Is smell truely probable cause?

You know a cop once gave me a valuable piece of information, and i don't usually listen to cops and especially not this guys because he was always drunk and hypocritical and you know a dick, but he says "as long as you only break one law at a time you probably won't get caught," and you know thats always served me well if I only got 1 joint I'll smoke while driving on a country road, or if I go out and plan to drink and get a little buzz going i won't hold and thats always gone well for me.

SocataSmoker said:

Ever notice how cigarette smokers have more trouble smelling the cigarettes on their clothes and such? We as pot smokers get used to the smell, but people who don't smoke can smell it far better than we can... hence why the officers olfactory prowess in smelling pot is far better than ours.

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I hope thats not the case because I take a hit at least once every half an hour at night and my rooms tiny so maybe all my shit smells like pot and everyone around me notices and I don't cause usually stoners notice me pretty easily and other figures do as well and then I think maybe I'm just a little paranoid and then I realize no I really do smell like weed, awesome.

Gblink3 said:

You know a cop once gave me a valuable piece of information, and i don't usually listen to cops and especially not this guys because he was always drunk and hypocritical and you know a dick, but he says "as long as you only break one law at a time you probably won't get caught," and you know thats always served me well if I only got 1 joint I'll smoke while driving on a country road, or if I go out and plan to drink and get a little buzz going i won't hold and thats always gone well for me.

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+1

I never had any of my police friends tell me that, but I've mentioned it to them and they agree. If I have pot in my car, I'm doing 5 under the speed limit and coming to COMPLETE stops at stop signs...

So yeah, good advice... but I just stick with the short and simple, "Never break more than one law at a time", and just HOPE I won't get caught.

Gblink3 said:

I hope thats not the case because I take a hit at least once every half an hour at night and my rooms tiny so maybe all my shit smells like pot and everyone around me notices and I don't cause usually stoners notice me pretty easily and other figures do as well and then I think maybe I'm just a little paranoid and then I realize no I really do smell like weed, awesome.

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http://www.ehow.com/how_2282056_smoke-considerately.html

Even though the article is about tobacco, same applies to pot.

what's the real answer?? and what's the difference between "reasonable suspicion" and "probable cause" ? cus I got a bullshit POM to fight and his "probable cause" was a roach (it was the end of a 'roll ur own' cig) but he had already smelt the weed... so if I fight the bs "roach" thing is it just gonna bite me in the ass when he says "oh yah.. uh.. it smelled like pot huhu"

leeny said:

what's the real answer?? and what's the difference between "reasonable suspicion" and "probable cause" ? cus I got a bullshit POM to fight and his "probable cause" was a roach (it was the end of a 'roll ur own' cig) but he had already smelt the weed... so if I fight the bs "roach" thing is it just gonna bite me in the ass when he says "oh yah.. uh.. it smelled like pot huhu"

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I found the real answer is state dependent. Some states its reasonable suspicion and some its probable cause. Reasonable suspicion is anything indicating you might have drugs in the car, wearing a bob marley t-shirt, having swishers/ blunt wraps/zig zags, roach clip, or a swisher splitter etc. Probable cause is anything indicating you have drugs in the car, a pipe with resin, crumbs of weed, smell, bloodshot eyes, stems, smelly/yellow fingers, roach etc.

They cannot search your car because your playing bob marley but they can suspect your up to no good and ask if they can search. Probable cause automatically gives them the right to search the car which is bs.

In court they send the evidence to the lab and test it to confirm that it contains THC.

About smoking affecting your ability to smell: this is totally true. I stopped smoking weed about a year ago, and switched to vaporizer or brownie only. I have gained the ability to smell very well.
One of my jobs is to deliver pizza, which puts me at peoples front doors. I smell herb all the time! even on my stoner friends who havent smoked in hours. a lot of other drivers come in and ask me the question: "do i reek?" and a lot of the time the answer is yes, even if they dont smell it themselves. I even had a pizza guy point out the smell to me one night when i didnt smell it in my own home.

SocataSmoker said:

Well, since you don't fit the profile, aren't you GLAD cops profile?

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NO. Everyone should be treated as individuals and cited for actual crimes that are witnessed or where sufficient proof is available. People should suffer no greater scrutiny than I do because of the way they dress, the color of their skin, etc...

