Over the weekend, police in Centralia, Washington, arrested Rachelle Braaten, 24, after receiving a cell phone video from an anonymous source, which shows the woman holding a large, lit water pipe up to her 22-month-old son's face.
When the Centralia police entered the child's home, they reportedly discovered 40 marijuana plants.
KOMOnews.com reported:
The video shows the boy briefly sticking his face on the top of the lit bong. When police confronted Braaten with the video, she reportedly told detectives, "Well, it was like, you can't see in the camera, but the person taking it, and then there was like a group of people there. And I guess it was a joke and stupid mistake that wasn't really funny."
Braaten has been charged with the manufacture of marijuana and delivery of a controlled substance to a minor. She is currently being held in the Lewis County Jail on $20,000 bail.
The boy's father, 25-year-old Tyler Lee, was also arrested and released with a summons.
Child protective services took custody of both Braaten's 22-month-old and 5-year-old sons.
Last year, Washington voters approved an initiative which made possession of up to one ounce of marijuana legal for anyone 21 years of age or older.
Centralia Police Sgt. Jim Shannon told KSDK: "There has been a very large uptick in marijuana growing and many of these houses I go to have children in them.
However, it is still illegal to grow marijuana for your own use in Washington state.
Comments