Homebrewer gets Drug Conviction for Poppy Beer

You probably already know the whole story from the title of this blog post: Chad Renzelman, a homebrewer living in Santa Cruz California, decided to try poppy seeds in his brew. An informant told the cops what he was up to and they raided his home. They found bottles of homebrewed beer with traces of morphine and promptly arrested Renzleman.

That happened back in September and the conviction was handed down this week. Renzleman was sentenced to something called drug diversion, avoiding the potential 7 year sentence. He pled no contest and, provided he keeps out of trouble for the next 18 months, the conviction will be removed from his record. He also has to pay for soil testing of the place in his back yard where he discarded the poppy seeds and attend a drug class.

So why can I buy a poppy seed muffin at my local grocery store?