A North Dakota woman is facing up to 30 years in prison after authorities found bong water in her car, despite the fact that drug paraphernalia is legal in Minnesota.
According to authorities, Jessica Beske, of Fargo, was stopped in Polk County, Minnesota on May 8 for speeding. During the traffic stop, authorities stated that they smelled marijuana odor and conducted a search of her vehicle. Police found three pieces of drug paraphernalia that later tested positive for meth, including a bong, a glass jar containing a “crystal substance” and pipes. Despite the fact that drug paraphernalia is legal in Minnesota, Beske was arrested and charged with first-degree drug possession.
Drug paraphernalia was decriminalized in Minnesota last year, even if it contains drug residue, so what’s the deal here? Despite the change, the updated law did not change the fact that bong water is viewed as a controlled substance, not drug residue. Therefore, the bong water with meth residue renders Beske capable of being charged with first degree drug possession, which is punishable by up to 30 years in prison and fines up to $1 million.
“It’s against common sense,” Beske told Minnesota Reformer. “It’s against everybody’s common sense.”
Gap In Law
According to Christopher Ingraham, a reporter for the Minnesota Reformer, the law essentially views bong water as a drug in and of itself.
“If it’s more than 4 ounces of bong water [and] police are able to detect some level of substance in it, they basically treat the water as the exact same thing as pure, uncut version of whatever that substance was.”
In this scenario, Beske is being treated as if she had much more meth in her possession than she did in the residual form. It’s nonsensical, and hopefully smarter heads prevail before she has to take this case to court. This is not what the original law was intended to prevent, and now an alleged recreational drug user is being treated like a drug kingpin. We hope she connects with an experienced legal team who can help her navigate this difficult situation.
Similarly, if you need help with a criminal matter of your own, consider connecting with Avery and the team at Appelman Law Firm. Let us build a strong defense for your case and ensure you avoid a worse case scenario. For more information on how we can help, or to set up a free case consultation, give our team a call today at (952) 224-2277.
