By Police1 Staff
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A Florida appeals court has ruled that the smell of cannabis alone no longer gives police probable cause to search a vehicle, citing changes in state law that legalized medical marijuana and hemp.
The 2nd District Court of Appeal’s main opinion said that for “generations, cannabis was illegal in all forms — thereby rendering its distinct odor immediately indicative of criminal activity,” according to the Tampa Bay Times. But legislative changes have “fundamentally changed its definition and regulation” and made cannabis legal to possess in multiple forms, Judge Nelly Khouzam wrote in the majority opinion, joined by nine other judges.
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Judge J. Andrew Atkinson, in a concurring opinion, agreed that the smell of marijuana does not automatically suggest criminal activity: “On this record and under the statutes as they currently read, that smell, in isolation, does not give rise to probable cause to justify a search.”
However, Judge Craig Villanti dissented, warning that the ruling could undermine road safety. Villanti argued that legalization of hemp and medical marijuana “did not wholesale decriminalize” cannabis possession and expressed concern over impaired drivers: “People who traverse our Florida highways are entitled to share the roads with sober and safe drivers.”
The case stemmed from a 2023 traffic stop in Hillsborough County. Officers searched a vehicle after detecting cannabis odor and found marijuana along with “molly” in passenger Darrielle Ortiz Williams’ possession. Williams, who was on probation, was deemed to have violated probation by a circuit judge — a ruling upheld despite the appeals court’s new stance. The court reasoned that, at the time of the search, precedent still permitted it and officers acted in “objectively reasonable reliance” on that law.
Villanti suggested the Legislature may ultimately need to intervene: “Its recent legislation legalizing cannabis for medical purposes has made it easier for nefarious individuals to engage in criminal activity. Because I believe this is a great injustice to the citizens of Florida, I dissent from the majority’s conclusion that we have no choice but to recede from the ‘plain smell’ doctrine.”
