Can you criminalize bong water? Minnesota has long said yes

Can you be charged with a crime for using water in a bong? For more than a decade, Minnesota has answered this question with a resounding “yes.” In 2009, a ruling by the state Supreme Court determined that the liquid left in a bong Used drug paraphernalia was considered a «drug mixture,» a ruling that turned the residue into a potential first-degree offense.

From a legal curiosity to a national joke

The controversy began with a 4-3 decision by the Minnesota Supreme Court in 2009. The majority opinion held that the water from a bong was a drug mixture because it contained traces of a controlled substance. Prosecutors could therefore weigh the entire liquid, not just the residue.

As journalist Ben Adlin noted in Marijuana Moment, this decision meant that «four ounces of’bong water »used to consume methamphetamine… could be considered a first-degree felony, punishable by up to 30 years in prison and a fine of one million dollars.".

The decision was based in part on the testimony of a state police officer who stated that the Consumers sometimes saved the water from their bongs «for »future use... either to drink it or to inject it into one's veins.»« This statement, which was widely ridiculed, helped make Minnesota »the laughingstock of the nation," wrote the Minnesota Reformer.

Despite the ridicule, the law remained in effect for more than a decade, allowing prosecutors to threaten disproportionate penalties in certain cases, even though convictions remained rare.

Defense and Missed Opportunities

Efforts to overturn the decision began almost immediately. In 2010, lawmakers passed a bipartisan bill aimed at excluding water from the calculation of drug weight, but then-Governor Tim Pawlenty vetoed it, citing his desire to maintain a tough stance on crime.

The issue has been simmering for years, resurfacing periodically through individual lawsuits. A recent example is the case of Jessica Beske, a woman from Fargo is being prosecuted after authorities discovered 227 grams of water in her bong. According to the Star Tribune, she was charged with first-degree drug possession, even though most of the evidence was, literally, water.

Groups such as the’ACLU of Minnesota put pressure on lawmakers to take action.

«Water is heavy,» said attorney Alicia Granse before the State Senate. «Prosecutors were able to treat the water as if it were pure drugs because it was in a bong.»

She compared this line of reasoning to charging someone with possession based on the total weight of a beer bottle containing cigarette butts.

What the New Law Changes

In May 2025, after years of criticism and legal challenges, Minnesota finally put an end to this practice.

The governor Tim Walz signed a bill on justice and public safety that, among other reforms, specifies that ’a mixture does not include the liquid used in a water pipe or any amount of a controlled substance dissolved in the liquid in the pipe.« In other words, bong water is no longer grounds for a drug-related criminal charge, a change that also applies retroactively, overturning previous cases.

Minnesota has also enacted the Legalization of cannabis in 2023, giving the tribes the the possibility of opening health clinics even before state-level licensing begins.