Is smell truely probable cause?

Tanman402

Tanman402

Well-Known Member
I know there are many on here who are legal and dont have to worry about getting caught up inside your car. Recently me and a buddy were twisting up and got an unpleasant visit from the man. I just finished rolling a blunt and tossed it between the seats. Because i broke it up by hand and it was white widow the whole car smelled of fresh bud not burnt bud. As they approached the first thing they said was it smells like pot and threatened to call in a k9 unit to search the car and if they found anything my friends car would be impounded and we would spend the night in jail.

MY question is does a skunky odor give them the right to search the car and call in a k9? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and in this case smell is in the nose of the beholder. There are many things that give off similar smells. without being able to test the smell how can an officer conclude there is cannabis possibly in the car simply by smelling it? It seems like it should fall under reasonable suspicion rather than probable cause. Reasonable suspicion is not enough evidence to search a car.

What would you do in that situation?
 
H

hempcurescancer

Guest
Even if it isnt probable cause, most cops would probably do that shit anyway, because most cops think they're fuckin Jesus.
 
CSI Stickyicky

CSI Stickyicky

Well-Known Member
Say "I dont smell anything" Or "i think i smell a skunk, but its not a smell coming from my car"

And

"I dont consent to any searches"

If he searches anyway, shut your pie hole. Nothing coming out of your piehole will help.

Yes, smell is probable cause. In the future, carry ozium, and be aware of your surroundings, so they can't sneak up on you. If you have time to spray the ozium, you should be good.
 
doc111

doc111

Well-Known Member
Tanman402 said:
I know there are many on here who are legal and dont have to worry about getting caught up inside your car. Recently me and a buddy were twisting up and got an unpleasant visit from the man. I just finished rolling a blunt and tossed it between the seats. Because i broke it up by hand and it was white widow the whole car smelled of fresh bud not burnt bud. As they approached the first thing they said was it smells like pot and threatened to call in a k9 unit to search the car and if they found anything my friends car would be impounded and we would spend the night in jail.

MY question is does a skunky odor give them the right to search the car and call in a k9? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and in this case smell is in the nose of the beholder. There are many things that give off similar smells. without being able to test the smell how can an officer conclude there is cannabis possibly in the car simply by smelling it?

What would you do in that situation?
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It's probablye cause and it sucks bro. No other way to say it but unfortunately it's true. Of course there are things which give off similar odors but weed is pretty distinct. It gives officers a lot of power because that's all they have to say is "I smelled an odor of marijuana" and there is their probable cause. I don't think it's likely to change anytime soon either so the best advice I can give is to make sure you don't travel with weed, don't smoke in your car, don't attract attention, act suspicious, or be a complete tool. If confronted by LEO's just remain calm and be polite. Say as little as possible so you don't talk yourself into trouble. They love it when you kiss their asses (don't lay it on too thick). Big egoes in those blue uniforms. :blsmoke:
 
H

hempcurescancer

Guest
doc111 said:
It's probablye cause and it sucks bro. No other way to say it but unfortunately it's true. Of course there are things which give off similar odors but weed is pretty distinct. It gives officers a lot of power because that's all they have to say is "I smelled an odor of marijuana" and there is their probable cause. I don't think it's likely to change anytime soon either so the best advice I can give is to make sure you don't travel with weed, don't smoke in your car, don't attract attention, act suspicious, or be a complete tool. If confronted by LEO's just remain calm and be polite. Say as little as possible so you don't talk yourself into trouble. They love it when you kiss their asses (don't lay it on too thick). Big egoes in those blue uniforms. :blsmoke:
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Anytime my brother gets pulled over, he takes his keys out of the ignition, lays them on his lap, and puts his arms out on his lap with his palms facing the ceiling. Piggys eat that shit up like dunkin donuts. :fire:
 
leeny

leeny

Active Member
yah man i think it is 'reasonable suspicion' cus last night I was pulled over for a broken headlight and myb car reaked and the officer told me that (me and this guy were friends... long story...) but couldn't search my car... he just kept asking for my consent, then tricked me into thinking that my friends old Bugler was the end of the roach and just said 'so Imma search your car' and I said fuck-okay, anyway long story short they think they're Jesus, and even when doubted, jesus is hard to prove wrong :/
 
Tanman402

Tanman402

Well-Known Member
doc111 said:
It's probablye cause and it sucks bro. No other way to say it but unfortunately it's true. Of course there are things which give off similar odors but weed is pretty distinct. It gives officers a lot of power because that's all they have to say is "I smelled an odor of marijuana" and there is their probable cause. I don't think it's likely to change anytime soon either so the best advice I can give is to make sure you don't travel with weed, don't smoke in your car, don't attract attention, act suspicious, or be a complete tool. If confronted by LEO's just remain calm and be polite. Say as little as possible so you don't talk yourself into trouble. They love it when you kiss their asses (don't lay it on too thick). Big egoes in those blue uniforms. :blsmoke:
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Great advice. say as little as possible unless you have no choice. i waited for them to question us separately and the officer told me if i tell him where it is they will stomp it out and let us on our way exaclty what happened. i also played the i have a super clean record and dont want to fuck that up card.
 
