Law enforcement officers in Illinois cannot rely on the smell of burnt cannabis alone to justify searching a vehicle without a warrant, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled on Thursday.

Reversing a previous ruling from before the legalization of marijuana, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the smell of burnt cannabis alone is not enough to justify a warrantless police search of a vehicle.

In a 6-0 ruling, the court found that cannabis laws in Illinois had evolved to the point that just catching a whiff of burnt weed is no longer enough probable cause for police to search a vehicle.

Illinois Supreme Court rules that the smell of cannabis alone cannot justify warrantless vehicle searches, reinforcing users's privacy.

Simply smelling burnt cannabis does not give a police officer the right to conduct a warrantless search of an automobile, the Illinois State Supreme Court ruled on Thursday.

The arresting officer described I80 as a drug corridor and called Des Moines and Chicago known "hubs of criminal activity."

SummaryState supreme court rules unanimously in case stemming from 2020 traffic stop By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois [email protected] Law enforcement officers in Illinois cannot

Law enforcement officers can't rely on the smell of burnt cannabis alone to justify searching a car without a warrant, the Illinois Supreme Court has ruled.

An odor of burnt marijuana doesn’t justify a search of a car without a warrant in Illinois. That’s the ruling Thursday from the Illinois Supreme Court.