PA: With MMJ, smell of MJ from a car alone is not PC for a vehicle search

Pennsylvania is a medical marijuana state. “Like the Superior Court, we hold that the smell of marijuana may be a factor, but not a stand-alone one, in determining whether the totality of the circumstances established probable cause to permit a police officer to conduct a warrantless search of a vehicle. However, we respectfully disagree with the Superior Court’s decision to remand the matter to the trial court for reconsideration of its order granting the motion to suppress filed by Timothy Barr, II (‘Appellant’). Instead, for the reasons that follow, we vacate the Superior Court’s judgment, reinstate the trial court’s order which granted Appellant’s motion to suppress, and remand for further proceedings that are consistent with this opinion.” Commonwealth v. Barr, 2021 Pa. LEXIS 4375 (Dec. 29, 2021), rev’g Commonwealth v. Barr, 2020 PA Super 236, 240 A.3d 1263 (2020). Update: techdirt: Pennsylvania Says Legal Medical Marijuana Means Cops Can’t Just Sniff Their Way Into Warrantless Searches by Tim Cushing