"I smell marijuana, please step out of the car"

Can a cop search your car if he says "i smell marijuana". Everytime I get pulled over, they try to get me for marijuana, its like a new standard procedure around here. One time, when I was not smoking weed or had any, in MY NEW CAR (that never had any weed in it ever) the cop goes, "i smell marijuana, where's your stash" I chuckled and said I had none. He kept insisting he did. And to just show him, obviously I knew he was lying, and eventually he gave up, after I said he could get a dog down here to sniff, because I really didn't give a shit.

Question here is, just because they "say" they smell it, is that enough probable cause to search without my consent?

well...it wasn't enough for him to search your car so i would say it probably isnt

Not that time, but I'm worried one time they will just say they smell it, and begin searching.

The smell of weed was his probable cause. If you here hooves you think horse!! If you have something to take away his probabale cause ( cannaibus card ) than that would take his cause away

They can say they smell it even if they don't. That's the way law enforcement works, honesty doesn't play a role here at all.


Just don't drive around with weed in your car

They can also "see shake"

They can also "see shake"

Yup, I know friends who paid fines for shake in their car in the carpet.

And yes, smell is enough for probable cause. Anything in the open is probable cause too.

Yep. The smell is enough for probable cause for a search. It is possible that a cop can lie, saying he smells weed when he dosen't, but it's hard to prove.

My advice is to never consent to a search. They may search you car anyway if they have probable cause. If they do search you anyway, don't resist or impede them in any way, but politely verbally say that you do not consent to the search, just in case they don't actually have probable cause. (like if they didn't actually smell weed, or if later in court it can be argued that the search was illegal for some other reason.) If it does turn out to be an illegal search, the prosecution can't use that evidence against you, unless at any point you give them permission to search. So don't give permission, ever. If you get in their way, or do anything threatening, though, you'll get in more trouble. So just politely and calmly say "I'm sorry, officer, I do not consent to searches."

And never smoke in your car. The smell stays forever.



Also, that time you were in a new car--is it even remotely possible that it was you who smelled of weed?

Yup, I know friends who paid fines for shake in their car in the carpet.

And yes, smell is enough for probable cause. Anything in the open is probable cause too.

Oh shit. I just meant they can use that as an excuse to search even if it's not valid. This happened to me in a car that definitely had no shake in it. Luckily I wasn't the driver.

Police are TRAINED to lie to you.

They are trained in advanced deception it is their job to deceive!

Just know your rights, I recommend watching "Flex Your Rights" videos on youtube.

At least in my state (WA), I was taught that odor only qualifies as reasonable suspicion, not probably cause. Which is not grounds for a forcible search.

Police are TRAINED to lie to you.

They are trained in advanced deception it is their job to deceive!

Just know your rights, I recommend watching "Flex Your Rights" videos on youtube.

agreed. specifically, this one:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4nQ_mFJV4I]10 Rules for Dealing with Police (Full-Length) - YouTube[/ame]

i dont think smell is enough in canada anymore

Derp is correct (WA resident as well and studied criminal justice). Smell is merely one element that can lead to a police officer obtaining probable cause. Do NOT consent to a search! If the officer searches anyway and it goes to court and in court they find the officer searched without probable cause, the case will be thrown out due to evidence being obtained by an illegal search and seizure. Memorize the 4th amendment. Knowing it (amongst other rights you have) can be a lifesaver. Just don't get cocky because you know your rights. Cooperate to the point where you're being polite, but not giving the officer an easy arrest. I like to end all my sentences with officer as well so the power hungry pigs out there think I am no threat as well. It may blow having to do this kind of shit, but it sure as hell beats a possession charge.

Officers are taught to look for "guilt laden facts". Find a couple and You're on your way to reasonable suspicion. Find a couple more and you probably have probable cause depending on what those "facts" are. Cool, calm, collected, polite and educated.

Police are TRAINED to lie to you.

They are trained in advanced deception it is their job to deceive!

Just know your rights, I recommend watching "Flex Your Rights" videos on youtube.

