Minneapolis - St. Paul Metro

Minnesota authorities would no longer be able to charge people with major drug crimes solely on the basis of the dirty water in their bongs — thanks to a provision in the 192-page judiciary and public safety bill that was sent to Gov. Tim Walz over the weekend. He’s expected to sign it.

Under current law, quantities of bong water greater than four ounces can be treated like the pure, uncut version of whatever substance the bong was used to smoke. That can lead to massive criminal penalties: 4 ounces of bong water used to consume methamphetamine, for instance, can trigger a first-degree felony charge carrying up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

The new language removes that provision and specifies that for charging purposes, a drug mixture “does not include the fluid used in a water pipe or any amount of a controlled substance that is dissolved in the pipe’s fluid.” The change would apply retroactively to August 2023, bringing it in line with a broader drug paraphernalia decriminalization bill that went into effect at that time.

In practice, prosecutors virtually never charge bong water offenses because most people intuitively understand that 8 ounces of dirty bong water is not the same thing as 8 ounces of pure methamphetamine.

“Counting dirty bong water as pure drugs is like counting a beer bottle full of backwash and cigarette butts as 80-proof whiskey,” as one attorney colorfully characterized it to the Reformer earlier this year.

But it does happen: The issue drew national attention last year after a northwest Minnesota prosecutor levied first-degree drug charges against a Fargo woman, Jessica Beske, on account of the water allegedly found in her bong.

Because of the retroactive provision, that case would be thrown out if Walz signs the bill.

“The ACLU-MN is glad to see the legislature fixed this loophole that allowed rogue prosecutors to put people suffering from addiction in prison for smoking drugs out of a bong,” said Alicia Granse of the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing Beske in court. “Ms. Beske and others like her can no longer be subjected to this cruel and unusual treatment.”

Minnesota became the butt of national jokes after the state supreme court ruled in 2009 that bong water could be legally considered a drug. The justices relied, in part, on the testimony of a Minnesota State Patrol officer who claimed that drug users keep bong water “for future use… either drinking it or shooting it in the veins.”

Legislators attempted to decriminalize small amounts of bong water the following year, but then-Gov. Tim Pawlenty vetoed it in order to project a “tough-on-crime” image in advance of a planned presidential run.