Chicago, IL: Justices on the state Supreme Court have determined that police can search a motor vehicle without a warrant based solely on the “odor of raw cannabis” emanating from the car.
The majority’s decision hinged on statutory language in the state’s Vehicle Code prohibiting the possession of cannabis in a motor vehicle unless it is in a “sealed, odor-proof, child-resistant cannabis container.” Lawmakers amended the Code when it established regulations legalizing the adult-use marijuana market in 2019. Violators of the law may face civil or criminal penalties.
“Although cannabis may no longer be contraband in all circumstances, ‘users must possess and use cannabis in accordance with’ our laws,” the majority opined. “When the odor of raw cannabis comes from a vehicle driven on an Illinois highway, it is almost certain that the cannabis is being possessed in violation of the Vehicle Code’s odor-proof container requirement.”
They concluded: “In sum, we hold that the odor of raw cannabis coming from a vehicle being operated on an Illinois highway, alone, is sufficient to provide police officers, who are trained and experienced in distinguishing between burnt and raw cannabis, with probable cause to perform a warrantless search of a vehicle.”
The decision contrasts with a ruling issued by the court months earlier finding that police may not conduct a warrantless search of a vehicle based solely on the odor of burnt marijuana. The conflicting opinions “defy logic,” justices wrote in their dissent.
Though police officers frequently testify that they can identify the presence of raw marijuana in a car solely based on its odor, empirical studies have challenged these claims.
The case is Illinois v. Molina.