New Chicago Police Policy Discourages Searches Based On Marijuana Odor

Chicago police officials intend to update city law enforcement guidance to
discourage officers from searching vehicles based merely on the smell of
raw, unburnt marijuana, according to documents filed in an ongoing lawsuit
seeking reform.

The revised policy comes in the face of ongoing efforts to respond to a
state Supreme Court ruling late last year that said police are justified in
searching a vehicle if they smell raw marijuana. Justices wrote that the
smell means it’s “almost certain” the unused product isn’t in sealed an
odor-proof container, as is required by law.

Advocates and some lawmakers say the ruling is incongruous with a separate
high court decision a few months earlier that found that the smell of
*burnt* cannabis was *insufficient* cause to search a vehicle. That opinion
said that there “are now a myriad of situations where cannabis can be used
and possessed, and the smell resulting from that legal use and possession
is not indicative of the commission of a criminal offense.”

In the state’s biggest city, the Chicago Police Department is responding to
the changes in the legal landscape by amending its proposed policy and
removing a reference to the unburnt cannabis ruling, known as *People v.
Molina*, from an agency guidance document about police encounters and due
process rights.

ACLU of Illinois (ACLU-IL), one of the parties in a federal court case
seeking to reform Chicago PD, said in a court filing that it “applauds” the
change, which it called “an improvement” over past guidance. It says the
agreement prevents officers from “conducting an investigatory stop or
search of an individual based solely on an officer smelling
cannabis/marijuana without any other specific and articulable facts of
criminal activity.”

“Additionally, CPD has now acknowledged that its officers cannot conduct
vehicle searches based on the odor of raw cannabis unless and until they
are adequately trained to distinguish between the odors of raw and burnt
cannabis,” says the filing on behalf of a coalition of parties in the
consent decree case.

“The recent change clears up potential confusion where officers may have
believed they were entitled to search people (pedestrians or drivers) based
on the odor of raw cannabis,” Alexandra K. Block, director of the ACLU-IL’s
Criminal Legal System and Policing Project, said in an email to Marijuana
Moment, adding the group and other parties in its suit were “pleased that a
compromise was reached.”

Chicago PD representatives did not respond to requests for comment sent
this week.

The newly proposed language would appear in a revised police document that
Chicago PD has said would take effect sometime this year. ACLU-IL’s Block
said she didn’t know precisely when the policy changes would kick in, but
she noted that existing policy doesn’t mention marijuana whatsoever.

“In the meantime, the governing policy is the 2017 version of the Investigatory
Stop Policy (which does not reference cannabis at all, given that it was
adopted before cannabis possession for personal use was legalized in
Illinois),” Block wrote.

A public draft version of the new policy document from December of last
year mentions cannabis in two places: in a section on “Plain Smell
Doctrine” and vehicle searches as well in as a second section on
“prohibitions” around investigatory stops or searches.

The second reference said the *Molina* case was an “exception” to a general
prohibition on “conducting an Investigatory Stop or search of a person
based solely on an officer smelling cannabis/marijuana without any other
specific and articulable facts of criminal activity.”

Revised language from May of this year, included as an exhibit in the
consent decree case, removes the latter “exception” reference to *Molina*.

The document retains the first reference, which says in full:

“In *People v. Molina* (2024), the Supreme Court of the State of Illinois
held that the odor of raw cannabis coming from a vehicle being operated on
an Illinois highway, alone, is sufficient to provide police officers, who
are trained and experienced in distinguishing between burnt and raw
cannabis, with probable cause to perform a warrantless search of a vehicle.”

What advocates would prefer to see is a more sweeping legislative solution
to the situation. ACLU-IL and others are pushing to a change to state law
eliminating the requirement that cannabis in cars be packaged in odor-proof
containers.

“If that change were made,” Block explained, “it would overrule *People v.
Molina* and prohibit officers from searching cars based on the alleged odor
of raw cannabis alone.”

“In the meantime, we also have suggested a change to CPD’s policy that
would prohibit officers from asking for consent to search cars based on the
odor of cannabis,” she added.

The new policy changes were first reported by local PBS affiliate WTTW.

