July Explosion Leads to OSHA Fine for New Mexico Pot Business

A medical marijuana dispensary in New Mexico has been fined for safety violations after an explosion badly burned two workers.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration spent about eight months investigating the July 23 explosion and found 12 serious health and safety violations.

OSHA has ordered New MexiCann Natural Medicine to pay fines totaling $13,500. Online records show that inspectors verified in January that there were no continuing hazards.

The explosion occurred while the two workers were making hash oil, which involves soaking marijuana in butane to extract THC, the active ingredient in pot. A report from the Santa Fe Fire Department said the blast was caused when a butane leak met with an ignition source. A report from the Santa Fe Fire Department said a butane leak from one of the lines met with an ignition source to cause the blast.

Fire inspectors couldn’t pinpoint what caused the ignition, but noted that the extraction equipment is moved often and could have caused a leak in one of the butane lines.