Mom accused of allowing toddler to smoke pot pleads not guilty
CHEHALIS, Wash. -- The Centralia mother accused of allowing her 22-month-old son to smoke marijuana from a bong was in Lewis County court on Thursday.
Cell phone video uncovered earlier this week appears to show Rachelle Braaten's young son smoking from a bong, and prosecutors do not believe it was the first time he was exposed to drugs.
Prosecutors say a conversation captured on the cell phone video leads them to believe the boy may have smoked pot before.
"There's somebody saying, 'He does this every time,' and so that's obviously some cause for concern because it indicates that perhaps maybe this is something that's been repetitive," said Lewis County Prosecutor Shane O'Rourke.
Braaten's attorney, Sam Groberg, said it's too soon to say what happened inside the Centralia home.
"There's a number of witnesses that were there that have been involved with this for a while, and I don't know what all their stories are, so we're just at the start," Groberg said.
After she was arrested, Braaten, 24, told police she felt peer pressured into letting her son smoke pot, according to court documents. The video shows several people in the house that night.
Child Protective Services removed the toddler and another child from the house and Braaten is under court order to have no contact with the children.
Officers also found 40 marijuana plants and a number of guns. Braaten's fiance, Tyler J. Lee, was arrested on suspicion of manufacture of marijuana and three counts of unlawful possession of a firearm, according to police.
Prosecutors say the kids are now being tested to find out how much expose they had to the marijuana.
Braaten pleaded not guilty to a charge of delivery of a controlled substance to a minor. Her trial is set for May.
Cell phone video uncovered earlier this week appears to show Rachelle Braaten's young son smoking from a bong, and prosecutors do not believe it was the first time he was exposed to drugs.
Prosecutors say a conversation captured on the cell phone video leads them to believe the boy may have smoked pot before.
"There's somebody saying, 'He does this every time,' and so that's obviously some cause for concern because it indicates that perhaps maybe this is something that's been repetitive," said Lewis County Prosecutor Shane O'Rourke.
Braaten's attorney, Sam Groberg, said it's too soon to say what happened inside the Centralia home.
"There's a number of witnesses that were there that have been involved with this for a while, and I don't know what all their stories are, so we're just at the start," Groberg said.
After she was arrested, Braaten, 24, told police she felt peer pressured into letting her son smoke pot, according to court documents. The video shows several people in the house that night.
Child Protective Services removed the toddler and another child from the house and Braaten is under court order to have no contact with the children.
Officers also found 40 marijuana plants and a number of guns. Braaten's fiance, Tyler J. Lee, was arrested on suspicion of manufacture of marijuana and three counts of unlawful possession of a firearm, according to police.
Prosecutors say the kids are now being tested to find out how much expose they had to the marijuana.
Braaten pleaded not guilty to a charge of delivery of a controlled substance to a minor. Her trial is set for May.
This news article isn't entirely accurate. The pot plants were grown by the live-in boyfriend of the mother, who has a green card and is also authorized to grow for another green card-carrying person. The prosecution is looking into it but apparently 40 plants is not an unreasonable amount of plants for 2 card-carrying users under the new legislation. At first I also assumed a grow operation but that is not the case.
With that said, regardless of whether the child inhaled or there was smoke coming out of his nostrils or not, there are two issues here. The first, is the article says the boy coughs. The coughing should tell you he inhaled. Second, is the reaction of the child from the moment he is encouraged to take a hit off the bong to the moment he realizes he is being laughed at. He instantly goes up to the bong and hits on it like he has done it MANY, many times. He looks towards the camera when the adults are laughing with confusion. Confusion because, he is doing something he thinks is ok and he doesn't understand why other people find it funny.
So, forgetting the fact that pot is legal now, the fact that this child is conditioned to believe this activity is ok shows a complete disregard for that child's welfare and a complete waste of growth and learning in a child who should be memorizing things like his favorite bedtime story, not how to take a hit off a bong. It is the underlying issue that is the problem here, and that is that this child, who completely trusts his mother, relies on her to teach him what's right and wrong, and clearly, since she can't determine what is right and wrong, she is unfit to do so for her children as well.
What I find is laughable, is everyone is acting like this has never happened before with other people. We all know it has, hell, many of us are kids of parents that have done this. And you think it stops there? They do this to pets too.. It is the one reason why I refuse to touch any drug -Ever-. Maybe there is a silver lining in this that we can not see. Maybe this kid, will be like me and refuse to touch any drug ever because of this Stupid parent and her childish decision. I have nothing against people that smoke responsibly. Whether it is a legal drug or not has nothing to do with it. Being someone that shouldn't have had children, has everything to do with it.
Mother of the Year award goes to.........
Don't want to have kids or are not capable of being a good parent? Â It's not that complicated people - don't have any. Â Rubbers are cheap, Costco sells them by the gross.
I don't care if pot is legal or not.......a 2 year old should NOT be playing with a bong, even if you and your childish friends think it's funny!! If the mom and the "adults" ( I use that term loosely) around her thought it was ok to do this and video tape it, what other things are they exposing these kids to? Peer pressure??? Nope....just raising her kids to be as stupid as she is.
