Filling someone’s coffee or dessert with laxatives often gets a laugh in the movies, but people can face serious consequences for pulling the stunt in the real world. That’s currently what’s happening to a Michigan woman who tried to bring laxative-filled brownies to a co-worker’s going away party.
According to the complaint, an unnamed 47-year-old woman attempted to bring laxative-filled brownies to her co-worker’s going away party. A fellow co-worker heard about the brownies and called police, and thankfully they arrived and intercepted the brownies before they could be dispersed at the party. Initially, the woman denied putting anything in the brownies, but after police said they would forensically test the dessert, the woman confessed to adding a cube of laxatives to the mix. Although she didn’t say why she did it, news outlets suggest that there was tension between the woman and the departing employee.
“A lot of times you see it in movies or TV shows where someone tries to do this or play a joke, but it’s very serious,” said Saline Police Chief Jerrod Hart. “It’s a criminal act.”
Criminal Consequences Of Laxative Laced Brownies
A news report suggests that the company did not press charges against the woman, although she has been terminated from her employment at the company. Honestly, if that’s all that came out of this, the woman should consider herself lucky.
Under Minnesota law, the woman would be guilty of what’s known as Adulteration. The law states that adulteration “is the intentional adding of any substance, which has the capacity to cause death, bodily harm or illness by ingestion, injection, inhalation or absorption, to a substance having a customary or reasonably foreseeable human use.” Anyone who is guilty of adulteration can be punished in the following ways:
- If the adulteration causes death, to imprisonment for not more than 40 years or to payment of a fine of not more than $100,000, or both;
- If the adulteration causes any illness, pain, or other bodily harm, to imprisonment for not more than ten years or to payment of a fine of not more than $20,000, or both;
- Otherwise, to imprisonment for not more than five years or to payment of a fine of not more than $10,000, or both.
While the laxative-laced brownies brought to work may be a prank, it has all the makings of a serious criminal infraction. Not only do the folks in the office trust that their coworkers won’t dose them with some harmful drug, but the coworkers trust that they can share their “treats” with one another in the common room. This incident is demoralizing and breaks down trust built within an organization. She could easily face years in prison had police decided to press charges.
It may seem funny on television, but it’s a serious crime. Don’t put foreign substances in food or drinks that your co-workers or teachers assume is safe to consume. Otherwise you may need our legal help!
