LANSING, MI (WTVB) – The Michigan Supreme Court has ruled that the odor of marijuana, by itself, is insufficient to establish probable cause for a warrantless search of a vehicle.
In a 5-2 decision, the court held that police cannot rely solely on the smell of cannabis to justify searches under the automobile exception to the warrant requirement.
The ruling reflects the impact of Michigan’s 2018 voter-approved legalization of recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older. The decision stems from cases including People v. Armstrong and another involving a traffic stop, where officers detected marijuana odor and later found contraband such as a firearm.
The court emphasized that probable cause must be based on the totality of circumstances and a reasonable likelihood of discovering evidence of a crime, not merely a civil infraction.
Evidence suggesting only a low-level marijuana violation, including odor, does not meet the constitutional threshold for a warrantless search.
Legal observers say the ruling strengthens protections against unreasonable searches in the post-legalization era and may require officers to identify additional indicators of criminal activity before searching vehicles.
The decision overrides prior precedent that treated marijuana odor as sufficient probable cause.
This is a good ruling. I mean they really need to develop a trustworthy dui test for Marijuana that LEO can do road side. Someone could of smoked hours ago and no longer under the influence but still stink of weed. However just the smell of Marijuana doesn’t mean the driver is under the influence. If the driver was under the influence then that should only give them the right to charge driver for operating a vehicle while under the influence not a warrantless search. Heck could be one of the passengers had smoked before even getting into a vehicle that someone else is driving.
Yes!!! This is fantastic news and this reinforces are civil rights. There have been countless cases were police used ” I smell marijuana”excuse to go searching through someone’s car. Hopefully this gets the police to actually do their job and look for real evidence.
A clear and obvious common sense ruling consistent with the law, the Constitution, and our basic rights as Americans. Cops can’t search your car if they smell beer, they can’t search your car if they smell tobacco, they can’t search your car if they smell coffee. There is no legal justification to throw away our rights and let cops search our car when they smell a different legal substance.
So of course two idiot Republican justices ruled to let the cops continue to flagrantly violate our civil rights because there isn’t a single civil right that Republicans are interested in letting us have.