Legal Question in Criminal Law in Minnesota
As a chef, I appreciate harvesting mushrooms in the wild for food. In addition, I maintain a small flower garden containing poppies. While perusing Minnesota Statute Chapter 152, I noted that the very plant itself, unmowed and unmolested, is considered a Schedule II controlled substance. Is having an ornamental poppy plant in my garden a criminal offense? Also, what are the legal ramifications of accidentally harvesting a wild hallucinogenic mushroom?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Let's start with the mushrooms. Yes - you could be charged with possession of a controlled substance for possessing hallucinogenic mushrooms. An element of the crime, however, is intent to possess. That means a prosecutor at trial would have to demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that you knew or should have known that the mushrooms were of an illegal sort.
Poppies are a more difficult question. yes - they are technically illegal, but the law is rarely enforced unless the chemicals in the poppy of of a nature that it appears their use is for an unlawful purpose.
Also see https://www.erowid.org/plants/poppy/poppy_law.shtml
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