The second-highest court in Maryland ruled recently that a police stop is no longer valid based simply on the smell of cannabis. Officers need to have “reasonable suspicion” of a crime, not just cannabis, to search someone or detain them, even for a short period of time. 

This most recent ruling builds on the previous verdict issued by the Maryland Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court. Officers don’t have the right to search someone simply based on cannabis smell. Plus, in 2019, the same court also ruled that police officers can’t arrest someone based on cannabis smell if they can see a legal amount of weed on a person.

Cannabis in small doses became decriminalized back in 2014. However, Maryland police have still been arresting and charging people simply for the smell of cannabis. While it is still an illegal drug across the country and within the state. With this latest ruling, it seems that the courts in Maryland are finally catching up with the decriminalization laws that have been in place for years. 

Justification 

A recent court case brought this ruling to light. An officer responded to a concerned call about young males hanging out in an apartment complex. The officer smelled a “strong odor of marijuana” and told the group of boys to answer some questions. The officer then said that he was afraid some of the boys were armed, so he called for backup and patted the boys down. 

One boy had a 9mm handgun on his waist and was charged for carrying a weapon as a minor. However, the boy’s defense argued that the officer didn’t have a reason to stop and frisk the boy in the first place. 

Police often use the smell of cannabis to justify further investigation. It’s particularly used to ‘provide’ more aggressive policing, typically in communities of color. The boy’s public defender, Michele Hall, said, “So many interactions with law enforcement start with something as innocuous as the smell of marijuana. This case was really the next piece. The smell of marijuana is not enough to stop an individual on the street.” 

Cannabis Future

Unfortunately, cannabis legalization bills died in the state’s Congress this year. But lawmakers are looking to the future and planning ahead. Legalization will happen, that much is certain. And it will be a positive source of revenue for the state. Most recently, the state has brought in nearly a billion dollars in medical cannabis sales since the program launched. With standard legalization will come more sales and more benefits for the state. It’s just a matter of time before legalization happens.

As of right now, officers in Maryland can still stop someone and search their vehicle based on cannabis smell alone. There are different car privacy rules in the state. Police suspect that the rules could change around this and they are urging the rules to not change. No changes or acts have been introduced to change this measure.

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