M-80 (explosive)

Legality

Canada

M-80s are not authorized under the law, making importation, possession, transportation, storage, or manufacture of them is illegal in Canada.

United States

Regulation of M-80s in the United States began in 1966 with congressional hearings proposing amendments to the Federal Hazardous Substances Labeling Act in response to several cases of property damage and bodily harm caused by unregulated fireworks. The resultant Child Protection Act of 1966, with help from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, set groundwork for policies that would later regulate M-80s as ground-based "consumer fireworks," enforced by the ATF.

Per the ATF, possession of such fireworks containing a charge in excess of 50 milligrams of pyrotechnic flash powder (such as M-80s) require a license issued by federal authorities. This law extends to M-100s, quarter sticks, cherry bombs, and silver salutes, among other pyrotechnics.

In 1975, federal regulations were passed to limit all consumer-grade fireworks available for general sale to the public in the United States to a maximum of 50 milligrams flash powder, down from a previous maximum of 200 milligrams. However, firecrackers mounted onto a rocket stick, or other aerial firework devices, such as rockets, Roman candles, and the larger version of M-80s (M-1000 etc.), may still have significantly more, up to 130 mg, or more, depending on device and classification, and can be legally purchased by any American civilian citizen, except where prohibited by state law.

A person with a federal explosives license, issued by the ATF, may be allowed to purchase M-80s. Federal and state officials sometimes distribute them to farmers to scare away wildlife damaging their crops.

Fake M-80

Many firecrackers sold legally in the United States to consumers have names and appearances intended to mimic the "M-80", such as for example "M-80 Firecracker", "M-8000", or "M-##" (where ## is a number). Those differ significantly from the actual "M-80" as they are subject to the regulations with regard to the sale of explosives and fireworks to the general public.{{cite web |access-date=2006-07-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060707092322/http://www.pyrouniverse.com/m80.htm |archive-date=2006-07-07 |url-status=dead

Contrary to urban legend, an M-80 that contains 3,000 mg of powder is not equivalent to a quarter-stick of dynamite. Dynamite generally contains a stable nitroglycerin-based high explosive, whereas M-80s or any other kind of firecracker contain a low explosive powder, like flash powder or black powder.

Accidents

Cases of documented injuries and accidents accompanied civilian M-80 use during the 1950s and 1960s, and still occur, as M-80s are still produced and sold to the public. There have been documented cases of users losing their fingers or hands. On July8, 1976, during a Richmond Coliseum Kiss concert, a fan threw an M-80 onto the stage, leaving drummer Peter Criss with partial hearing loss for the remainder of the night.{{cite book

On October9, 1977, during an Aerosmith concert in Philadelphia's Spectrum, a fan threw an M-80 firework that injured singer Steven Tyler's cornea, and lead guitarist Joe Perry's hand. The band stopped touring for a month while the two recovered.

On May24, 1983, a truck trailer being used as a clandestine fireworks factory manufacturing M-80 fireworks exploded outside of Rowesville, South Carolina, killing two, injuring five, and damaging houses up to two and a half miles away. Three days later an explosion at a clandestine fireworks factory producing M-80 and M-100 fireworks near Benton, Tennessee, killed eleven, injured one, and inflicted damage within a radius of several miles. The operation was by far the largest-known illegal fireworks operation, and the initial blast was heard as far away as 20 mi from the site.

The 1986 San Francisco fireworks disaster occurred on April5 of that year when an illegal machine making M-80s failed, resulting in widespread destruction of a city block, killing at least 8 people, and devastating 125 small businesses.

Angar Hussan, a fourteen-year-old Indian immigrant, died at the Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City on July5, 1990, a day after he was struck in the throat by metal shards from an exploding steel garbage can while watching M-80 firecrackers being set off at a Fourth of July block party sponsored by the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club outside the club's headquarters in Manhattan's East Village. Three other bystanders were injured, two seriously. Hells Angels members Anthony Morabito and John Tannuzzo were charged with second-degree murder in Hussan's death on October22. The motorcycle club as a corporation also was indicted on the charges. Of the two men charged with murder, one was convicted of criminally negligent homicide, and the case against the other was dismissed.

On July1, 2019, ABC News reported that a nine-year-old girl was critically injured after handling what was suspected to be an M-80.

On July 4, 2025, a hip-hop artist named 4XTRA posted a video of him holding M80s to his Instagram account where he can be heard jokingly insinuating that he is "going to blow someone up" with these - he ended up losing part of his right hand to an accident after lighting up 2 M80s for the 4th of July fireworks celebration.

References

References

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4. "Language selection - Natural Resources Canada / Sélection de la langue - Ressources naturelles Canada".
5. U.S. Government Printing Office Washington. (1966). "The Child Protection Act of 1966: Hearings Before the Consumer Subcommittee of the Committee on Commerce, United States Senate, Eighty-Ninth Congress, Second Session on S. 3298, a Bill to Amend the Federal Hazardous Substances Labeling Act to Ban Hazardous Toys and Articles Intended for Children, and Other Articles So Hazardous as to Be Dangerous in the Household Regardless of Labeling, and to Apply to Unpackaged Articles Intended for Household Use, and for Other Purposes.". govinfo.gov.
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9. [[Code of Federal Regulations]]. "§ 1500.17 Banned hazardous substances.".
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18. [https://www.nytimes.com/1990/10/23/nyregion/2-hell-s-angels-are-charged-in-death-of-14-year-old-boy.html 2 Hell's Angels Are Charged In Death of 14-Year-Old Boy] ''[[The New York Times]]'' (October 23, 1990)
19. [https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/137412706/ Hell's Angels charged in July 4th explosion] ''[[Democrat and Chronicle]]'' (October 31, 1990)
20. [https://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/03/nyregion/trouble-with-angels-motorcycle-gang-is-in-a-us-court-fight-over-its-clubhouse.html Trouble With Angels; Motorcycle Gang Is in a U.S. Court Fight Over Its Clubhouse] Richard Perez-Pena, ''[[The New York Times]]'' (January 3, 1994)
21. "9-year-old girl critical after illegal explosive device detonates inside home, Philadelphia police say".
22. (2025-07-06). "Rapper 4xtra reportedly loses his fingers in horrific fireworks accident".
23. (2025-07-05). "Rapper 4Xtra blows up his hand with fireworks in shocking July 4 accident". The Economic Times.
24. (2025-07-06). "Rapper 4xtra reportedly loses his fingers in horrific fireworks accident on Fourth of July".