‘Mixture’ definition sought

A weighty issue can mean dissimilar penalties for people using the same amount of drugs.

The weight of an entire mixture can now be used when charging decisions are made regarding illegal use of a controlled substance, even if the drug residue is only a small part of the mixture.

Sponsored by Rep. Phyllis Kahn (DFL-Mpls), HF2757 would amend the definition of “mixture” in statute. It would require law enforcement and prosecutors to determine the purity of a mixture that contains a controlled substance’s residue before weighing it for purposes of determining the level of offense.

The House Public Safety Policy and Oversight Committee held the bill over Feb. 18 for possible omnibus bill inclusion. It has no Senate companion.

The problem came to light in 2008 when a defendant was charged with a first-degree controlled substance offense because they possessed bong water that contained a residue of methamphetamine. Even though the bong water had just a small amount of residue, the mixture’s total weight was used to charge the defendant with the more serious drug offense. The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled last year that the charge was appropriate under the current definition of mixture.

“It allows small-time drug users to be punished as major dealers, and it gives prosecutors a vast amount of discretion to decide to treat someone as either a major offender or a minor offender based on arbitrary factors,” said Ted Sampsell-Jones, a criminal law professor at William Mitchell College of Law.

Assistant Dakota County Attorney Scott Hersey spoke against the bill, noting it would require more Bureau of Criminal Apprehension lab work and increased court costs because expensive third parties would likely become more involved.

“It would be a battle of experts if we’re going to do purity analysis, which is not well-defined in the statute, to determine how pure the drug actually is.”