Legal Pot ‘Aroma’ Sparks Landmark Michigan High Court Decision

Since 2018, the recreational use and possession (up to 2.5 ounces on your person or up to 10 ounces in your home, according to the Mitten Law Firm) of marijuana has been legal in Michigan (you may have seen a billboard or two). Since then, we've smelled its presence in grocery stores, doctors' offices, daycares, and even at work. It's everywhere,

RELATED: Michigan Cold Case Files: Unsolved Murders in Jackson

Most legal marijuana sold in dispensaries has a very strong aroma in its flower form. No match is needed to unleash the scent. Just leave it unsealed; the smell can fill a room—or a car, which is why the Michigan Supreme Court made its latest decision regarding law enforcement's right to search your vehicle.

 Michigan Supreme Court: PEOPLE v ARMSTRONG Decision Overturns Precedent

On April 2, 2025, the Michigan Supreme Court decision in the PEOPLE v ARMSTRONG, held has overturned a case from 2000 that ruled police had the right to search your vehicle if the smell of marijuana was present.

Get our free mobile app

That was the legal precedent used by police in Wayne County on October 8, 2020, when they searched the car Jeffery Scott Armstrong was sitting in because of the pot smell and found an illegal firearm.

Marijuana Smell No Longer a Legal Precedent for Police Searches in Michigan

Armstrong's defense argued that given the potent aroma of unsmoked legal marijuana, law enforcement should no longer use that as a primary reason for searching a suspect. The Michigan Supreme Court agreed. Here's a snippet of the written decision:

the smell of marijuana alone by a person qualified to know the odor may establish probable cause to search a motor vehicle, pursuant to the motor vehicle exception to the warrant requirement.

The decision goes on to reason that where there is a marijuana smell, it doesn't mean it's being consumed. Of course, that all changes when it's lit up because where there's smoke, there's reason to search.