Marijuana Laws!
Supreme Court rule Police can enter your home without a warrant if they smell pot?
[May 17]
Here’s a green news update, for better or for worse. The Supreme Court members have sided with Police that they can enter a home without a search warrant if they claims to smell pot. The problem is, how does one prove where law enforcement really smelled marijuana or not? It’s a civil rights disaster for those who value privacy along with their right to feel safe and protected in their home. Big Brother just took one more legalized step into American homes, and they want your pot.
The Supreme Court ruled against a Kentucky man named Hollis King on May 16th, 2011 when he tried to legally defend his right to keep a private home free from law enforcement intrusion. He was fromally arrested after local police came charging into his apartment without a search warrant. Their probably cause? The officers say they entered the domicile because they smelled marijuana. The reason they cited for busting in the door was that they though he was trying to get rid of incriminating evidence.
*flush*
Voting 8-1, the Supreme Court Justices reversed the state Supreme Court ruling that had originally thrown out all the physical evidence the intruding officers gathered when they entered Hollis King’s apartment.
In light of recent medical marijuana legalization news that new marijuana laws coming into play (like Prop 19 in sunny California) are not being widely accepted by the general public, it seems like the war on drugs being waged by the government against its citizens are heating public debates up.
This new marijuana laws loss might be a victory for the police who truly think smoking marijuana or have it in your house should be a criminal offense affects all Americans (whether they are smoke friendly or not).
Why?
Because if all it takes our government to do is say they suspect an odd scent coming from a home might be pot — real or not — that their armed police officers can enter and search a home whether they have a warrant or not is a slippery slope leading into no private domicile rights at all.
How many arrests will the new marijuana laws lead to in the coming years as a result of the new pot smell laws, no one can tell.
How many home invasions to do recon — whether or not a law officer prosecutes any American household family members for any crime at all — will happen using this new law?
Bottom line, between the new post smell law and homeland security programs, no house in the United States is really private now at all.
Until we can invent a Richie Rich Smell-o-meter to document scents effectively, as homeowners and renters of residential property, Americans can’t even prove whether the policemen breaking down their door really smelled marijuana at their homes at all.
So what criteria will policemen use to determine if they smell pot or not?
The website IsMyKidSmokingPot.com shares their impression of marijuana smells and how to tell if your own child or an adult family member had been smoking pot. They share the following tips and tricks to detecting (or avoid leaving) that strong pot smell:
- Marijuana has a very distinct smell similar to a skunk’s spray. It may also be compared to the smell of burnt lawn clippings. An easy way to simulate the smell, so you know what you’re looking for, is to burn a dried leaf from a maple tree. Although not exactly the same, the smell is very similar to that of burnt marijuana.
- Be highly suspect of a kid that’s spraying air freshener into their room or car until it reeks like a funeral home. They’re hiding something. Smoke shops sell highly potent air sanitizing sprays that claim to eliminate smoke in the air. They usually come in smaller, more compact canisters, and are sold at a higher rate than the average air freshener.
- If your kid has begun to come home wearing heavy cologne, perfume, or body spray you may want to investigate, especially if they usually wear a reasonable amount or none at all. Some kids will also try to cover the smell by burning strongly scented incense or candles. They may even try to pass the smell off as incense or candles.
- In some cases, a device is crafted to blow smoke through, dubbed a “toke blower”, in an attempt to disguise the smell. Smokers typically open a window to air out a smoky area.
- If the suspected pot smoker has an open window during winter or when the AC is on, chances are they are attempting to “air out” the area.
- Clothing will also hold marijuana smoke. The marijuana smell can be described as musty, musky, of earthy. A marijuana smoker is aware that their clothing will hold the smell of smoke; therefore they may use excessive body spray of cologne in an attempt to cover it up.
Editors Note: Good pot, as opposed to home grown skunk weed, never really smells like skunk. Being pro-legalization, one knows that places like medical marijuana dispensaries and cities overseas like Amsterdam will have a menu for connoisseurs to choose the taste, overall body effects, and scent. Choosing the right medicinal pot can be compared to sampling fine cigars. Do the smokey treats smell good to all? No… but to many Baby Boomers, Gen X members, and adult Gen Y youngsters they do. And the variety of fragrances that could be pot smoke smells and police could bust in the door of your home for something as simple as confusing the scent of fresh cut pine Christmas trees with $125 a quarter ounce hydroponic pot.