Marijuana Smell Not Reason Enough To Search Car, Votes IL Senate

Good!

Traffic stops in the United States are, well, a pretty bad time, especially if you are a Black person who would prefer not to die or lose custody of their kids over nothing, or a woman of any color who does not wish to be sexually assaulted. There are far less dangerous ways to accomplish the goal of traffic safety — for instance, not arming traffic cops, better road design, speed limits more in line with how fast people are going to actually drive, and limiting stops to actual emergencies, while just mailing people the ticket for things like an out-of-date inspection sticker. It's clear that it's a serious problem and that someone needs to do something about it.

Luckily, legislators in Illinois are gonna try a thing. Last week, the state Senate passed Senate Bill 125 , introduced by Democratic state Sen. Rachel Ventura, which would would remove pot smell odor as probable cause to search a car, its driver or any passengers therein. This would apply both to raw and burnt marijuana odor.

“People – especially people of color – are unnecessarily pulled over far too often,” Ventura said. “The odor of cannabis alone shouldn’t be one of those reasons. Cannabis is legal in Illinois and it’s a pungent scent that can stick to clothes for extended periods of time.” Yes, it certainly can. It can also stick to your clothes whether you personally have been smoking it or not.

The legislation would also get rid of the requirement that passengers keep their weed in an odorless container.

The bill was modeled on a 2020 court case, in which a judge in Whiteside County, Illinois , determined that the smell of raw cannabis was not a reason enough to search someone's vehicle or arrest them, as there were many legal reasons that smell might be there — including the defendant's situation, in which he had been prescribed medical marijuana. The passenger — not even the driver — was arrested even after showing a state trooper his medical marijuana card.

Two other states, Colorado and Vermont, have had similar court decisions, but Illinois could be the first to put it into actual law. It will now be sent to the House for consideration where it will hopefully pass and then be signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker.

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