Shatter is a drug that has been around since the 1960's, but has regained popularity in recent years according to Winkler Police Constable Brad Goertzen.

"Shatter is a street name for a type of Butane Hash Oil (BHO)," said Goertzen. "It is made through a process where Marijuana is combined with a solvent, usually like a butane lighter fluid, to extract the hash oil from the Marijuana. Shatter itself is kind of like a gold coloured product that kind of looks like a gold sheet of toffee."

Goertzen stated it is an extremely concentrated Marijuana resin, and has really high Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) levels. He stated present day Marijuana has a THC percentage of around twelve, while Shatter can be up to ninety percent.

According to Goertzen this may lead to a more intense high, which could last longer too. He went on to say effects of using the drug include altered senses, and altered sense of time, mood changes, impaired movement, struggling with problem solving, and an impaired memory.

"Shatter is considered a non-life threatening drug. Using it can lead to vomiting, anxiety, paranoia, and other physiological problems that can last for a number of days," said Goertzen.

He said the drug may be easy to make, but it also comes with a very high risk of exploding.

''I really want to stress the danger in the production process. Making a BHO like Shatter is actually a very simple, but extremely dangerous process," said Goertzen. "A quick Google search for BHO lab explosions turns up around 30,000 results. We haven't found these labs to be very common in our area, but we did come across one during a search warrant at a residence last year. These labs pose a huge risk for the people making Shatter, to us (Police) and other first responders, who have to enter the residence, and to any of the neighbouring homes."

Goertzen also said to never rule out Shatter maybe laced with a different drug you may not know is in there. At the same time, it is unknown as to how much of this unknown drug could be concealed in it.

As for side effects or ways to know if someone is or has been using Shatter include a variety of things including the person feeling drowsy all the time, they have trouble with short term memory, reduced coordination, difficulty concentrating, less motivation, and slowed speech. He added, in cases with younger people, the loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities like sports or achieving educational goals is another sign to watch for.

 

Multiple cans of lighter fluid found in a home during a search warrant executed by Winkler Police last March, which resulted in the occupants of the residence being charged with production of Cannabis Resin (Shatter) (Photo supplied by Winkler Police Service)