Last month, a House committee in Illinois had an initial hearing on a
Senate-passed bill that would clarify that police may not stop or detain
drivers, or search their vehicles, based solely on the smell of cannabis.

But the House sponsor of the proposal—which would further remove a
requirement that marijuana be transported in odor-proof containers—said at
the time that he didn’t think it was yet ready to become law, adding
that he’d like to see it held on the House floor while authors iron out
concerns raised by law enforcement.

The legislation was since referred to the House Rules Committee but has not
moved for more than a month.


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Critics of the use of marijuana odor as probable cause for vehicle stops
and searches argue that that police disproportionately enforce drug laws
against Black Americans and other people of color, and allowing stops based
on the claimed smell of cannabis could increase enforcement bias.

A number of other states have passed laws around the smell of cannabis to
justify police searches. Prior to legalization taking effect in Maryland,
for example, Gov. Wes Moore (D) allowed a bill to become law that prevents
police from using the odor or possession of cannabis alone as the basis of
a search. GOP lawmakers unsuccessfully attempted to reverse that policy.

The Minnesota Supreme Court also ruled last year that police can’t use the
smell of cannabis alone to justify vehicle searches—a ruling that has since
been codified by the legislature and signed into law by Gov. Tim Walz (D).

And in New York last month, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed a budget bill into
law that notably does not include a controversial marijuana provision she
proposed that would have allowed police to use the smell of marijuana as
probable cause that a driver is impaired and then force them to take a drug
test.

Amendments by lawmakers removed the provision, which a coalition of 60
reform groups had argued in a letter to Hochul and top lawmakers would
“repeat some of the worst harms of the War on Drugs” and allow law
enforcement to “restart unconstitutional racial profiling of drivers.”

Meanwhile in Illinois earlier this year, Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) touted the state’s
record-setting $2 billion in marijuana sales in 2024, applauding the
“thriving” industry while criticizing the “proliferation of the unregulated
intoxicating hemp market.”

“The numbers are clear: Five years after we legalized adult use cannabis in
Illinois, we’re seeing the economic impact of a thriving cannabis
industry,” he said.

But the governor said while he’s “pleased with the continued success of
cannabis sales and revenues in Illinois, the market is being undermined by
the proliferation of the unregulated intoxicating hemp market.”

“Licensed cannabis businesses comply with strict state regulations, pay
significant taxes, and undergo rigorous product testing,” he said. “This
unchecked market not only undercuts legal operators but also puts consumers
at risk by flooding the industry with untested, potentially unsafe
products.”

Pritzker has been vocal about his concerns over the unregulated hemp
market, and he said in January that he was “tremendously disappointed” that a
bill to impose restrictions on the sale of intoxicating hemp products that
he advocated for stalled out in the legislature.

Separately, a report from the state Cannabis Regulation Oversight Office
that was released late last year detailed how 2024 saw the single-largest
expansion of stores since Illinois began opening medical marijuana
dispensaries, with 82 new retailers opening for business—many of which are
owned by social equity licensees.

“As additional dispensaries open their doors, that increased competition
leads to increased availability of product and better prices for
consumers—just as we anticipated,” Cannabis Regulation Oversight Officer
Erin Johnson said on Thursday. “We look forward to the continued growth and
success of Illinois’ cannabis industry, leading to further economic
development and public awareness and support for responsible consumption.”

Last summer, officials also announced the award of $35 million in grants to
88 local organizations, using funds generated from taxes on adult-use
marijuana sales to support community reinvestment efforts. Since launching
the program, Illinois has awarded over $244 million in marijuana
revenue-funded grants to that end.

The governor has frequently joked about the fact that Illinois is
benefiting from the lack of legal access in surrounding states. Going back
to his State of the State address in 2020, he said out-of-state dollars
will end up coming to Illinois and paying taxes for cannabis products that
bolster the state’s coffers.

State senators last year also took up a bill that would have legalized
psilocybin and allowed regulated access through service centers, where
adults could use the drug in a supervised setting.

*Read the May 2025 version of the Chicago Police Department due process
policy guidance below:*

Rand Paul Files Bill To Triple Federal THC Limit For Hemp As House Pursues
Crackdown On Consumable Cannabinoids

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