Except studies show they're actually worse at detecting deception after training than an untrained college student.
But that doesn't mean they won't still be confident

Drug Raids Based on "Smelling" Marijuana (news – 2011) Drug Raids Based on "Smelling" Marijuana

Can a cop search your car if he says "i smell marijuana". Everytime I get pulled over, they try to get me for marijuana, its like a new standard procedure around here. One time, when I was not smoking weed or had any, in MY NEW CAR (that never had any weed in it ever) the cop goes, "i smell marijuana, where's your stash" I chuckled and said I had none. He kept insisting he did. And to just show him, obviously I knew he was lying, and eventually he gave up, after I said he could get a dog down here to sniff, because I really didn't give a shit.

Question here is, just because they "say" they smell it, is that enough probable cause to search without my consent?

It is if he actually smells weed, but cops can legaly LIE so he can claim to smell whatever whenever

Can a cop search your car if he says "i smell marijuana". Everytime I get pulled over, they try to get me for marijuana, its like a new standard procedure around here. One time, when I was not smoking weed or had any, in MY NEW CAR (that never had any weed in it ever) the cop goes, "i smell marijuana, where's your stash" I chuckled and said I had none. He kept insisting he did. And to just show him, obviously I knew he was lying, and eventually he gave up, after I said he could get a dog down here to sniff, because I really didn't give a shit.

Question here is, just because they "say" they smell it, is that enough probable cause to search without my consent?

what the fuck. i'd call up the police station and report badge numbers.
if it's happened multiple times there's no reason for you not to deal with it.
if i was getting pulled over, and a cop was bluntly lying to my face giving me a hard time.
i would not let that happen.
that's my opinion though.

I parked my car one time and smoked some weed with my girlfriend in the back of an empty church, around 9 p.m. 5 minutes after we began smoking, a cop shows up behind me. I played it cool, put everything away, and he pulled up beside me, with his window down. I shit you not this is what he said, "Woooooo that smells gooood. I smelled that stuff all the way down the street."
I didn't know if I should take this as a compliment or if I should be worried. I politely said "I don't smell anything officer," to which he laughed and got out of his car. I was with my girlfriend, so he made sure she was safe and wasn't being held against her will, standard procedure i Guess. He then made us get out of the car and asked if he could search my car. "I'm sorry officer, but I don't consent to any searches." I said. To which he again laughed and replied "Oh, you're one of those smart kids huh."

"Well," he said, "Let me tell you something about me. I can give a rat's ass whether you're smoking in there or not, matter of fact, I know for a fact you were smoking in there because I can smell it, and it smells very strong. I just want to make sure you're not gonna drive out of here stoned, it impairs your driving. Do you have anyone to pick you up?" The guy had a point here. I said "I can assure you officer, that smell must be coming from somewhere else, because I can smell it too, and it does smell pretty strong." This is where he put his hands on his hips and looked at me dead straight for 10 seconds. Then he put my i.d. on the hood of my car, got in his car, and drove off. I think he figured that since I was capable of handling myself in front of him, then I should be capable of driving home. But I was worried If I should take off, since I thought he might be around the corner waiting for me to get in the car and drive off, so he could bust me with a DUI. I called my sister and had her pick us up, and as soon as we left the parking lot, sure enough, there were two cops right behind each other just parked with their cars off in front of the house next to the church. My sister drove me the next morning to pick up my car. I hopped in it, and maaaannnnnn did it smell good. That cop wasn't lying. Never ever smoked in my car again. Worst mistake ever.

I never smoke weed in my own cars, simply because driving a standard with no power steering and smoking with two hands is really hard.

I'm just wondering if I can expect a raid on my car someday for nothing.

I'm always accused of a "drug addict" when I'm pulled over. No lie, its like, "evening sir, your taillight seems to be out, are you on drugs, it really smells like dope over here, blow into this breathelizer, what's 4 x 738 / 72 equal?"

I swear, they piss me off. I got less shit when I got busted at a drinking party last year.

Thing is, I'd like to sell a little bit. And I don't want to get busted on a random stop, obviously I'd hide it somewhere clever.. but wouldn't out it last these fatasses to tear apart my car