A woman who was pulled over by Minnesota police officers faces up to 30 years in prison after a bong containing water that tested positive for methamphetamine was discovered in her car, despite Minnesota decriminalizing drug paraphernalia last year.
The case shows how some are still affected by harsher laws from the “war on drugs” era.
Jessica Beske of Fargo, North Dakota, was pulled over in Polk county, Minnesota, while driving on Highway 59 when deputies reportedly smelled marijuana coming from Beske’s car, the Minnesota Reformer reported.
Officers allege that they discovered a bong, a glass container containing a “crystal substance”, and other drug paraphernalia in the 43-year-old’s car.
In court documents viewed by the Guardian, Beske wrote that police found three pieces of drug paraphernalia that “tested positive for meth”.
She added that she was charged with first-degree drug possession based on the weight of the “glass paraphernalia and bong water” despite the water only containing residual amounts of substance.
In the document, Beske also asked for her car and $1,400 in cash that she won from a casino to be returned to her as it was “not subject to forfeiture”.
Despite the latest decriminalization laws in Minnesota, bong water is still treated as a controlled substance due to an existing law.
The rule concerning bong water was written following the case State v Peck, a 2009 state supreme court case, the Reformer reported. The court ruled that bong water could be considered a “drug mixture” and should count towards drug weights when considering penalties.
Those who are convicted on first-degree possession charges face up to 30 years in prison, a $1m fine or both, the Reformer reported.
The Polk county attorney’s office, who is handling the case, did not immediately return a request for comment.
Beske said she was shocked to discover that she could be facing such a large amount of prison time when she first saw her charge sheet.
“All I could see was [the possibility of] 30 to 40 years. And I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t breathe,” Beske said.
She added that she thought the potential penalty was a “mistake”, especially since Minnesota decriminalized drug paraphernalia. But after doing some research, she learned where the law around bong water came from and watched the legislative session when it was passed.
“They didn’t even discuss it at all. They just pushed it through. Nobody’s even thinking about whose lives are affected by this,” she said of the session.
Beske said she was now working with a lawyer to help her navigate through the extraordinary penalty and remains hopeful that the law could change.
“It’s just so wrong that I just have to hold hope that this is going to change the law, hopefully,” Beske said. “I don’t want anybody else to have to have to go through this.”
