Smell of weed is not probable cause to search vehicle, Illinois Supreme Court rules

Simply smelling burnt cannabis does not give a police officer the right to conduct a warrantless search of an automobile, the Illinois State Supreme Court ruled on Thursday. 

Citing significant changes in Illinois marijuana laws, Justice P. Scott Neville Jr. wrote that an Illinois state police officer who pulled over a Chicago man on Interstate 80 did not have probable cause to search the car based only on the fact that he smelled weed. The option was unanimous, with Justice Lisa Holder White not participating. 

On Sept. 15, 2020, state police officer Hayden Combs stopped Ryan Redmond on Interstate 80 in Henry County for an improperly secured license plate. Redmond, returning to Chicago after visiting friends in Des Moines, was also traveling 73 miles per hour, three miles per hour over the limit.

According to previous court testimony, Officer Combs smelled burnt cannabis when Redmond rolled down the window. Combs then searched the car and found one gram of marijuana in the center console in a plastic bag.

Redmond was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana by a driver. 

However, Redmond claimed that the smell of cannabis did not give the officer probable cause to search the vehicle. Lower courts agreed, ruling that a search based only on the smell of weed was unjustified, citing recent changes making cannabis legal.

Combs testified that Redmond showed no signs of impairment, and there was no evidence of cannabis burning inside the car.

Combs testified that he searched the car because there was an odor of burnt cannabis, Redmond gave evasive answers, Interstate 80 was "a known drug corridor," and Redmond admitted he was driving from Des Moines to Chicago, where both cities are "hub[s] of criminal activity."  

The appeals court found a lack of evidence supporting Combs' testimony that Interstate 80 was a known drug corridor and that Des Moines and Chicago were hubs of criminal activity. Regardless, both facts did not support Combs's suspicion that Redmond had smoked cannabis in the vehicle.  

The state legalized the purchase and use of marijuana on Jan. 1, 2020. The law made it legal to possess weed in a car if it is secured and inaccessible.

The state had argued that circumstances, including Combs' detection of the strong odor of burnt cannabis, made it reasonable to suspect that Redmond had smoked cannabis in the car on his way from Des Moines to Chicago.

"We hold that the odor of burnt cannabis alone is insufficient to provide probable cause for police officers to perform a warrantless search of a vehicle," Neville wrote.

"We also hold that the totality of the facts and circumstances known to Officer Combs did not provide probable cause to search Redmond's vehicle."