Committee Advances Bill To Ban Vehicle Searches Based On Smell Of Cannabis

An Illinois Senate committee advanced a bill on Tuesday that would strictly limit police’s ability to search a vehicle after smelling cannabis.

The Senate Criminal Law Committee voted 7-3 to advance Senate Bill 42, which would eliminate the requirement that cannabis be transported in vehicles in an odor-proof container. It would also prohibit police from searching a vehicle based only on the odor of burnt or raw cannabis if the occupants are at least 21 years old.

The bill comes after the Illinois Supreme Court issued a pair of rulings last year. The court ruled in September that the smell of burnt cannabis did not give police probable cause to search a vehicle, but three months later ruled the smell of raw cannabis was probable cause for a search.

“This sets up a contradictory situation for law enforcement,” bill sponsor Sen. Rachel Ventura, D-Joliet, told the committee.

Illinois law requires drivers to store cannabis in a “sealed, odor-proof, child-resistant cannabis container” when in a car, and it must be “reasonably inaccessible while the vehicle is moving.” When the smell of raw cannabis is detected, that indicates the statute is being violated, the court ruled in December.

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