SAINT PAUL, MN – Last week, the State Court of Appeals vacated second and third degree drug charges against Ryan Drown from Waseca. Drown had been convicted after a drug task force raid discovered a bong containing traces of methamphetamine in the bong water.
The prosecutor, defense attorney and judge in the case were all unaware of the highly publicized “bong water” case and subsequent change in law that would have kept Mr. Drown out of prison. He spent seven months of a six and a half year sentence behind bars before the appellate division public defender Jenna Yauch-Erickson caught the error.
Rep. Kahn, the author of the “bong water” legislation, released the following statement:
“It’s truly unfortunate that nobody caught this. Seven months of somebody’s life was taken from them because everyone missed this change in law. It’s really surprising to me too because the ‘bong water’ law was really well publicized. John Stewart even asked Governor Pawlenty about vetoing it while he was on the Daily Show.
“I’m thankful that the public defender in the appeals division caught this and got them out of prison so quickly. As an advocate for women’s rights since before I was elected, it validates my belief that women are just as capable, if not more so than men, when the first women to look at this was the one to catch it. She deserves our thanks and the person who was released is due more than an apology.”