The purpose of SB 125 is to prevent police from being able to search someone's car based on the smell of marijuana alone. | Adobe Stock
The purpose of SB 125 is to prevent police from being able to search someone's car based on the smell of marijuana alone. | Adobe Stock
Illinois State Rep. Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) discussed Democrat-backed legislation prohibiting "the smell of marijuana" from being used as probable cause to search a vehicle or its passengers.
"I guess it’s tough to figure out how to legislate this when marijuana use is no longer against state law but still is (illegal) on a federal level," Ugaste told Kane County Reporter. "That being said, I have some serious concerns about this. If it’s an unreasonable search, the courts will eventually handle it and throw it out anyway. So I don’t understand why there’s a need to try to take it off the books altogether. It’s not like officers will be able to use any of what’s gathered in an illegal search of a suspect anyway."
Ugaste added that, while such a measure may make police officers' jobs harder, "we have to be consistent in what we’re doing when it comes to making sure the law is upheld."
According to Marijuana Moment, Senate Bill 125, sponsored by State Sen. Rachel Ventura (D-Joliet), was approved by a 33-20 vote and is now set to be considered by the Illinois House of Representatives after supporters argued that it would protect state residents against unreasonable searches.
“People — especially people of color — are unnecessarily pulled over far too often,” Ventura told Marijuana Moment. “The odor of cannabis alone shouldn’t be one of those reasons. Cannabis is legal in Illinois and it’s a pungent scent that can stick to clothes for extended periods of time.”
Senate Democrats have stated that the motivation for pushing the bill comes from a Will County court case where a defendant was pulled over and arrested after the responding officer detected "a strong odor of burnt cannabis emanating from the vehicle." The defendant later claimed that the smell stemmed from someone having smoked cannabis in the car "a long time ago."
The bill wouldn't affect the state's laws around impaired driving, meaning that the act of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would remain a criminal offense.
“If a motor vehicle is driven or occupied by an individual 21 years of age or over, the odor of burnt or raw cannabis in a motor vehicle by itself shall not constitute probable cause for the search of the motor vehicle, vehicle operator or passengers in the vehicle,” the bill reads.
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