My Take on News

The Minnesota Supreme Court says bong water can qualify as a controlled substance.

In a split decision today, the high court says a person can be prosecuted for a first-degree drug crime for 25 grams or more of bong water that tests positive for a controlled substance.

The Supreme Court says that counts as a drug “mixture” under state law. It noted that the liquid wasn’t plain water, but had a pink color and fruity odor. A narcotics officer testified that drug users sometimes keep bong water to drink later.

Fantastic! Cops can up the charges just by adding water. But, here’s a thought… Where there’s a bong there are probably real drugs near by. Is it really necessary to prosecute using the bong water?

Now, the bong water in question was from a bong used for methamphetamine. Methamphetamine bong water is extremely potent and because of the already sketchy nature of meth heads they may very well drink the stuff… However, this sets a precedent for prosecution over marijuana bong water–a rank smelling substance that will do little more than make you vacate your stomach into the nearest trash can.

Pretending for a moment that Urban Dictionary is a reputable source, here’s how it defines bong water: “The water used in a bong. It contains no THC because THC is not water soluble. Do not drink the bong water.” and “Drinking bong water can cause extreme stomach pain and discomfort. Using an ISO alcohol extraction to collect the resin is much more efficient and healthy.” [1]

These sentiments are repeated on marijuana.com as well as other pro-marijuana websites.

Bongs are most commonly used for marijuana and not methamphetamine[2][3]. Therefore, it stands to reason that in the majority of drug seizures where a bong is involved, it will have been used for marijuana. I think it will be interesting to see if anyone in Minnesota is taken to court for possession of marijuana bong water… The stuff doesn’t have any THC in it but it could likely be proven that it was used for smoking a controlled substance.

Source: Pioneer Press