SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Illinois Supreme Court ruled Thursday the smell of burnt cannabis alone is insufficient grounds for police officers to search a vehicle.
The ruling stems from a 2020 traffic stop in Henry County. Ryan Redmond was reportedly pulled over on Interstate 80 for an unsecured license plate and driving three miles per hour over the speed limit. The state trooper said he smelled a strong odor of burnt cannabis and searched Redmond's vehicle. The officer found one gram of cannabis in the center console of the car in a plastic bag, according to the ruling. However, he also said he didn't smell marijuana on Redmond and didn't see any signs of impairment. Redmond denied smoking in the car.
Prosecutors charged Redmond with unlawful possession of cannabis.
In 2020, it became legal to possess small amounts of cannabis, but drivers are not allowed to smoke in their vehicles.
"Many people confuse what we're arguing as being arguing for cannabis rights," defense attorney James Mertes said. "It really isn't. It's more important than that. We're arguing for constitutional rights."
The state Supreme Court was unanimous in its decision, with one justice not taking part. It ruled that without other suspicious circumstances, such as a bud in view or a driver failing to stop for some time, the search was unjustified.
"The laws on cannabis have changed in such a drastic way as to render the smell of burnt cannabis, standing alone, insufficient to provide probable cause for a police officer to search a vehicle without a warrant," Justice Scott Neville Jr. wrote in the ruling. "Illinois cannabis law has evolved, and the use and possession have not only been decriminalized in numerous situations, but they have been legalized in numerous situations. 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."
The justices also cited a prior case that stated cannabis regulations should be similar to alcohol, meaning possession is generally lawful, but is unlawful under certain circumstances.
Mertes believed the right of privacy was at stake in this case.
"An officer can consider the odor of burnt cannabis. The Supreme Court's not saying the officer is prohibited from considering the odor of burnt cannabis," he said. "What the Supreme Court is saying is you can't search a motor vehicle based on the odor of burnt cannabis alone. Because once cannabis became legalized, we're now going to treat cannabis the way we treat alcohol, and that just makes good sense."
The Illinois Supreme Court has yet to issue its ruling in a similar case dealing with the smell of raw cannabis. That case stems from a Whiteside County traffic stop. In that case, Vincent Molina was a passenger in a car that was pulled over in December 2020. He was arrested for possession of 2.6 grams of cannabis after showing a medical use license to the officer. The officer said it was solely the smell of the drug that prompted the search.