A Denver City Council committee Tuesday delayed proposed restrictions on home hash oil production so that they could be amended to accommodate residents who use an alcohol-based process.
Several people argued for the change to the Safety and Well-Being Committee, including the father of a little girl who depends on cannabis oil to treat her severe epilepsy. The committee will resume the discussion on the proposed ordinance and could vote Oct. 16 on whether to send it to the full council.
The proposal would ban the amateur use of butane or other gases in extractions of oil from marijuana. That’s resulted in dozens of home explosions statewide this year. Licensed businesses still could use that process, but people who make hash oil at home would have to use safer water- and food-based methods.
A volatile issue: Hash oil explosions becoming more widespread in Colorado
Brian Wilson, whose family moved from New Jersey to Denver earlier this year so his 3-year-old daughter Vivian could use medical marijuana treatments, said neither of those methods would produce the kind of oil suitable for her. He uses an ethanol-based extraction process.
“I didn’t move out here to put her more at risk,” Wilson said.
Denver Fire Chief Eric Tade told the committee that the proposal likely could be amended to allow alcohol-based methods, with limits on use of heat and amount of alcohol to keep it safe.
Jon Murray: 303-954-1405, jmurray@denverpost.com or twitter.com/JonMurray
