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Medicating while you drive is unsafe and not a very good idea. -UA  (thats for you, Cat!)

SJC: Odor of marijuana not enough to order suspect out of car

4/19/11

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

The odor of burnt marijuana is no longer enough for police officers to order a person from their car, now that possession of less than an ounce of marijuana has been decriminalized in Massachusetts, the state’s highest court ruled today.

“Without at least some other additional fact to bolster a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, the odor of burnt marijuana alone cannot reasonably provide suspicion of criminal activity to justify an exit order,” the court ruled in a decision written by Chief Justice Roderick Ireland.

The court said the people’s intent in passing a 2008 ballot question decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana was “clear: possession of one ounce or less of marijuana should not be considered a serious infraction worthy of criminal sanction.”

“Ferreting out decriminalized conduct with the same fervor associated with the pursuit of serious criminal conduct is neither desired by the public nor in accord with the plain language of the statute,” the court said.

1 COMMENT

  1. I think this is a great law to pass in all the medical states,Im sure a lot of officers would use the excuse that the car smells of pot JUST to get a reason to search and harass.

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