SocataSmoker said:

The instances where cops fabricate things to search vehicles are few and far between, more often than not the person looks to be under the influence or has had previous drug problems or police problems.

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The fact that police officers fabricate ANYTHING at all is disgusting. You should be ashamed of yourself that you defend ANY misconduct by the men and women that are SWORN to uphold the law.

SocataSmoker said:

Police profiling has been a major factor in crime prevention... it may not always work, but as you can see it mostly does. And there's nothing in our constitution that PREVENTS police from profiling and making assumptions/asking questions to see if you truly fit the profile so why even bring up the constitution? It has taken many dangerous drugs like cocaine, heroin, etc off the street because the cops "profiled" the driver and came to the conclusion that he was worth a 2nd look... yes it has taken pot off the street too but talk to your lawmakers about that problem, not the police.

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I bring up the Constution because it is the supreme law of the land. Profiling is against the Constitution. http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Am4

You are absolutely wrong about the Constitution not having protections from profiling.

"1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

By profiling you are denying equal protection under the law by subjecting certain people to greater scrutiny based on appearance.

Taken drugs off the streets? You sound like a local police chief. Watch "American Drug War;" and you may begin to understand how the MASSIVE quantities of drugs reach the streets of America.

SocataSmoker said:

Did I say calling the captain would take your charge away? Thanks for putting words in my mouth and displaying your maturity. I can assure you though that the cop will be looked at more carefully unless the captain is a dirty boy too... so if that doesn't work, just go to the newspaper about it.

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I wasn't putting words in your mouth. I was politely pointing out your naivete. Your lack of maturity prevented you from seeing the forest for the trees in my statement. LOL - Call the newspaper??? You don't understand how the world works. Your credibility is shot once you are a convicted criminal. Nobody cares how the evidence was gathered to convict you; because we have fools like you in this world that say "why even bring up the Constitution?"

SocataSmoker said:

When people say to me the cops did this to me and did that to me, I always ask... "did you report him/her?" and they always say no. Strange, if a cop did what other posters are saying they do, to me... I'd be in his Capt's office the next week. So I've come to the conclusion that most people just lie about their experience and/or if the cop did search them, it was because they had the "die pig die" attitude and you know cops don't like that.

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You shouldn't be so quick to judge or assume others actions; you don't know how the world works. There are a multitude of reasons someone wouldn't file a complaint; one reason being that most believe their claim would be dismissed without investigation (waste of time); or they will "be on the radar" (afraid the police will hassle them).

Prove your car didn't smell like weed. Just like they can't prove it did. It is impossible even with a crystal clear dash camera.

I could go on; but I'll wait for your next ignorant post.

yay story time!
my friend decides that we (a total of 5 people) should fish bowl his car so he drives to a nice neighborhood on the east side (prov ri) and we park, put on some music, and get to the smoking. 2 bongs and 2 bowls being passed around and packed repeatedly with a mixture of some dankness from different contributions of each of us. after a while(about 2 packs for each bong/bowl) a car creeps up behind us and we work fast to hide the stuff. we wait for a while and he drives away. we let the car air out then roll up the windows and my friend decides we waited long enough and pulls away from the curb. first stop sign we reach, we see the flashing lights, we pull over and my friend rolls down the window. the cop asks what we were doing and my friend says we were waiting to pick up a friend (quick thinking einstein we got a full car already). the cop then unleashes a series of questions so quickly that no intoxicated individual would be able to answer without great pause (he was fucking with us). satisfied that he knows whats going on he looks back at us in the backseat and asks if there is any marijuana in the car (my friend had crumbs all over his lap because he was packing a bowl when we tried to stash the stuff) and we unanimously reply with a sorry sounding "yeeaaah". he asks how old we are (the youngest of us was 18.) and what school we go to (various collages and one highschool). he then gives us all a stern look and says "I could tell you werent from around here [the nice neighborhood] the second i saw you". he then told us to go home and drive safely. i damn near shit myself that night.

tnrtinr said:

I could go on; but I'll wait for your next ignorant post.

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There's no sense in me wasting any more of my finger presses to respond to your ignorance, and stick with what I said... profiling is NOT against the constitution as it does not deprive anyone of anything, due process of law is brought about by the officer by asking questions and using his training to determine whether someone is hiding drugs in their vehicle.