H

hempcurescancer

Guest
Tanman402 said:
Great advice. say as little as possible unless you have no choice. i waited for them to question us separately and the officer told me if i tell him where it is they will stomp it out and let us on our way exaclty what happened
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You're one of the lucky ones.
 
estesj

estesj

Well-Known Member
Tanman402 said:
I know there are many on here who are legal and dont have to worry about getting caught up inside your car. Recently me and a buddy were twisting up and got an unpleasant visit from the man. I just finished rolling a blunt and tossed it between the seats. Because i broke it up by hand and it was white widow the whole car smelled of fresh bud not burnt bud. As they approached the first thing they said was it smells like pot and threatened to call in a k9 unit to search the car and if they found anything my friends car would be impounded and we would spend the night in jail.

MY question is does a skunky odor give them the right to search the car and call in a k9? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and in this case smell is in the nose of the beholder. There are many things that give off similar smells. without being able to test the smell how can an officer conclude there is cannabis possibly in the car simply by smelling it? It seems like it should fall under reasonable suspicion rather than probable cause. Reasonable suspicion is not enough evidence to search a car.

What would you do in that situation?
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Yes it is that is how they got the warrant to search my house in march when my wife answered the door. However they are usually tiped off and do a knock and talk and say they smell it. They still need you to sign a consent to search in order to come in. Dont do this because even tho they will detain you for 2 or 3 hours before they get a warrant you can beat the case with a lawyer for illegal search. If you sign your screwed! Hope this helps.
 
H

hempcurescancer

Guest
est I had no idea that you still needed to sign a consent to search if they have a signed warrant. Me and my friends would always jokingly call warrants "The fucked papers".
 
doc111

doc111

Well-Known Member
Tanman402 said:
I googled my question and found this
http://norml.org/pdf_files/brief_bank/marijuanaodorstudy.pdf
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It's interesting but has this actually been used in a court case that where the defendant won the case. In that case it would be a precedent setting case and would open the door to this study being used as a defense against the whole "Odor of Marijuana" probable cause argument used by police. I personally don't think it should be used as the sole justification for probable cause. It's way too subjective which is the whole point of the study. I just don't think the Law enforcement community nor the courts are going to give this enormous power they have up without a huge fight. :weed:
 
Louis541

Louis541

Well-Known Member
In a car, the smell of Green Marijuana is considered probable cause. I think the laws are different for the smell of burning weed. If you're in a house probable cause isn't enough to search, because it's considered your castle.
 
T

tical916

Well-Known Member
I had a shitty old car that we always would blaze in. One time sober as a nun, we get pulled over. The cop starts giving us shit that the car smells like weed, has us all get out of the car. He keeps questioning me, I was driving the car my car. He keeps saying, I can smell the weed on you and in your car. I told him he was crazy.
He than handcuffed us put us on the sidewalk.

Another cop pulls up and questions the first one of to the side of the car. They both come back saying they can smell weed. And they gave the "We`ll just let you own your way, just give us the marijuana." I asked him what I would get for him wasting my time and not finding anything. He didn't say shit. I told him I wanted a blowjob and gave him consent to search the car.

They're both in there for a bit. And they come back out with the ashtray. It was a shitty where you could pull the ashtray out. He says how it smells like weed and puts it in our faces. It didn't smell like anything and the only thing it was ash smudges. I tore the rest of the car apart and found a single swisher, snapped in half and crammed down the back seat. He wrote me a ticket for minor in posession of a tobacco product? I was around 16 at the time.
 
IAm5toned

IAm5toned

Well-Known Member
Tanman402 said:
without being able to test the smell how can an officer conclude there is cannabis possibly in the car simply by smelling it?
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if an officer even 'thinks' he smells (or sees, or hears, or has a psychic intuition) that narcotics are present, that is probable cause for a search. you do not have to consent to that search however, and you will be booked for obstructing justice. so either way your screwed. once your in jail, all it takes is till the judge gets up in the morning and signs the warrant to search your car/home/box under the bridge and you know how the story ends.

moral of the story:
if you gotta roll, roll legit. dont give them a reason to pull you over in the first place.
 
IAm5toned

IAm5toned

Well-Known Member
tical916 said:
I had a shitty old car that we always would blaze in. One time sober as a nun, we get pulled over. The cop starts giving us shit that the car smells like weed, has us all get out of the car. He keeps questioning me, I was driving the car my car. He keeps saying, I can smell the weed on you and in your car. I told him he was crazy.
He than handcuffed us put us on the sidewalk.

Another cop pulls up and questions the first one of to the side of the car. They both come back saying they can smell weed. And they gave the "We`ll just let you own your way, just give us the marijuana." I asked him what I would get for him wasting my time and not finding anything. He didn't say shit. I told him I wanted a blowjob and gave him consent to search the car.

They're both in there for a bit. And they come back out with the ashtray. It was a shitty where you could pull the ashtray out. He says how it smells like weed and puts it in our faces. It didn't smell like anything and the only thing it was ash smudges. I tore the rest of the car apart and found a single swisher, snapped in half and crammed down the back seat. He wrote me a ticket for minor in posession of a tobacco product? I was around 16 at the time.
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your lucky he didnt haul you off to the hospital to get a blood test for DWI.
 
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