AZ Court: Marijuana smell not enough for search warrant
PHOENIX — The smell of marijuana is no longer enough in Arizona for police to get a warrant and come busting down the door, the state Court of Appeals has ruled.
In a split decision, the judges acknowledged that the odor of the plant, whether fresh or freshly smoked, was enough to provide police with probable cause that a crime was taking place. And that provided the basis to go to a judge to seek permission to enter where the smell was coming from.
But Judge Peter Eckerstrom, writing for the majority, said that changed in 2010 when voters approved the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act.
“Medical marijuana use pursuant to AMMA is lawful under Arizona law,” he wrote. “Therefore its scent alone does not disclose whether a crime has occurred.”
Put simply, Eckerstrom wrote, the smell of marijuana, absent other evidence, does...
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