Michigan Supreme Court Rules Police Can’t Search Your Car for This One Reason

It’s legal, but that doesn’t mean we don’t all worry about if you could still get in trouble for having marijuana in your vehicle. Maybe you’ve left the dispensary and felt yourself worrying about getting pulled over and having your car searched just because an officer smelled marijuana. Great news, Michigan’s highest court just changed the game.

You can put down the febreeze, because in a landmark ruling the Michigan Supreme Court declared that the smell of marijuana alone is no longer enough for police to conduct a warrantless search of your vehicle.

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In a 5-1 decision this week, the court threw out gun charges against a Detroit man whose car was searched back in 2020, based solely on the odor of marijuana that police smelled inside his car.

The justices reasoned that since Michigan voters legalized recreational marijuana back in 2018, the smell of it doesn’t automatically mean illegal activity is taking place. Which is pretty fair when you consider how much it smells before you even smoke it.

Justice Megan Cavanagh, writing for the majority, explained the logic:

“The smell of marijuana might just as likely indicate that the person is in possession of a legal amount of marijuana, recently used marijuana legally, or was simply in the presence of someone else who used marijuana.”

So basically the court has agreed that just because your car smells like weed, it doesn’t mean you’re breaking the law. So now, police can’t use that as an excuse to search your vehicle without a warrant. However, they can search you for other reasons and still cite you if you’re smoking actively in the car, so don’t think this is a free for all pass.

Lower courts also made the same decision, which just reinforces Michigan’s evolving stance on marijuana-related laws. After all, with how much money the state makes from the plant, it’s pretty hypocritical to chase people down just for purchasing it or having it on your person. Of course, it’s still illegal to use marijuana while driving, but this decision protects legal users from unnecessary searches and potential legal trouble that comes along with them.

For Michigan residents, this is a huge win for privacy rights and further proof that the state’s laws are catching up with the reality of our legalized cannabis.