An appeal by a Washington County woman regarding her sentencing has been affirmed, however the court advises the “policy arguments are more properly addressed to the legislature.” According to documents from the Court of Appeals of Iowa, Dyan Lee-Brown appealed her judgment and sentence for conviction of possession of a controlled substance, third offense. Lee-Brown had two prior convictions under chapter 124 – possession of methamphetamine in 2012 and possession of drug paraphernalia. She was then convicted of possession of a controlled substance third offense with marijuana. A third offense is elevated from a misdemeanor to a class D felony.

Lee-Brown argued that she is a second offender because she has only been convicted of drug possession twice. However, chapter 124 states that persons who commit a violation of the subsection two or more times are guilty of a class D felony. In 2000, the legislature struck wording in the chapter but in a separate bill added a section making it unlawful to knowingly or intentionally possess drug paraphernalia.

Due to the three total violations of chapter 124 Lee-Brown’s case was affirmed.