Marijuana Wax Fire led to Octogenarian Lady's Death
Posted by Sagar Satapathy on March 26, 2015.
Sally Douglas, 85, became a victim of the misadventure of her 18-year-old grandson Dustin Zablocki and his friend Justin Pick (19), as she succumbed to her burn injuries in Minnesota. The incident occurred on November 22, 2014. But, the reason behind the fire and her death became clear yesterday. Dustin and Justin were cooking cannabis oil in the basement when their hotplate ignited butane gas.
According to the investigators, the manufacturing process of butane hash oil (also known as Marijuana Wax), triggered the explosion and fire. The older woman was injured from smoke inhalation. She was pulled out by the rescuers, but died at the Hennepin County Medical Center two weeks later. Eyewitnesses said Dustin Zablocki was not aware what happened until the firefighters brought his grandmother out. He fell to his knees and cried, "I killed my grandma" when he came to know about it.
Dustin Zablocki and Justin Pick, both residents of St. Cloud area, have been arrested. They are facing third degree murder charges. Bail for both defendants is set at $500,000 without conditions. The Department of Public Safety believes that the process of heating the concentrated marijuana oil to get butane hash oil or Wax could be dangerous if the vapors are inhaled.
The percentage of THC, the psychoactive element in marijuana, in butane hash oil can be as high as 85 to 90 percent, which may pose health hazards and even become life threatening. The same happened in case of Sally, who died without knowing what happened.
