Law enforcement officials are concerned that marijuana busts, and their ability to arrest people for driving under the influence of drugs, will go up in smoke after the state’s highest court ruled this week that the odor of burnt marijuana does not give police enough suspicion to order someone from a car.
Defense lawyers, however, argue the state Supreme Judicial Court got it right, considering the passage of a 2008 state ballot question decriminalizing possession of one ounce or less of marijuana.
To order someone out of a car, police need additional cause to suspect criminal activity, the court ruled.
READ MORE: Pot rule worries officials Odor not enough to suspect crime
The Telegram & Gazette, April 21, 2011