Maryland Appeals Court Rules Odor of Cannabis Can Trigger Vehicle Search by Police if Occupants are Underage 

A three-judge panel of the Appellate Court of Maryland last week ruled that the odor of cannabis can trigger a police search if police determine that the occupants of a car are minors and therefore prohibited by law from possessing cannabis, Maryland Matters reports. The decision involves the convictions of two teens who were pulled over in separate stops in Worcester County in 2023 and 2024. The panel ultimately rejected the teens’ arguments that the subsequent searches were illegal because they relied on officers smelling cannabis and state law prohibits vehicle searches based only on an odor of cannabis.   

Judge Kathryn Graeff, writing for the court, said in the ruling that the searches were not prohibited … because they were not based solely on the odor of cannabis … Instead, they were based on the odor of cannabis, plus the knowledge that the occupants of the vehicle were under 21 years of age.” 

“Because it is unlawful for a person to possess cannabis if the person is not at least 21 years of age … the statute did not prohibit the search and require that the evidence seized be excluded.” — Graeff, in the ruling, via Maryland Matters 

The search of the vehicle led to the discovery of a firearm and both teens were convicted of underage possession of a firearm while one of the teens was found guilty of underage cannabis possession.  

Prior to the ruling there had been no opinions by the Appellate Court of the Supreme Court of Maryland that addressed whether knowledge of subjects’ age allows for the use of cannabis odor as probable cause for a vehicle search. The ruling could still be appealed to the state Supreme Court.