Maryland’s Highest Court Rules Cops Can't Search You Based On Cannabis Smell

Last week, Maryland’s Court of Appeals issued an important ruling for cannabis advocates and fourth amendment warriors: A police officer in Maryland can no longer use the smell of cannabis as a reason to search and arrest someone.

“The mere odor of marijuana emanating from a person, without more, does not provide the police with probable cause to support an arrest and a full-scale search of the arrestee incident thereto,” the unanimous ruling, written by Chief Judge Mary Ellen Barbera reads.

Much of this is connected to the 2014 decriminalization of cannabis possession up to 10 grams in Maryland. In 2019, the Maryland Court of Appeals ruled that a police officer couldn’t arrest and search someone because they observed the person in possession of 10 grams or less of cannabis because that amount was decriminalized. Last week’s ruling expands that and says that because cannabis possession of up to 10 grams has been decriminalized in Maryland—making it neither a felony or a misdemeanor—and a police officer needs probable cause to believe someone has more cannabis on them, and smell alone cannot be used as probable cause.