Red Icarus said:

i damn near shit myself that night.

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Yes you were very lucky, that officer saved you and your friends a life time of trouble that can be brought upon by a drug charge... you should call his Capt and commend him, just don't mention the drug part.

tnrtinr said:

NO. Everyone should be treated as individuals and cited for actual crimes that are witnessed or where sufficient proof is available. People should suffer no greater scrutiny than I do because of the way they dress, the color of their skin, etc...



The fact that police officers fabricate ANYTHING at all is disgusting. You should be ashamed of yourself that you defend ANY misconduct by the men and women that are SWORN to uphold the law.



I bring up the Constution because it is the supreme law of the land. Profiling is against the Constitution. http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Am4

You are absolutely wrong about the Constitution not having protections from profiling.

"1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

By profiling you are denying equal protection under the law by subjecting certain people to greater scrutiny based on appearance.

Taken drugs off the streets? You sound like a local police chief. Watch "American Drug War;" and you may begin to understand how the MASSIVE quantities of drugs reach the streets of America.



I wasn't putting words in your mouth. I was politely pointing out your naivete. Your lack of maturity prevented you from seeing the forest for the trees in my statement. LOL - Call the newspaper??? You don't understand how the world works. Your credibility is shot once you are a convicted criminal. Nobody cares how the evidence was gathered to convict you; because we have fools like you in this world that say "why even bring up the Constitution?"



You shouldn't be so quick to judge or assume others actions; you don't know how the world works. There are a multitude of reasons someone wouldn't file a complaint; one reason being that most believe their claim would be dismissed without investigation (waste of time); or they will "be on the radar" (afraid the police will hassle them).

Prove your car didn't smell like weed. Just like they can't prove it did. It is impossible even with a crystal clear dash camera.

I could go on; but I'll wait for your next ignorant post.

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Just ignore him. Just skim past his posts. Nothin he says really has any validity to it anyway.
He just has a hard-on for law enforcement.

SocataSmoker said:

Yes you were very lucky, that officer saved you and your friends a life time of trouble that can be brought upon by a drug charge... you should call his Capt and commend him, just don't mention the drug part.

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i would have liked to but i didnt get his name or badge # or anything to id him by and i figured that there was too much of a chance that it would get him in trouble if i tried to commend him so i didnt do it.

Red Icarus said:

yay story time!
my friend decides that we (a total of 5 people) should fish bowl his car so he drives to a nice neighborhood on the east side (prov ri) and we park, put on some music, and get to the smoking. 2 bongs and 2 bowls being passed around and packed repeatedly with a mixture of some dankness from different contributions of each of us. after a while(about 2 packs for each bong/bowl) a car creeps up behind us and we work fast to hide the stuff. we wait for a while and he drives away. we let the car air out then roll up the windows and my friend decides we waited long enough and pulls away from the curb. first stop sign we reach, we see the flashing lights, we pull over and my friend rolls down the window. the cop asks what we were doing and my friend says we were waiting to pick up a friend (quick thinking einstein we got a full car already). the cop then unleashes a series of questions so quickly that no intoxicated individual would be able to answer without great pause (he was fucking with us). satisfied that he knows whats going on he looks back at us in the backseat and asks if there is any marijuana in the car (my friend had crumbs all over his lap because he was packing a bowl when we tried to stash the stuff) and we unanimously reply with a sorry sounding "yeeaaah". he asks how old we are (the youngest of us was 18.) and what school we go to (various collages and one highschool). he then gives us all a stern look and says "I could tell you werent from around here [the nice neighborhood] the second i saw you". he then told us to go home and drive safely. i damn near shit myself that night.

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Damn, sort of the same thing happened with me. We didn't get charged, but the cop took all my weed.

This cop was on the drug squad though...now he knows my name, adress, and what kind of car I drive....And this is in a small city of 10,000 people so it's hard to stay unnoticed for too long.

Louis541 said:

Just ignore him. Just skim past his posts. Nothin he says really has any validity to it anyway.
He just has a hard-on for law enforcement.

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And apparently law enforcement had a hard-on for you!

Red Icarus said:

i would have liked to but i didnt get his name or badge # or anything to id him by and i figured that there was too much of a chance that it would get him in trouble if i tried to commend him so i didnt do it.

