Minnesota Supreme Court rules water in woman's bong counts as drug

That bong with the leftover water in it? It can get you in big trouble. The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled 4-3 on Thursday that bong water with traces of methamphetamine was a "mixture" with a controlled substance - and not just "drug paraphernalia" - sending the case of a Rice County mother back to district court for retrial.

[Jen]

LOL no serisouly I thought this was a joke...BONG WATER! are you kidding me? I think the good people on the MN supreme court either were having a bad day and felt like taking it out on a meth head, or are the type of people that have always thought NOBODY can smoke pot...and they are just so fed up with all the pro-legalization talk that they made up some halarious thing about bong water being something "stoners save and drink later" LOL OH MY FUCKING GOD!!! bong water smells like shit and you coulnd't dare ANYBODY (who isn't a complete fool) to drink it. I am happy though this happened, it just goes to show you how little people know about cannabis, unless you smoke it...is that symbolic? Most people that smoke cannabis are able to pull back the macro screen and see everything for what it is... I just think this is really funnnnnny and it is a last ditch effort to try and make an extra buck off marijuana users. So purely ridiculous though.

[waste of time]

SERIOUSLY a RE-TRIAL?
WHY DO WE HAVE THESE JUDGES ON THE BENCH ANYWAY. WHO IS PAYING FOR THIS MILARKY?

THIS IS 2009 PPL GROW THE HELL UP AND GET A LIFE.

[bear]

Actually, there was a strong division between the supreme court judges. The strongly worded dissent agrees with you. It says that the majority opinion borders on the "absurd" and is very angry that the ruling is misusing the guidelines laid out by the state legislature. So, some of the judges agree with you guys. This is definitely a screwed up decision, but like I said the dissent clearly lays out the legal inaccuracies involved in the decision. If this ever went to the U.S. Supreme Court, I am quite sure that the dissent would help this decision to be overturned. Even chief justice Roberts won't be able to defy the logic laid out in the dissent. Best be thankful for Justices P.H. Anderson, Allen Page and J.J. Meyer for being willing to speak out against the majority opinion.

[bear]

Also, this decision isn't really about marijuana at all. This decision relates to meth, cocaine and heroin users. The 25 grams (2-1/2 tablespoons) quantity only relates to the use of these three drugs. For marijuana you would have to have 10 KILOGRAMS of water. That is somewhere between 2 and 3 gallons of bong water. Just thought that you might like to know that a distinction does exist. Also, Jen's comment about the state trying to make an extra "buck" off of pot users is wrong. This decision raises the penalty from a petty misdemeanor with a max of $300 fine up to a first degree felony which allows for a sentence of over 7 years in prison! It is not about money, its about longer and much harsher incarceration. Plus a first degree felony goes on your permanent record which will massively affect getting jobs and takes away the right to vote in the future. That is a big deal!

[BobGrins]

Does anybody understand this lady was smoking pot and meth with young children in her house? Or did the Meth in the bong water just magically appear? Everyone deserves a good defense, but when we have to go to the state Supremem Court to argue over the "amount" or "mixture" of meth in bong water to determine how serious the crime is, the inmate are running the asylum again.

[No lies]

Jen, put down the doob and re-read the story. The issue at hand deals with meth use by a mother with young kids. It's not about firing up a heater on a Friday night with some friends.

[WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREn]

It should be OK for a SINGLE PARENT MOTHER to smoke meth and pot around her children!! Afterall what else is she to do when it is too early to go to the bar and she still has more of the children's CHILD SUPPORT MONEY that is unspent??

[yep]

If this was a weed bong this wound have never come to this... meth is a very bad thing to get involved with .. but like I said we wouldnt be hearing about this if this was a mary jane case

[Slim Shady]

That'll learn ya to dump that smelly rank stench water out after tokin. The thought of the smell of bong water makes me want to puke. The stuff reaks like swamp water I don't care how good you grip is.

[Oh Danny Boy]

How stupid...what a waste of time.....and taxpayer's money, I mean really, W T F is wrong with this state.?....instead of wasting time and money on this kind of stupid crap maybe they should spend some of that money/time running background checks on Boy Scout leaders....

