“The searches were not prohibited…because they were not based solely on the odor of cannabis. Instead, they were based on the odor of cannabis, plus the knowledge that the occupants of the vehicle were under 21 years of age.
By Will Hammann, Maryland Matters
An odor of marijuana is not normally sufficient cause for police to conduct a search, but it can be if police determine that the occupants of a car are minors and thus prohibited from possessing cannabis, according to a new court ruling.
A three-judge panel of the Appellate Court of Maryland on Thursday upheld the convictions of two teens who were pulled over in separate stops in Worcester County in 2023 and 2024, rejecting the teens’ arguments that the subsequent searches were illegal because they relied on officers smelling cannabis. Maryland law prohibits a search based solely on an odor of cannabis.
But the appeals court agreed with police the odor of cannabis is probable cause for a search if the officers determined that a vehicle’s occupants are under age 21.
“Here, the searches were not prohibited…because they were not based solely on the odor of cannabis,” Judge Kathryn Graeff wrote for the court. “Instead, they
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