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Illinois' top court says odor of burnt marijuana isn't enough to search car

By The Associated Press
Published  September 19, 2024 5:22pm CDT
Illinois
Associated Press

The Brief 

    • The Illinois Supreme Court ruled that the smell of burnt marijuana alone does not justify a warrantless car search.
    • Evidence of a small amount of marijuana from a 2020 traffic stop in Henry County was thrown out by the court.
    • Despite marijuana being legal in Illinois since 2019, the court found the smell was not enough to assume a crime had occurred.

CAMBRIDGE, Ill. (AP) - An odor of burnt marijuana doesn't justify a search of a car without a warrant in Illinois, the state Supreme Court said Thursday.

The court affirmed lower court rulings that threw out evidence of a small amount of marijuana discovered during a traffic stop in Henry County in 2020.

It is illegal to drive and smoke marijuana. But lawyers for the driver argued that the smell of burnt marijuana is not enough to believe a crime has occurred, especially after Illinois legalized the possession of marijuana in 2019.

The driver denied smoking in the vehicle.

"There are now a myriad of situations where cannabis can be used and possessed, and the smell resulting from that legal use and possession is not indicative of the commission of a criminal offense," Justice P. Scott Neville Jr. said  in the 6-0 opinion.

A police officer said he searched the car because of the odor, the driver's evasiveness and Interstate 80's reputation as an east-west corridor to move drugs.