Thursday, March 30, the Illinois Senate passed SB0125, which amends the Illinois Vehicle Code so that “If a motor vehicle is driven or occupied by an individual 21 years of age or over, the odor of burnt or raw cannabis in a motor vehicle by itself shall not constitute probable cause for the search of the motor vehicle, vehicle operator, or passengers in the vehicle.”

Sen. Rachel Ventura, who sponsored the bill, filed SB0125 with the Secretary January 24, 2023. The Senate voted 33–20 to pass SB0125 Thursday. The bill arrived in the Illinois House of Representatives Friday. “People—especially people of color—are unnecessarily pulled over far too often,” Ventura said in a press statement. “The odor of cannabis alone shouldn’t be one of those reasons. Cannabis is legal in Illinois and it’s a pungent scent that can stick to clothes for extended periods of time.”

House Bill 1205, sponsored by Rep. Curtis J. Tarver, II, shares similar wording as SB0125. HB1205 provides that “if a motor vehicle is driven or occupied by an individual 21 years of age or over, a law enforcement officer may not search or inspect the motor vehicle, its contents, the driver, or the passenger solely because a law enforcement officer or a police dog trained in the detection of cannabis smelled that cannabis is present in the private motor vehicle. Provides that a defendant aggrieved by such an unlawful search and seizure may move the court for the return of property and to suppress as evidence anything so obtained.” HB1205 was re-referred to Rules Committee March 10.

SB0125 as law would solidify the September 19, 2022, ruling by the Appellate Court of Illinois (Third District). The Appellate Court delivered the judgment that the “smell of burnt cannabis” alone did not provide an “officer with probable cause to search the vehicle.” According to Associate Judge Daniel P. Dalton of the Whiteside County Court, the decision hinged “on the changing landscape of cannabis law.”

According to the case, “The State and the defendant stipulated to a short recitation of facts: (1) on May 9, 2020, the officer executed a traffic stop after the defendant disobeyed traffic laws; (2) the officer approached the defendant’s vehicle and smelled a strong odor of burnt cannabis emitting from inside the vehicle; (3) the defendant told the officer that someone had smoked inside the vehicle ‘a long time ago’; and (4) based on these observations and admissions, the officer searched the vehicle.”

SB0125 also “Provides that no driver or passenger, who is a medical cannabis cardholder, a medical cannabis designated caregiver, medical cannabis cultivation center agent, or dispensing organization agent may possess medical cannabis within any area of any motor vehicle upon a highway in this State except in a secured, sealed or resealable, and child-resistant container (rather than a secured, sealed or resealable, odor proof, and child resistant medical cannabis container) that is inaccessible. Provides that no driver or passenger may possess cannabis within any area of any motor vehicle upon a highway in this State except in a secured, sealed or resealable, child-resistant container (rather than a secured, sealed or resealable, odor proof, and child resistant cannabis container) that is inaccessible.”

For more Illinois cannabis industry news, visit here.

To find more cannabis-friendly events in Illinois, visit here.

For Illinois News Joint reviews, visit here.

To qualify and receive a medical patient card at a discounted rate, visit here.