The twin rulings stem from searches conducted by police in 2013.
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Medical marijuana advocates say card-holding patients could be at risk for unfair police searches after two rulings issued Monday by the Arizona Supreme Court.
In Arizona, just the “smell” of marijuana is enough for police to search your home and vehicle, according to two new Arizona Supreme Court rulings.
The decision however does state that a legal foundation for a search can be challenged or argued if the person has a medical marijuana card and is authorized to possess marijuana.
The ruling has some medical marijuana users concerned, “A lot of pedestrians feel they are being harassed by cops with nothing better to do”, said Rebecca Calloway.
However, Dean, a legal adviser for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said the court’s ruling actually expands rights slightly for medical marijuana patients.
Chief Justice Scott Bales wrote: “Given Arizona’s general prohibition against marijuana possession and use, it is reasonable for officers to conclude that criminal activity is occurring when they see or smell marijuana, thereby satisfying probable cause”.
But David Euchner, a deputy Pima County public defender, said that is hardly enough to protect individual rights.
“In sum, under the totality of the circumstances presented here, the odor of marijuana established probable cause”.
The unanimous ruling Monday upheld a trial judge’s decision in a Tucson case to allow evidence from a search conducted after police smelled marijuana and obtained a warrant.
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“Presentation of a valid AMMA registry identification card, therefore, could indicate that marijuana is being lawfully possessed or used, ” Bales explained. The wording doesn’t specify that a police officer must ignore the smell if they believe the suspect has a license, only that they can choose to not use the smell as a reason to investigate. Sisco, who apparently was living in the unit, was convicted of multiple charges and sentenced to concurrent prison terms, the longest of which was 3.5 years.
