cannabisnews.com: Marijuana's Smell Now Cause for Search





Marijuana's Smell Now Cause for Search
Posted by FoM on September 21, 2000 at 10:10:57 PT
Catherine Candisky, Dispatch Statehouse Reporter 
Source: Columbus Dispatch
Police in Ohio now can rely on their noses to justify searching a vehicle and its occupants without a warrant. The Ohio Supreme Court yesterday unanimously ruled that the smell of marijuana alone was enough to establish probable cause for a warrantless search in a case involving a Pickerington man stopped by a state trooper after running a red light on Rt. 33 in Lancaster. The decision establishes a so-called "plain-smell'' exception to the requirement that law-enforcement officers obtain a warrant before conducting a search. 
Before, the only exception dealing with an officer's senses was the "plain-sight'' rule, which allows them to search vehicles without a warrant when evidence of illegal activity is visible. "If the smell of marijuana, as detected by a person who is qualified to recognize the odor, is the sole circumstance, this is sufficient to establish probable cause. There need be no additional factors to corroborate the suspicion of the presence of marijuana,'' Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton wrote. She noted that Patrol Sgt. Jeff Greene, who stopped Christopher M. Moore in February 1999, was trained and experienced in detecting the smell of marijuana. The ruling appears to apply only to marijuana, which Stratton said has a distinct odor. In addition, she wrote, "The inherent mobility of the automobile created a danger that the contraband would be removed before a warrant (could) be issued. . . . A warrantless search is also justified if there is imminent danger that evidence will be lost or destroyed if a search is not immediately conducted.'' According to court records, Greene said he detected a strong odor of burnt marijuana emanating from the car after Moore rolled down his window. After asking Moore to step out, Greene found rolling papers in Moore's pocket and a burnt marijuana cigarette in the car's ashtray. Most courts in other states that have considered similar cases have held that the smell of marijuana alone justifies a warrantless search for evidence of the drug, Stratton said. In a separate opinion, Justice Paul E. Pfeifer concurred but said he thinks there should be a distinction between smelling marijuana emanating from a car and smelling it on a person. "The search of the car here was reasonable because given the smell of marijuana smoke emanating from the car there was probable cause to believe that a crime was occurring or had occurred in the car. The smell of marijuana smoke on a person is entirely different; it provides probable cause that marijuana has been smoked, not that the person smoked it,'' Pfeifer wrote. Moore's attorney, Scott Wood, predicted that the ruling will subject many law-abiding motorists to warrantless searches. He said that he will appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. "I'm not disappointed because it advances the fight against drugs,'' Wood said. "But I am disappointed because I think it gives an officer too much leeway to invade someone's privacy. "The odor of anything is transient. It travels; it attaches. If my 16-year-old uses my car and I go out and use it the next day and there is a smell, I and everyone else in the vehicle may be subject to a search. . . . There are some law-enforcement officers who will use this to conduct a search if they don't like the way a person looks or acts.'' Wood argued to the court that warrantless searches should be based on not only smell but also some other tangible evidence. But David A. Trimmer, an assistant prosecutor for the city of Lancaster, said the ruling allows officers to use all of their senses to establish probable cause. "Certainly, if an officer sees contraband that gives him probable cause or if he hears something while walking up to the car like a passenger saying, 'You better hide the stuff,' now this just takes another sense and gives it justification,'' Trimmer said. The decision means Moore must face charges of possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Each carries a maximum sentence of 30 days in jail, a $250 fine and mandatory suspension of the driver's license. A Lancaster Municipal Court judge had declared the search illegal and thrown out the charge. A Fairfield County appeals court overturned that decision, but Moore's trial was put on hold while the Supreme Court reviewed the case. Source: Columbus Dispatch (OH)Author: Catherine CandiskyPublished: Thursday, September 21, 2000Copyright: 2000, The Columbus DispatchContact: letters dispatch.comAddress: 34 S. Third St., Columbus, OH 43215Website: http://www.dispatch.com/CannabisNews Cannabis Archives:http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7113.shtml
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Comment #6 posted by freedom fighter on September 22, 2000 at 08:43:36 PT
Beating Metal Detectors 
New Airport Tech Promises to Detect Minute Explosive, Drug Traces Barringer Technologies' Sentinel scanner uses non-invasive technologyies to check for drugs, explosives, and bombs with a puff of air. (ABCNEWS.com)http://abcnews.go.com/sections/tech/CuttingEdge/cuttingedge.html
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/tech/CuttingEdge/cuttingedge.html
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #5 posted by EdC on September 22, 2000 at 02:02:12 PT:
Plain smell exception
Vote Libertarian, and end the drug war.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #4 posted by sniff on September 21, 2000 at 18:14:38 PT
sniff
is the smell of a burning bill of rights now cause for a revolution?
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Comment #3 posted by Lehder on September 21, 2000 at 14:18:49 PT
That's right, legalzeit,
they will be able to search if you are thinking about pot - but only if they are "trained and experienced at detecting" thoughts of marijuana. And they all will be.
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Comment #2 posted by observer on September 21, 2000 at 13:32:26 PT
Thought Police Protect Us From Heretical Thoughts
they can search you because they SMELL pot, and because they hear you TALKING about your pot... pretty soon the cops will be able to search you for THINKING about it!Don't forget just reading about pot, also.Police Say Photo of MJ Plant Sufficient Cause for Searchhttp://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread6832.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by legalizeit on September 21, 2000 at 12:20:53 PT
Be scared, very very scared...
they can search you because they SMELL pot, and because they hear you TALKING about your pot... pretty soon the cops will be able to search you for THINKING about it!George Orwell was right, and we thought he was talking about a Communist state!!>I'm not disappointed because it advances the fight against drugs,'' Wood said. Even the defending attorney is a prohib wacko!!>trained and experienced in detecting the smell of marijuana.Yeah, of course the COPS have the right to have and smell MJ, just mot the poor motorists. And how can they be trained on the smell of MJ without it being smoked? Ruthless hypocrites.When will politicians realize how much this prohibition crap ruins the image of the police? Police were once respected as public servants and protectors. Now, they arrest people (including those suffering from illness) for things like growing, possessing or smoking a plant. How respectable is that?
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