Illinois Supreme Court to decide if police may search vehicles based on smell of marijuana or if it’s an ‘aroma of legality’

An issue that has tied lower courts in knots — whether the odor of cannabis alone is grounds for police to search a vehicle — is now before the Illinois Supreme Court.

Appellate courts have split over the question, forcing the high court to make the call. At issue are efforts to keep the roads safe and prevent illegal trafficking, while protecting a constitutional right against unreasonable searches.

Before legalization, courts had long held that the smell of marijuana was grounds for a search, defense attorney James Mertes conceded during arguments before the Supreme Court earlier