Two labs using a new, rare method to make hash oil were raided near San Diego Wednesday, ending a six-month investigation by the Drug Enforcement Agency.
DEA agents served search warrants to four suites at a Poway business park, located at 13514 Pomerado Road, as well as another Vista address.
At both locations, they discovered hash oil laboratories that use carbon dioxide instead of the typical butane — something the DEA rarely sees, according to the agency's spokeswoman Amy Roderick.
The high-tech equipment is very expensive, but it can make huge quantities of hash oil. Though carbon dioxide is not flammable like butane, it still makes the process dangerous, Roderick said.
The agents seized a large amount of marijuana from the Poway location, but no arrests have been made.
The "business" on Pomerado Road was closed and appeared to be a front, said Roderick, used only for hash oil extraction.
Just a drop or two of hash oil on a cigarette is equal to a single “joint” of marijuana, according to the DEA website.
