Mexican Cartels in the Cannabis Honey Oil Extraction Business in the US

Yaqui for Borderland Beat from: Zeta y DEA

  Mexican Drug Cartels in the clandestine business of cannabis extracts in San Diego, California

By:  Inés García Ramos
With a greater demand for marijuana derivatives such as oil and cannabis honey in the US market, the DEA notices the presence of cartels behind sophisticated laboratories located in San Diego. One gram of these substances can be sold for up to $ 80, four times the cost of one gram of methamphetamine, so the market has become very lucrative.

The United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) warned not only of the increase in clandestine laboratories to extract oil and honey from cannabis in San Diego County, California, but also the incursion of cartels to produce industrial quantities of these derivatives which are sold up to $ 80 per gram, both in the black market and in authorized establishments.

Although in 2018 the legislation that allows the consumption of marijuana for recreational purposes in California became effective, the San Diego County prosecutor, Christina Eastman, details that the secondary laws and regulations that regulate the elaboration of derivatives have not yet been issued of cannabis, so the California government is not in a position to issue operating licenses.

However, this has not slowed down its installation. Steve Woodland, special agent of the DEA, points out that the legalization of drugs does not mean the eradication of the black market, since many of the organizations and individuals related to the sale of drugs continue to do so clandestinely to avoid paying taxes .

Authorities even confirmed the discovery of these products obtained illegally for sale in authorized marijuana dispensaries.

SAN DIEGO Laboratories Supply National Demand:

In 2019, the DEA has detected 19 laboratories dedicated exclusively for the extraction of these products in residential areas such as El Cajon and Lemon Grove, while in 2018 28 such sites were closed. Therefore, if this trend continues, 2019 could close with an increase of 35 %.

In the presence of more laboratories, mainly in residential areas, there have been two explosions so far this year that left four people injured, who worked in clandestine laboratories.

San Diego County HAZMAT and San Diego City HAZMAT responded to assist with clean-up of this extensive laboratory operation.

The reason why these sites represent a public safety risk -explained agents involved in detection and seizure operations- is that during the oil extraction process, solvents such as butane and ethyl alcohol are used, which with only one spark from electrical circuits or nearly anything else , can cause explosions.

It is precisely the easy acquisition of these solvents, for example butane, is sold in cans available in convenience stores, allowing teens and drug users to start the extraction process guided by videos on the internet.

Extraction is the process of removing THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, from marijuana plant material using a solvent. The final product, a concentrated oil, can be up to 90 percent pure. Hash oil is often consumed in e-cigarettes and vaporizers, found in edible products like cookies, brownies and gummy candies, topicals/lotions, tinctures, capsules and patches.

“Manufacturing concentrated THC products pose an inherent threat to public safety due to the flammable solvents utilized in the extraction process,” said Special Agent in Charge Karen Flowers. “The labs DEA NTF are encountering are more sophisticated, commercial laboratories than those encountered in past years and the numbers are increasing.”

However, the DEA has indications that behind the most sophisticated laboratories, with equipment valued at up to $2,000,000  dollars, is the structure of the drug cartels already operating in San Diego.

Records from the agency indicate that, in 2016, 65% of the cannabis oil and honey sold in the United States was produced in California.

For Paul Hequist, special agent of the DEA, this is due to the proximity of the border, which makes it easier for marijuana to remain in the region to distribute its derivatives throughout the United States.

For his part, Steve Woodland compared the multiplication of these clandestine laboratories with the crisis of methamphetamines in the nineties, this because although a greater number of laboratories was located in the East Coast and the center of the EU, the few laboratories in the border strip of California with Mexico, they produced the largest quantities of drugs. The same is true now with these cannabis extracts.

In one of the laboratories recently found, authorities confiscated amounts of cannabis oil that exceeded $ 4 million.

Regarding the penalties that may be received by persons related to the operation of these laboratories, the San Diego County Prosecutor's Office reported that the sentences range from three to seven years in prison. However, if there are aggravating factors such as the presence of children (child abuse) or fire, the sentences increase.

Matthew Sutton, of the Southern District Attorney's Office of California, added that the crime could become federal when arms or cash are located on the site and if the operation of sales and distribution networks is verified.

He reported that investigations have thrown the use of the dark web or dark network, a clandestine market through the Internet for the supply of these products, also represents aggravating of the federal crime.

Finally, the special agent of the DEA, Steve Woodland, said that it is not about supporting or rejecting the legalization of the use of marijuana, but about avoiding situations that put the community at risk, either due to the lack of regulation of the products that are manufactured in these laboratories, or the risks that lead to possible explosions.

If you are aware of an illegal hash oil extraction laboratory in your neighborhood, please call DEA at (858) 616-4100.