Last year the Minnesota Legislature decriminalized drug paraphernalia, even if it contains drug residue. But one obscure relic of the war on drug paraphernalia got overlooked: a provision in state law that treats bong water as a controlled substance.

The residue on the paraphernalia tested positive for methamphetamine, as did the water in the bong and the substance in the glass jar. Deputies further reported that the bong water weighed 8 ounces and, somewhat confusingly, that the crystal substance weighed 13.2 grams “in total with the packaging.”

For charging purposes under state law, 8 ounces of bong water is considered the same as 8 ounces of pure methamphetamine. That’s well over the 50-gram threshold necessary to trigger a first-degree felony offense.

Absolutely shameful and grotesque that this law is so written and exploited to ruin innocent peoples' lives. But no tale like this would be complete without the cops doing what they do best:

Deputies also seized Beske’s car and $2,400 in cash and intend to permanently forfeit them under a state law that allows authorities to take vehicles used to transport controlled substances “intended for distribution or sale,” and cash that represents “the proceeds of a controlled substance offense.”

Beske says she won the cash at the casino that night, and when she was pulled over she had a tax form from the casino to prove it.

  • the_itsb [she/her, comrade/them]
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    16 days ago

    Any time we have had to go buy a car or trailer or some other large thing that required carrying a fair bit of cash, my biggest concern was that we would get pulled over for something minor, get searched because ACAB, and then the cops would steal the money.

    This bong water shit reminds me of how they would weigh homegrow op plants with their dirt to raise the offense level. It never even occurred to me that they would do it with bong water too, but of course they would. My brother is lucky they just stole his birthday hookah back in the day instead of weighing the water in it.

  • Beaver [he/him]
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    16 days ago

    Just an excuse to steal her car and money. It goes without saying that the "justice system" acts in contempt for the spirit of the law, and sees it merely as a tool to ruin lives. For the cops in this case, there's at least the motivation that the seized cash and car will be spent on new toys. For the prosecutor, the only motivation is pure evil.