The governor of New York wants to allow police to use cannabis odor as reasonable cause for a driver’s impairment. Gov. Kathy Hochul’s recent budget plan included provisions to eliminate the prohibition on allowing law officers to establish probable cause for car searches, drug testing, and arrests based only on the scent of cannabis. The ban on searches based on scent was a fundamental component of New York’s 2021 legalization statute.
A clause in a New York budget proposal presented by Hochul would allow police to use the odor of cannabis to force a driver to undergo drug testing and searches. This proposal is facing extensive scrutiny from cannabis advocates and policymakers, including the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) and the Marijuana Policy Project. The debate over this controversial provision highlights the ongoing challenges and complexities of implementing and regulating cannabis legalization in New York.
What Is a Reasonable or Probable Cause?
Reasonable or probable cause permits an officer to apprehend a person, provide drug tests, and maybe conduct a search of the vehicle. Current legal precedents for reasonable cause include visible evidence of alcohol or drug use, along with the presence of open containers of alcohol or other substances in or around the vehicle operated by the driver.
Hocul’s Proposal Of Cannabis Odor As Probable Cause Sparks Controversy
This proposal has sparked controversy among civil rights advocates and marijuana legalization supporters. Advocates are concerned that this proposed change could undermine the trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve. Critics argue that allowing searches based solely on the smell of cannabis could disproportionately target minority communities and perpetuate racial disparities in law enforcement.
OCM’s executive director, Felicia A.B. Reid, tells Spectrum News that the proposal “undermines the basic tenets of the MRTA and decriminalization.” Reid emphasizes that the scent of cannabis alone should not be enough to justify a search. She believes that this proposal goes against the intentions of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA) and could result in the continued targeting of marginalized communities.
Although cannabis was decriminalized in New York State in 1977, “police largely ignored the law and made the city the marijuana arrest capital of the world for years,” according to Karen O’Keefe, director of state policies for the Marijuana Policy Project, with minority communities being disproportionately targeted. Additionally, opponents of the provision believe that it could lead to an increase in unnecessary and invasive searches, infringing on individuals’ rights to privacy.
As New York is a recreationally legal state, there are numerous businesses that are currently operating legally in the cannabis industry. Individuals employed in the cannabis industry often emit the scent of cannabis upon leaving work. Therefore, lifting the ban on searches based on scent could potentially lead to increased targeting and harassment of individuals working in the legal cannabis industry. This could have negative implications for both the industry and those employed within it.
Should Cannabis Odor Be Used As Reasonable Cause?
The debate over allowing searches based on the smell of cannabis highlights the ongoing challenges in achieving true equity and justice in drug policy reform. Although some contend that the scent of cannabis by itself ought not to be sufficient to warrant a search, others think it is a good sign of possible mishief. The issue becomes even more complex when considering the varying laws and regulations surrounding cannabis use in different states.
