Bong Water An Illegal Drug, Minnesota Court Rules

MINNEAPOLIS — In Minnesota, bong water can count as an illegal drug.

That decision from Minnesota's Supreme Court on Thursday raises the threat of longer sentences for drug smokers in that state who fail to dump the water out of bong – a type of water pipe often used to smoke drugs

The court said a person can be prosecuted for a first-degree drug crime for 25 grams or more of bong water that tests positive for a controlled substance.

Lower courts had held that bong water is drug paraphernalia. Possession of that is a misdemeanor crime.

The case involved a woman whose bong had about 2 1/2 tablespoons of liquid that tested positive for methamphetamine. A narcotics officer had testified that drug users sometimes keep bong water to drink or inject later.

Comments

[traumabob]

09:30 AM on 12/14/2009

Can they lengthen your sentenance if your pee tests positive? I mean, talk about possessing incriminating fluid!

[robbyJ]

09:52 PM on 11/13/2009

One toke over line sweet marrrry

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye3ecDYxOkg

[Jeffrey Chou]

03:46 AM on 10/31/2009

Organized ignorance just makes my day.

[Nicon]

02:43 AM on 10/28/2009

This is the level of ignorance were fighting right now. Just another wonderful problem brought to you buy a broken education system.

Educate, Legislate, Regulate!

Yes We Cannabis!

[DSOTM]

02:52 PM on 10/27/2009

Now if they could only declare Michelle Bachmanns voice an illegal drug

[GatorAtLarge]

02:48 PM on 10/27/2009

Question: Do meth heads drink or Inject "bong water" to get high?

If the answer is yes then OFF COURSE it should be classified as a drug.

Everyone here is speaking from the perspective of weed smoking but Meth is a different animal all together.

[stewie1324]

07:53 PM on 02/11/2010

Do realize that they add the weight of the water to the weight of the drug. So your obviously going to get a pretty formidable weight, which means possession with intent to sell and then mandatory minimums come in.

[ramblingjohnny]

01:39 PM on 10/27/2009

Rule number one always clean up your Bong kids!

[JohnnyChristmas]

01:22 PM on 10/27/2009

What's next? Pee water? Don't forget to flush!

[DSOTM]

02:51 PM on 10/27/2009

Only if your P1$$ test's positive.

[Reconsoldier19D]

01:20 PM on 10/27/2009

This is SOOOOOOOOOO stupid. If Bong water could get you high then no one would use it to smoke out of because then the smoke wouldn't get you high. As many have already stated, Tetra Hydro Cannabinol is NOT water soluble therefore they might as well make all water illegal.

[barnacle]

01:09 PM on 10/27/2009

You need to read this article carefully. THC is not soluble in water. I don't know about Meth (the crime in this article), but most marijuana smokers have little to be concerned about in this instance.

[TruEngineHearing]

12:51 PM on 10/27/2009

Another reason to avoid Minnesota and any state that looks to find more ways to jail grass smokers.

[jimrs]

12:43 PM on 10/27/2009

Now I understand why my 87 y.o. mother insists on emptying my bong water
while I'm away from the house.

[KLovesFreedom]

11:05 AM on 10/27/2009

I had to re-read this article to make sure this wasn't a joke. I guess the state of Minnesota can afford to waste valuable legal resources in these recessionary times on silly, made-up crimes. This is the very reason that our legal system is in moral and economic decay.

[Shwazy]

10:52 AM on 10/27/2009

The officer that testified on this obviously has not even the faintest clue what he is talking about.

I doubt you would even survive if you directly injected bongwater, let alone get a buzz.

I would LOVE to be any attorney who gets to cross examine this guy in the future.

"Isn't it true you once claimed, under oath, that people regularly inject bong water for a high?"

*testimony disregarded*

[solarian]

09:58 AM on 10/27/2009

I want the court to drink the bong water and tell me if you got high. not to much of a supreme court more a court of jesters a horrible joke. legal system has reached total breakdown