GA: Officer didn’t have to distinguish between smell of MJ, hemp, and CBD to have PC to search car

Under existing precedent, the smell of suspected marijuana couldn’t be distinguished between hemp and CBD, and that was still probable cause for search of the car. Coverstone v. State, 2024 Ga. App. LEXIS 90 (Mar. 4, 2024).

“First, Officer Murphy did not improperly prolong the detention by ordering Nguyen to exit the car. … Second, the officers did not improperly prolong the stop by frisking either Nguyen or Tran. … The brief frisks were justified by the odor of burned marijuana, the suspected vehicle theft, Nguyen’s initial refusal to get out of the car, the knife in Nguyen’s pocket, and reason to believe Nguyen and Tran were engaged in a ‘common enterprise.’ … Third, Officer Elhami did not improperly prolong the detention by briefly asking Tran whether he was ‘on probation or anything.’ … Fourth, Officer Elhami did not improperly prolong the detention by ordering Tran to exit the car. … Fifth, the officers did not improperly prolong the detention by asking for Tran’s identification and searching the car because the officers had at least formed reasonable suspicion of criminal conduct prior to their investigative steps. ‘Although a mere hunch does not create reasonable suspicion, the level of suspicion the standard requires is considerably less than proof of wrongdoing by a preponderance of the evidence, and obviously less than is necessary for probable cause.’ … And Nguyen consented to the vehicle search.” United States v. Tran, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 4934 (9th Cir. Mar. 1, 2024).*