Michigan Supreme Courts Rule On Marijuana Car Searches

Just over 6 years ago, legislators, voters, and officials voted and implemented legislature to make the recreational use of marijuana legal for individuals that are 21 years or older in age. For years on end, marijuana users have argued that the drugged is labeled and policed incorrectly and this was one move to agree with that.

Get our free mobile app

Shortly after the law was passed, several cities in Michigan experienced a large boom of marijuana dispensaries opening up. The sales were exponentially growing quickly as marijuana consumers began to become more comfortable. Just like alcohol, traveling with marijuana or under the influence has strict laws.

Traveling with cannabis is very similar to traveling with alcohol, as long as you have it secured in the trunk where you can't reach it while traveling and it is within the legal limit for personal consumption then you're within the law. As everyone knows, driving under the influence of alcohol and other drugs can cause danger to yourself and others, if caught this can result in jail time and/or fines.

Michigan Highest Court Rules On Searching Cars With Marijuana Odor

Another thing that comes with making recreational use of marijuana legal, is cops having to interact with drivers who may be under the influence. It is illegal to smoke marijuana while driving but the hard part if deciding what level of impairment is under the legal limit to drive which they haven't come to a consensus on yet. As of right now, you can't be under the influence of marijuana and drive at any time.

So, what should a cop do if they pull someone over and their car smells like marijuana. According to the Michigan Supreme Court, those police officers aren't allowed to search that vehicle if their only probable cause if the smell of marijuana. Below is the explanation given by Justice Megan Cavanagh on why this ruling was made:

The smell of marijuana might just as likely indicate that the person is in possession of a legal amount of marijuana, recently used marijuana legally, or was simply in the presence of someone else who used marijuana.

This ruling came in a case where gun charges against a man whose car was searched in Detroit in 2020 were thrown out because their only cause to search the vehicle was marijuana odor. If police would like to search your vehicle than they would need a warrant or another reason that gives probable cause.