Global Ganja Report

Police cannot engage in the warrantless search of a motor vehicle based solely upon the smell of marijuana, even in instances where the occupants are under 21 years of age, according to a decision by the Michigan Supreme Court.

The July 22 decision overturns a lower court ruling determining that such a search was valid because state law only legalizes marijuana possession for adults. In a 5-2 ruling, the Supreme Court disagreed. It opined that cannabis possession by those under 21 is a civil infraction, and therefore the smell did not constitute evidence "that the vehicle contained evidence of a crime."

Courts in several other states where cannabis is legal for either medical or adult-use purposes—including Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Pennsylvania,and Vermont—have similarly determined that the odor of marijuana, absent other evidence of a crime, does not provide probable cause to justify a warrantless search of a motor vehicle. (NORML)

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