annual Conference

Orlando, Florida

October 21, 2014

Supporting the Collection and Reporting of Data on THC Extraction Laboratories

to the Drug Enforcement Administration

Submitted by: Narcotics & Dangerous Drugs Committee

NDDC.018.T14

WHEREAS, the state decriminalization, medicalization, and legalization of marijuana has led to a flooding of this substance into the public sector; and

WHEREAS, the increased access to marijuana has resulted in an exponential increase in the extraction of delta-9-tetrahydrocannbinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana; and

WHEREAS, the extraction of THC from marijuana allows drug traffickers to provide a higher potency, higher retail cost, unregulated, product to its consumers; and

WHEREAS, the end product has little odor and does not require a significant amount of ingredients, making detection of extraction laboratories and the end product more difficult; and

WHEREAS, the end product is easily portable and can achieve intense effects with small amounts, using a process that can consistently produce THC potency rates exponentially higher than those seen historically; and

WHEREAS, the end product, which resembles a honey-like or caramel-like substance, has also been found in electronic cigarettes and has retailed for as much as $20-80/gram; and

WHEREAS, the lucrative nature of THC-extracted products (typically known as Hash Oil, Honey Oil, Butane Honey Oil (BHO), Dabs, Wax, or Ear Wax) has led to a proliferation of operations designed to expedite such extraction for repackaging and resale to the public; and

WHEREAS, these operations, or extraction laboratories (EL), have increased both the threat to public safety and to law enforcement; and

WHEREAS, state and local law enforcement agencies have reported an increase in EL seizures; and

WHEREAS, due to the use of extremely volatile and often colorless solvents that can accumulate on the floor to explosive levels and be easily ignited from static electricity, fan motors, discarded cigarette butts, or turning on a light, in combination with the potential of mishandling the chemicals involved in making the product, and poor ventilation, the possibilities of fire or explosions is a high probability and an increasing reality; and

WHEREAS, such fires and/or explosions can cause heavy structural damage to immediate and surrounding buildings and present risk of serious bodily injury to first responders; and

WHEREAS, information concerning EL is vital to ensure the safety of law enforcement and to educate the public about the dangers of these products; and

WHEREAS, federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies (LEA) should collect and report data on EL seizures; and

WHEREAS, LEA will report pertinent EL data to a central repository at the Drug Enforcement Administration; and, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that the International Association of Chiefs of Police, duly assembled at its 121st Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida, 2014, strongly supports law enforcement agencies collecting and reporting data on THC extraction laboratories to the Drug Enforcement Administration.