Okay...so this is what is wrong with society! Grow up and act your age as many below have said. Quit being stupid and putting every lame thing you do and say on public record! Quit blaming others for your stupid behavior and accept responsibility.
I use to live in Washington in the 80s and rather liked the state, and then I retired in Oregon where it is keep Portland weird. Well WA when it comes to keeping it weird, you guys have Oregon BEAT, congratulations!!!! I made a comment and most thought it was offensive and had it deleted. Okay, let this POS woman babysit your children when she gets out of jail, I donât care.
.
I suppose it's better than letting him play with the guns.
@MajorSkeptic Are you serious?
@pjsmith @MajorSkeptic Well yes, but I'm also being sarcastic We're talking about a mom that raises her kid in the middle of a grow operation. We would hope for better but we're not likely to get it from this one.
So let me get this straight, Washington votes to make smoking pot "legal", because it's "like totally harmless man", but then everyone gets all up in the air when someone actually acts irrationally and illogically and gives it to a kid. Duh, if it's harmless, what harm actually occurred? Besides, isn't the point of smoking pot is to get all turned on and weird and irrational and like wow man this is totally awesome, anybody got any munchies? Is it fair to deny kids and toddlers the opportunity to have these same experiences and have bonding (in this case bonging) experiences with their stoner parents and other strangers? OK, where was I, my train of thought just got derailed, Oh yeah, what, OK Uhh I think maybe I need to light up another pipe full and reload, man a giant bag of Tim's Jalapeno Chips and a liter of Coke sounds totally awesome right now, later.
"After she was arrested, Braaten, 24, told police she felt peer pressured into letting her son smoke pot, according to court documents."
Too bad she wasn't pressured into not becoming a mother. What a lame excuse. You are 24 years old, not 10. This makes me so angry.Â
That little baby is way too young for any of what's going on around him-holy wowsers "mom", you effin coward to blame your actions on those you call friends. Grow the h3ll up and deal with the consequences of what you did and have been doing all along.  Knock it the h3ll off.
Guilty - the fact or state of having committed an offense, crime, violation, or wrong, especially against moralor penal law.  The video CLEARLY shows she did do this.  Looking at the definition, she is lying completely.  Sorry, lady... joking or not, you DID do it and can't attest otherwise.  Case closed, do not pass go and no $200 for you.  Take your jail sentence and go.  NEXT.
EVEN MORE MORONIC is she let someone record that on video???? Â Seriously... Â You REALLY have to be pretty damn stupid.
This SHOULDÂ result in permanent loss of custody. No question about it as there is some pretty indisputable evidence thanks to the video.
@what? The video that shows absolutely no smoke or anything? The video where the stem is never even removed from the bong? That video?Â
And soon we will have the stories of people giving pot to dogs and horses and other animals. Beware of any homemade food served to you at church functions, picnics, work get togethers and other harmless functions.
Uneducated, unreliable, unstable, unsaved, unhappy, under the gun, under the knife and her excuse was poor! No mom, or mother should ever feel pressure from others when it comes to putting their very own child in danger or any harm whatsoever!
Really!!! This is why when parents are vacant, kids grow up messed up! Know your children, know where they are at, know who their friends are, and understand them, talk to them....Communicate!!Â
Â
Perhaps the study on declining intelligence is spot on. No more survival of the fittest in today's society it seems.
http://rt.com/usa/intelligence-stanford-years-fragile-531/
This comment has been deleted
@dkgiovencoÂ
Bit extreme there, isn't it?Â
I said "if"
You vigilanties on here are a whole lot scarier than what the story is about.
@ZIPPYÂ
Well thank you for your concern, but you need not concern yourself, it really does seem to be working, you're still here talking.
@ZIPPYÂ
Sissy? lol, ok, I have no need for Prozac, pretty clever come back from a Prozac user, ya know, just because you have one, doesn't mean you have to be one, mam/sir, works for either.
What a dumbass, they have her on video. Listen up brother and sister rednecks, this is what happens when you breed.
Fat
Dumb
Trailer
Trash
@ZIPPYÂ
Bigoted
elitest
bull
muffins
@ZIPPY seriously, what is with these massive thick-necked women? get out of the city just a bit and everyones faces and necks are disgustingly huge - especially the ladies. sure, in the city also to a much lesser degree.
now, you cave to "peer pressure" and allow (force?) your kid to smoke weed? does this failure have a brain?
This comment has been deleted
@ZIPPYÂ
LOL, you just proved it, thanks zippiety-do-da, now off you go...
Pretty weak junk there troll . .  . sad.
Brought to you by someone who no doubt, has first hand knowledge.
@SwampThing
Amazing!!!!!! that coming from someone who has a picture and a name like "Swamp Thing"
Just amazing, like calling the kettle hey??
We really don't know if the kid was actually smoking or not so I will give the mother the benefit of the doubt on that one till more facts are released. What I have a real problem with is the environment that she is "raising" her kids in. While I feel that placing any kid in state care is detrimental to the child, this woman certainly isn't providing a great environment for the kid.
