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State Representative Phyllis Kahn

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For more information contact: Michael Howard 651-296-8873

Posted: 2010-05-19 00:00:00
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Governor Vetoes Bipartisan “Bong Water” Bill

Passed in the Senate 66-0, House 129-2

Saint Paul, Minnesota – Governor Pawlenty has vetoed a bill that would have made needed changes to ensure uniform and reasonable standards are applied to the prosecution of drug offenders. The bill had nearly unanimous support, passing on a vote of 66-0 in the Senate, and 129 – 2 in the House. State Rep. Phyllis Kahn (DFL – Minneapolis), author of the legislation, expressed puzzlement the Governor would veto a common sense bill with such broad support amongst legislators and the legal community.

“This bill showed the Legislature at its best with members of both parties working together with all the stakeholders to come up with a common sense solution," said Kahn. “It’s very difficult to come up with a logical reason Governor Pawlenty would veto this bill.”

The need for this legislation arose out of a Rice County court case in which a woman was charged with a controlled substance for possession of 37 grams of meth - a serious felony. However, in reality the 37 grams of meth was waste residue from a “water bong,” which included trace amounts of meth. This turned a first time misdemeanor offense, punishable by a fine, into a felony offense, punishable by up to seven year prison sentence. Kahn said a “drug user shouldn’t receive a legal penalty reserved for a drug dealer.”

This specific case was challenged all the way to the Minnesota Supreme Court, where a contentious 4-3 ruling upheld the conviction after two lower courts had thrown the charge out. The ruling indicated that “mixtures” with drugs present could be weighed in total and used to determine levels of an offense. Members in the criminal justice community worked with Rep. Kahn and others to provide needed clarity in order to prevent additional costs on court and penal systems for unwarranted and unfair prosecutions.

“Let’s say John and Jim are both caught with the same amount of marijuana. John plans on smoking in its original form and Jim bakes it into a two pound brownie. Even though Jim’s mixture is less potent, he could be charged with a serious felony while John would receive a misdemeanor,” said Kahn. “We needed this bill to make it easier for our county prosecutors to do their job fairly and effectively.”

Receiving only a one sentence veto message from the Governor on his reasoning, Kahn was left to speculate why he would veto the bill. Although nearly universally supported, Kahn noted that one of the two legislators in the “extreme minority” who voted no could have had something to do with the veto. Rep. Tom Emmer was one of only two lawmakers to vote no in the entire State Legislature.

“Maybe he looked at who voted no and wanted to back that person up,” said Kahn. “You would have to be pretty far outside of the mainstream to vote no on such a reasonable bill that was supported by virtually everyone.”

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