[Oh Danny Boy]

Slim Shady wrote:

That'll learn ya to dump that smelly rank stench water out after tokin. The thought of the smell of bong water makes me want to puke. The stuff reaks like swamp water I don't care how good you grip is.

been there, spilled that..........

[Oh Danny Boy]

No lies wrote:

Jen, put down the doob and re-read the story. The issue at hand deals with meth use by a mother with young kids. It's not about firing up a heater on a Friday night with some friends.

I guess I am guilty of just what you wrote....didn't realize the story was about Meth....that's a whole 'nother matter....never mind..........

[Slim Pickens]

Toilet water can also count as drug possession, if you get caught trying to flush a few pounds of pot. Nobody wants anyone doing meth or any drugs around kids, including these judges--let's get that out of the way first. And I might be wrong, but I believe the Supreme Court ruled that, in this case, the bong water constitutes evidence of drug possession. The Supreme Court doesn't pass laws, so you can probably still keep enough bong water around to pour on your oatmeal in the morning, as long as you're not feeding it to your kids. The woman in this case needs consequences, and help, because her children need to be safe. So I'm okay with the outcome in this case, but I admire the dissenting judges because they are doing their jobs--trying to make sure that law enforcement doesn't have too much power, so some wide-eyed sheriff doesn't put the entire student body of his local high school in jail for possession of bong water.

[Slim Pickens]

Plus, you can buy bong water in stores now. look for the label that says "Green Tea."

[Common Man]

This would have worried me during by Haight-Ashbury days.

[jeff]

and in other news...

Stock of the Blackjack company (that manufactures rolling papers) was up!

Who the hell drinks bong water?

Are the police that stupid? or are they that eager?

We are living in police state USA folks.

150 years ago, you paid your taxes with marijuana.
Don't believe me? look it up.

[Jen]

I re-read the story and agree meth is evil, I can understand why they went after her...good, one less meth addict on the streets! I was under the impression the law enforcment were out arresting people for pot-bong water.lol because the last time I smelt bong water it was pretty gross.

[Hold on]

It's easy to get all riled up in this instance as the woman was doing meth at home with kids present. No one thinks THAT is a good idea. However, this DOES go beyond meth cases. As stated in the article, the amount of bong water that would constitute a felony offense is a couple tablespoons full! Furthermore, it does not limit this decision to JUST METH. Yes, if you aren't in possession of drugs, the water used to smoke them can now be considered a DRUG! Never mind if that water can get you high, be re-sold on the street (neither of which could happen) it is now a crime to possess stinky water. Could we even make this crap up? With a looming budget shortfall of $4-7 BILLION, it seems perfectly appropriate to add even MORE inmates to our budgetary woes by locking people up for BONG WATER! Each and every day the police state worsens in MN. You don't have to do drugs to think this is a stupid, wasteful decision that in no way addresses treatment of people who need it, or the DEMAND side of the equation. Another example in the epic failure that is the drug war.

[Mr_ Anonymous]

Some of you are dumber than dirt. The issue in front of the Minnesota Supreme Court had to do with whether or not bong water is a "mixture" as defined by law, and if it is, whether or not it a charge could be brought based on that mixture's weight. The circumstances surrounding it's use had NOTHING to do with it.

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I agree with bear on the point that Justice Paul Anderson's dissent was quite strong in it's wording. As a matter of fact, I don't think I have ever read one that strong and if he could have come right out and called the Rice County Attorney a moron, he would have.

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As for an appeal to the U S Supreme Court, that is extremely unlikely to happen. This case was not a consitutional issue, nor did it involve a federal law. I can see no way that this ruling will be brought into the federal court system.

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About all I can see being done from here on out is the state legislature amending the law to make it crystal clear (no pun intended) that it never intended a mixture to be defined as such, nor prosecuted in such an absurd way.

[Oliver Steinberg]

I would "drug test" the county attorney and find out what weird mixture he was smoking! And by the way, I have watched the legislators debate and pass drug prohibition laws. They have mo idea what they are doing, and just follow whatever the law enforcement lobbyists ask for.