Pa. Supreme Court rules smell of marijuana alone doesn't justify warrantless vehicle searches

[TexasTowelie]

The scent of marijuana can no longer be used as the sole justification for warrantless vehicle searches in Pennsylvania, the state's Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday.

The decision came as part of a ruling on a vehicle search – based solely on the odor of cannabis – conducted three years ago by state police after a traffic stop in Allentown.

“The odor of marijuana alone does not amount to probable cause to conduct a warrantless search of the vehicle," Chief Justice Max Baer wrote in the court's majority opinion. Still, he said the scent "may be considered as a factor in examining the totality of the circumstances."

The defendant was Timothy Oliver Barr II, who was in the passenger seat while his wife Teri Barr was driving. The couple was pulled over for failing to stop at a solid white line before an overpass.

Read more: https://www.phillyvoice.com/pennsylvania-supreme-court-marijuana-scent-warrantless-vehicle-search-traffic-stop-allentown/

[YP_Yooper]

1. Totally reasonable, BUT

Next problem is to get rid of the archaic zero-tolerance BS:

"Pennsylvania has a very simple marijuana DUI law – zero tolerance (one nanogram of active THC per milliliter of blood). That means that if you have any amount of marijuana metabolite in your system, you may be guilty of DUI.

However, to charge someone with DUI based on impairment by marijuana, the person must have a concentration of a marijuana metabolite of at least one nanogram per milliliter (ng/ml) of blood. Pennsylvania adopted this new lower threshold in 2011, as it was previously five ng/ml."

Basically, they test for metabolite, so even if you're hanging with friends 3 weeks ago, it could mean automatic license suspension for a year.

...and get this... EVEN APPLIES IF YOU ARE STATE APPROVED FOR MEDICAL MJ !!!!

Even if you have a legal prescription for medical marijuana, you can still get a marijuana DUI in Pennsylvania.

"Pennsylvania is among the handful of U.S. states that have adopted per se DUI laws for marijuana. Per se laws make it illegal to drive with a drug in your body that exceeds a specified limit. You cannot drive with any amount of marijuana metabolite over one nanogram per milliliter in your system.

The key thing to understand about the per se law is that prosecutors do not have to show that you were in any way impaired while driving. Just the presence of marijuana over one nanogram per milliliter in your bloodstream can lead to a conviction. Police officers don’t even have to provide evidence of impaired driving to make an arrest. All they need is a reasonable suspicion that a driver is under the influence of drugs."