Illinois Senate approved a bill clarifying police officers cannot detain or stop drivers or search vehicles solely based on a smell of cannabis. This bill also eliminates the requirement to transport marijuana in an odor-proof container.
SB 42 was introduced to deal with a recent ruling of the State Supreme Court that stated police were justified in searching vehicles if they smelled raw marijuana. According to the justices, the smell is a sign that it’s almost certain the marijuana product hasn’t been placed in an odorproof container.
Most felt that this ruling contradicted a Supreme Court case that had been handed down just a few months prior, which found that the smell Burnt Cannabis The amount of money needed to buy the necessary number of cars is insufficient Cause to search a car
The earlier opinion stated that “there are now many situations in which cannabis may be legally used or possessed and the smell that results from this legal use and possess is not indicative” of criminal activity.
The bill’s sponsor and Senator Rachel Ventura, a Democrat, stated that the decisions “gave conflicting instructions between raw cannabis and burned cannabis, shifting the burden of knowing the difference to the law enforcement.”
“This bill aims to bring clarity by directing law enforcement to consider all factors—not just odor—in deciding if the law has been broken,” she said in a press release on Friday, following the Senate’s 33–20 vote on the measure a day earlier.
Peter Contos (Deputy Director of Cannabis Equality Illinois Coalition) called the Bill “another Step Forward in Modernizing Illinois Cannabis Laws.”
He said that the removal of the odor proof container rule would give drivers peace of mind, knowing they could not be stopped for simply possessing legal products. Senate Bill 42 eases law enforcement’s burden of deciding between burned and raw cannabis.
Next, the proposal will be sent to House Rules Committee.
Several other states have passed legislation around the smell to justify police searches. Before legalization took effect in Maryland for instance, Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat from Maryland, allowed the passage of a law prohibiting police officers from conducting searches solely based on the smell or presence of marijuana. GOP lawmakers tried unsuccessfully to reverse this policy.
The Minnesota Supreme Court also ruled last year that police can’t use the smell of cannabis alone to justify vehicle searches—a ruling that has since been codified by the legislature and signed into law by Gov. Tim Walz (D).
In Illinois, earlier in the year, Governor. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat from Illinois, praised the record $2 billion marijuana sales that the state will achieve in 2024. He lauded the industry’s “thriving” nature while criticizing “proliferation and intoxication of hemp markets.”
He said: “The figures are clear. Five years after Illinois legalized cannabis for adult use, we see the impact on our economy of a flourishing cannabis industry.”
He said that, while pleased with Illinois cannabis revenues and sales continuing to grow, the growth of unregulated intoxicating ‘hemp market’ is threatening the Illinois market.
He said that “licensed cannabis businesses must comply with state laws, pay substantial taxes and go through rigorous testing of their products.” This unchecked cannabis market undercuts the legal industry and puts consumers in danger by flooding it with products that are not tested or potentially dangerous.
Pritzker has been vocal about his concerns over the unregulated hemp market, and he said in January that he was “tremendously disappointed” that a bill to impose restrictions on the sale of intoxicating hemp products that he advocated for stalled out in the legislature.
Meanwhile, a repot from the state Cannabis Regulation Oversight Office that was released late last year detailed how 2024 saw the single-largest expansion of stores since Illinois began opening medical marijuana dispensaries, with 82 new retailers opening for business—many of which are owned by social equity licensees.
“As additional dispensaries open their doors, that increased competition leads to increased availability of product and better prices for consumers—just as we anticipated,” Cannabis Regulation Oversight Officer Erin Johnson said on Thursday. “We are looking forward to Illinois cannabis’s continued growth, which will result in further public awareness of and support for responsibly consumed marijuana.”
Last summer, officials also announced the award of $35 million in grants to 88 local organizations, using funds generated from taxes on adult-use marijuana sales to support community reinvestment efforts. Since launching the program, Illinois has awarded over $244 million in marijuana revenue-funded grants to that end.
Governor Rauner has often made jokes about Illinois benefiting from lack of access to legal cannabis in neighboring states. Going back to his State of the State address in 2020, he said out-of-state dollars will end up coming to Illinois and paying taxes for cannabis products that bolster the state’s coffers.
Separately, state senators last year took up a bill that would have legalized psilocybin and allowed regulated access through service centers, where adults could use the drug in a supervised setting.
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