It’s difficult to imagine that 52 pounds of cannabis wouldn’t smell, but a new study, inspired by the real arrest and confiscation of a massive amount of tightly sealed cannabis, suggests it’s possible. Though the study tested two ounces instead of over fifty pounds, the results could change the way defendants fight police searches based on the “in plain smell” doctrine.
In the study, which will be published in the March 2020 issue of Science & Justice, two researchers found that people can’t smell marijuana packed in double vacuum-sealed bags. The study examined the ability of the human nose to identify marijuana when it was packaged in different ways. The scent was still obvious in casual packaging like Ziploc sandwich bags, but heavier plastics and seals stopped the odor from escaping, according to the study.
“In plain smell” is a common sense law enforcement doctrine that allows police to search property if they detect the odor of marijuana. Such searches are common, especially in vehicle stops, but with marijuana laws changing, smell-based searches are getting challenged in courts across the country.
More
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
We used to be free
ReplyDeleteThey need SOME reason to cover the fact that informers set these traffic stops up, such as "changed lanes without a signal" or "the tires touched a line in the road". Since only a couple of people usually know that someone is moving 20lbs of pot or 25 keys of coke, they HAVE to invent some kind of BS so the informers get to live longer.
ReplyDeleteIt's AMAZING that the police just happen to get so lucky so many times when they stop cars for doing the above-mentioned "crimes". And the changing lanes thing leads to a full blown search.
I've changed lanes without a signal with a cop right behind me to see if that would entice them to pull me over. Never happens.
THEY change lanes while doing 70 in a 50 zone.
Who gets to pull THEM over?
Right.
Keep cheering.
The thing is when someone has it in their car, bagged up however, they've usually also smoked it in the car.
ReplyDeleteI carry an ounce or two in my car to my home after I purchase it. I never smoke in my car.
DeleteWrong. I'm a medical cannabis patient and regularly carry to and from the dispensarys in Salisbury and Ocean City and never smoke in my vehicle.
DeleteKeep pulling them over for the crap. They wanna smoke that skunk smelling mess, stay the hell off the roads.
ReplyDeleteLegalize it already!
ReplyDeleteYou cheerleaders missed the point.
ReplyDeleteSo....
Keep cheering.
Not only can you smell it you can see it visibly if the windows are down or up the driver and passengers are surrounded in a thick cloud of smoke, and no I don't mean like cigarette smoke this is a thick, thick cloud like from a fire.
ReplyDeleteThe story was about smelling packaged weed from outside the vehicle, not coming up to one with Cheech & Chong cannabis clouds coming from a cracked window.
ReplyDeleteYes, anyone who tokes up in a car is a few apples short of a pie and is looking for a law enforcement encounter.
They use that excuse no matter if they smell it or not. They stopped someone I know that wasn't smoking anything but a cigarette and they said they smelled it. That was a Lie! They told them go ahead search you won't find anything and they were right. Most police officers are nothing but liars trying to get their quota!
ReplyDelete