@Surveyor1Â Sorry but the video was rather clear. It isn't the size of the hit the kid took that matters, it's the fact that the kid put their mouth on the bong and breathed in. That's enough for a conviction.
@what? By all means let's convict because you said so. Maybe we could get rid of the entire judicial system and go by your assertation of the events from a cell phone video.
I never fully understand the 'not guilty' plea. Â I mean, it was caught on video, she already admitted it to police, yet she chooses to plea 'not guilty'? Â Why not just own up to your mistake and do the time.Â
It's not that I expected this person to show any responsibility, she's already proven she can't, but still it would be nice. Â
@Landshark If you plead not guilty you are entitled to a jury of your peers to decide. Plead guilty and they judge can go ahead and sentence you.
@Landshark -- Because the Constitution gives us all the right to due process. In addition, many judges are reluctant to accept a "guilty" plea at the initial hearing/arraignment. This is because, these hearings must be heard within 48 hours of arrest (maybe 72, I'm not remembering off the top of my head), and most accused persons are given a public defender, who may have only just met their client at that first hearing. It is just a formality. Iâve never understood by everyone gets all up in arms over this formality.
@Bianca Good point on the lawyer, this hearing sets a trial date, most likely she will either get a lawyer or her public defender and the prosecutor will now have time to work out a plea deal.  I believe once the judge accepts your guilty plea they must sentence you right then, that would just be a dumb move.
@Landshark Options, leverage, it's all out the window if you plead guilty right off the bat.  It's the way the system is setup and played.  Also, the judge still has to accept a guilty plea, sounds crazy but a lot of times they won't, especially at the first hearing.
All they need is a hair sample and she's screwed.
The kid wasn't smoking anything... Hmm... look at the video, do you see any smoke coming from the bowl of the bong? Nope... Any smoke coming from the mouth of the bong? Nope... So, ... Since there's no smoking bong... they cannot prove the kid was smoking anything... Most likely wasn't.. just got a good wiff of bong water... (nasty as it is...)
Looks like this would be a good reason to take the kids away, never ever give them back and sterilize the parents so they cannot reproduce.
@Luciferian I concur Doctor Satan..........
Doing more damage to the kids by putting them in foster care than just leaving them with their mother. Its just cannabis and it doesn't appear the child was actually inhaling at all. The government should butt out of something that is none of their business. Maybe offer to send her to a parenting class.
@Blindman Really? "just cannabis," which has far more toxins than tobacco smoke, not to mention the effects of the THC on a child's undeveloped brain?
@Blindman the real harm is going to be growing up eating McDonalds for breakfast, Arby's for lunch, and Taco Bell for dinner. the woman is a unhealthy mess.
@Blindman Cannabis has been shown to hinder brain development in children...that would include toddlers.
@Blindman That child was in a room with people smoking pot. He was inhaling smoke all right, whether it was straight from the bong or not. And "maybe offer to send her to a parenting class?" Really? You think that just "maybe" she needs to learn how to be a good parent? That woman is a terrible mother and she has some gall to plead "not guilty" when there is a video showing her extremely poor choices.
@tats76 @Blindman First its a plant not a drug. There has never been a single death attributable to cannabis in the history of man, thats a long time. I don't think its a good idea for a child to do it but its none of my business just as its none of the governments business. Its just more Reefer Madness nonsense. The people that complain about this are the same people that believe in talking snakes and such.
@Blindman @tats76  Coca is a plant, too. So are opium poppies. So what if cannabis is a plant? It still has a mind-altering substance. And claiming there has never been a single death attributed to it? Do the people who are run down and killed by stoned pot users don't count? Or the people harmed or killed getting robbed for drug money don't count?Â
@Blindman First I never said anything about a drug, nor did I talk about deaths related to cannabis...although I would doubt that absolutely no one has ever died while under the influence of cannabis. However, that is beside the point. Also, the government only got involved because the person who took that video decided it was not good for the boy to be exposed to smoke. Which is a good thing - if the parent can't take care of her own child, as a rational adult, someone else should be concerned enough to get involved.
I do not believe there is any harm in ADULTS smoking pot. That boy is a baby and is still developing - any exposure to smoke can be damaging.
@Blindman @tats76Â
Yea, they probably hear those snakes talk after a bowl or two..
Seriously??? How can you tell from a photo whether the child inhaled or not? Maybe the child was related to Bill Clinton??? This less than 2 year old child has been deliberately exposed to and taken drugs. Your user name is pretty appropriate in this case.
@panda bear -- Ha ha, you said "Bill Clinton."
@panda bearÂ
I don't know about anyone else, but the picture I saw of the kid was blurred out, so how can you tell he wasn't inhaling Blindman? just being in the same room with the smoke swirling around, he has to be inhaling it.
@panda bear Not to mention the illegal grow op.!!! That alone put the child's life in danger!!! Many individuals lookin' for easy money from idiots like that and would rob them while their child was in the home at gunpoint .....