Pubdate: Thu, 10 Jul 2014
Source: Boston Herald (MA)
Copyright: 2014 The Boston Herald, Inc
Contact:  http://news.bostonherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/53
Note: Prints only very short LTEs.
Authors: Owen Boss and Bob McGovern
Page: 8

COURT POT RULING CAN'T PASS SNIFF TEST, POLICE SAY

Bay State lawmen are sounding off against a Supreme Judicial Court 
ruling yesterday that says an officer catching a whiff of unburnt 
weed doesn't have cause to search a car, while legalization advocates 
are calling it a win for civil liberties.

"How is it any different from stopping somebody with an odor of 
alcohol on their breath?" asked Wayne Sampson, executive director of 
the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association. "The same principle 
should apply."

Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson said, "Rulings like this do 
nothing but handcuff the good guys and free the ones that want to go 
out and commit crimes against us. It is becoming harder and harder 
for cops to do their jobs and easier for criminals to get the cover they need."

The Supreme Judicial Court held in two unanimous decisions that 
police don't have probable cause to search a vehicle if they smell a 
"very strong" odor of unburnt marijuana because a cop is unable to 
tell if there is an illegal amount in the car by smell alone.

Wednesday's decision expands a ruling made in 2011, which held that 
the smell of burned marijuana does not give police probable cause to 
search a car. Both were made possible by the 2008 ballot initiative 
that decriminalized possession of an ounce or less of pot.

Erik Altieri, spokesman for the marijuana legalization advocacy group 
NORML, applauded the decision.

"We've seen a lot of abuse by law enforcement officials who use (the 
odor of marijuana) as an excuse to unreasonably search people who are 
otherwise not exhibiting any signs of committing a crime." Altieri said.

Jack Collins, the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association's 
general counsel, said the ruling is another step on the way to the 
eventual legalization of marijuana, which he said will have dire consequences.

"We will watch the number of motor vehicle deaths go up and people 
will say, 'Oh my God, why didn't we know this would happen?' and the 
answer will be, 'We did, we got what we asked for,' " Collins said.
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