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Yeah I've made that mistake too, last one was a drunk driver that almost head-on'd with me... once he was arrested, the officer and I talked for a good 10 minutes and I still forgot to get his name... but his supervisor was resourceful and just looked up the call log where I called in the drunk driver and from there he figured out what officer it was. I've never had to personally complain against an officer, luckily... but when they do something good and I see it, I make sure they're noticed for it... cops that are commended for good performance have better self-esteem about their job and the people like us they protect, they're less likely to be assholes and in turn, more understanding like the officer you came in contact with who could've essentially ruined any chance of a good job/college education you had.


Case in point: If you are pulled over and have NOT been smoking in your vehicle for the past 12-24 hours, and the cop claims to smell marijuana, immediately ask the officer to contact his shift supervisor and bring him on scene to determine if he also smells marijuana. As there should be absolutely no way he can smell it unless you hotboxed with a blunt...

i was amazed that he let us go. thank god he didnt see all the equipment. i think even the nicest cop would do something about 2 bongs and 2 bowls and a bunch of dankness.

i have a lot of respect for law enforcement. got a few in my family.

Red Icarus said:

i was amazed that he let us go. thank god he didnt see all the equipment. i think even the nicest cop would do something about 2 bongs and 2 bowls and a bunch of dankness.

i have a lot of respect for law enforcement. got a few in my family.

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yea now you owe him something watch he'll be around for that favor.

SocataSmoker said:

Case in point: If you are pulled over and have NOT been smoking in your vehicle for the past 12-24 hours, and the cop claims to smell marijuana, immediately ask the officer to contact his shift supervisor and bring him on scene to determine if he also smells marijuana. As there should be absolutely no way he can smell it unless you hotboxed with a blunt...

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You just had to submit ANOTHER IGNORANT post.

Naivete does not even begin to express in words how you see the world.

Sure that will work. In your magical / mythical world - the stupidvisor (the same guy that knows that the force's K-9 unit is trained to spot on command to facilitate illegal searches) will come to the scene and undermine the authority of his officer in your presence? YEEEEAH RIIIIGHT.

I can speak from experience on this topic. I got pulled over leaving Denny's at 2:30AM after a concert when I was 18. The reason for the stop was that I weaved - which I debate because he literally light me up as soon as I left the parking lot - we got pulled over because we left Denny's early in the AM. Police officer tells me the car wreaked of alcohol and even made the stinky hand in front of nose gesture (neither my friend or I had a single drop all day / night and we were the only people in that car since 5PM). We say that is impossible. He literally said "You're telling me that I don't know what alcohol smells like?" I responded "Obviously not."

His Supervisior and 3 other squad cars arrived on the scene who they ALL affirmed that we smelled strongly of alcohol. Well the fun started when they brought out the breathalyzer and I wagered the keys to my car on any result other than 0.00 for both of us. Both us blew 0.00 after three samples EACH - their response? Are you diabetic (whatever that means)? "NO!" "You must have been sitting by someone in Denny's that was drinking." "Can we go home now?" It was worth all the trouble when we got to see the looks on all 5 of their faces as we were told that we were free to leave.

Therein lies the problem; It was an illegal stop that allowed them to breath test us. If we had a beer / shot / mouthwash / Bianca at some point in the night we could have blown .01 which would have allowed them to search the car as we were both too young to drink. Now anything they find from alcohol, marijuana, crack, meth, heroin, coke, guns... can be used as evidence against us. It is all poison fruit because the method utilized to subject us to a breathalyzer was 100% ILLEGAL.

In this scenario; The cop said he saw me swerve, the breathalyzer confirmed the presence of alcohol. The "evidence" supports the cop and the person has a criminal record despite the whole stop was illegal in the first place. Good luck getting that tossed out of court. Now here is the thing. 5 ADULT men sworn to uphold the law were willing to make fools out of themselves; so the above scenario had a chance to materialize just like they do on a routine basis "smelling" weed. If they find ANYTHING illegal predicated on the claim of smell (even if it is not what they smell) you have a lot of headaches in-front of you. Ironically; they are the criminals - the end doesn't justify the means. Smell is impossible to disprove (and they know this); especially when 5 men are willing to lie in a court in which they have sworn to uphold it's laws. It happens all the time.

Go back to your ivory tower - you're going to get hurt down here.