LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) — The smell of marijuana alone is no longer enough to justify a police search of a vehicle in Michigan, the state’s highest court ruled on April 3, overturning a legal standard that had stood for 25 years.

In a 5–1 decision, the Michigan Supreme Court found that a Detroit police search conducted in 2020 violated the state constitution. The court said the search, which led to criminal charges after a handgun was found under a car seat, relied solely on the odor of burnt marijuana—despite voters legalizing recreational cannabis in 2018.

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“The smell of marijuana might just as likely indicate that the person is in possession of a legal amount, recently used marijuana legally, or was simply in the presence of someone else who used marijuana,” Justice Megan Cavanagh wrote in the majority opinion. 

The ruling strikes down precedent from a 2000 case, People v. Kazmierczak, which allowed officers to search vehicles based solely on the smell of marijuana. With this decision, Michigan joins a growing number of states reevaluating cannabis-related search authority in the wake of legalization.

Defense attorneys say the shift was long overdue. “For a long time, it was the bane of criminal defense attorneys,” Mike Nichols, a defense lawyer in East Lansing, said.