Arizona Appeals Court Rules Marijuana Smell Not Enough for Search Warrant

TUCSON, AZ — An Arizona court ruling says legalization of medical marijuana means the smell of pot cannot be the only basis for obtaining a search warrant to investigate suspected illegal activity.

“Medical marijuana use pursuant to AMMA is lawful under Arizona law,” said Judge Peter Eckerstrom in the court’s ruling. “Therefore its scent alone does not disclose whether a crime has occurred.”

“Were we to adopt the state’s suggestion that scent alone furnishes probable cause of a crime, medical marijuana patients would become second-class citizens, losing their rights to privacy and security, including privacy within their own homes,” said Eckerstrom.

Ruling that a judge in Tucson shouldn’t have allowed evidence from a search, the state Court of Appeals overturned a…