Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni acknowledges that some drug investigations will be impacted by a Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling preventing police from relying only the odor of marijuana to search vehicles and their occupants.
But, he added, the April 19 decision by the SJC doesn’t necessarily move the commonwealth closer to legalizing marijuana, possession of which was partially decriminalized more than two years ago.
“I don’t know if this will be a slippery slope toward legalization,” Mastroianni said in an interview with The Republican, referring to the SJC decision and a November 2008 ballot measure that decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana.
READ MORE: Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni mulls marijuana decision by SJC
The Republican (Springfield), April 29, 2011