{"id":63333,"date":"2023-04-02T06:38:28","date_gmt":"2023-04-02T14:38:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2023\/04\/02\/illinois-senate-passes-bill-to-block-police-from-searching-cars-based-on-marijuana-smell\/"},"modified":"2023-04-02T17:45:28","modified_gmt":"2023-04-03T01:45:28","slug":"illinois-senate-passes-bill-to-block-police-from-searching-cars-based-on-marijuana-smell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2023\/04\/02\/illinois-senate-passes-bill-to-block-police-from-searching-cars-based-on-marijuana-smell\/","title":{"rendered":"Illinois Senate Passes Bill To Block Police From Searching Cars Based On Marijuana Smell"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

The Illinois Senate has approved legislation that would prevent the smell of marijuana from being used as probable cause to search a vehicle or its passengers.<\/p>\n

The Senate voted 33\u201320 on Thursday to pass the bill, SB 125. It\u2019s now set to be considered by the state\u2019s House of Representatives.<\/p>\n

The bill\u2019s sponsor, Sen. Rachel Ventura (D), said in a statement issued by Senate Democrats that the proposal would protect Illiniosians\u2019 rights against unreasonable searches.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople\u2014especially people of color\u2014are unnecessarily pulled over far too often,\u201d Ventura said. \u201cThe odor of cannabis alone shouldn\u2019t be one of those reasons. Cannabis is legal in Illinois and it\u2019s a pungent scent that can stick to clothes for extended periods of time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

.@SenatorVentura<\/a> leads bill to remove odor of cannabis as probable cause to search a vehicle https:\/\/t.co\/f0AMUw5Gy6<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/jtqPpPjRSQ<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 IL Senate Democrats (@ILSenDems) March 31, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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The release from Senate Democrats notes the bill was a response to a Will County court case in which a defendant was pulled over and arrested after the officer detected \u201ca strong odor of burnt cannabis emanating from the vehicle.\u201d The defendant said someone had smoked cannabis in the care \u201ca long time ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bill would not change the state\u2019s laws around impaired driving. Operating a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would remain illegal.<\/p>\n

A striking amendment from Ventura that was approved on the Senate floor Thursday replaced the bill\u2019s<\/a> language as it was originally introduced in January.<\/p>\n

As passed by the body, the bill says that \u201cif 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014
\nMarijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,000 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills<\/a> in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters<\/a> pledging at least $25\/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don\u2019t miss any developments.<\/strong>
\n\"\"<\/a>
\nLearn more about our marijuana bill tracker<\/a> and become a supporter on Patreon<\/a> to get access.
\n\u2014<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

It also does away with a requirement in current law that cannabis in vehicles be stored in \u201codor-proof\u201d containers.<\/p>\n

Illinois\u2019s marijuana market has taken off since launching in 2020. Last year the state recorded more than $1.5 billion in adult-use cannabis sales, and the state collected $445.3 million in tax revenue during Fiscal Year 2022\u2014a 50 percent increase from the year before.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s still work to be done, officials have conceded. In September, state regulators released a report that revealed<\/a> a glaring lack of diversity among business owners in the adult-use marijuana sector. It outlined a plan to begin turning that around in the current fiscal year, with the industry set to significantly expand as nearly 200 new social equity businesses come online.<\/p>\n

The governor and other state officials have emphasized that they\u2019re committed to ensuring that portions of tax revenue from the marijuana market go toward community reinvestment, as prescribed under the state\u2019s legalization law. Officials announced last year that the state was awarding $45 million in grants<\/a>\u00a0funded by marijuana tax dollars to support community reinvestment in areas \u201chardest hit by the failed war on drugs.\u201d<\/p>\n

That marked the second round of funding that\u2019s been made available through the state\u2019s Restore, Reinvest, and Renew (R3) program, which was\u00a0established under Illinois\u2019s adult-use cannabis legalization law<\/a>. In 2021, state officials also put $3.5 million in cannabis-generated funds toward efforts to reduce violence<\/a>\u00a0through street intervention programs.<\/p>\n

In addition to providing community reinvestment funding, the governor announced in 2020 that his office had\u00a0processed more than 500,000 expungements and pardons<\/a>\u00a0for people with low-level cannabis convictions on their records.<\/p>\n

Pritzker also signed legislation last year that will make it so courts\u00a0cannot deny petitions to expunge or seal records<\/a>\u00a0based on a positive drug test for marijuana.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0state-funded initiative was also established<\/a>\u00a0to help residents with marijuana convictions get legal aid and other services to have their records expunged.<\/p>\n

In February of this year, a group of House Democrats announced the formation of a cannabis working group<\/a> that will promote the industry\u2019s expansion while still satisfying the equity goals of the state\u2019s 2019 legalization law.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we could empower the businesses, it\u2019s going to mean more revenue, and we\u2019re going to realize what we intended for the law to do,\u201d said the group\u2019s leader, Rep. La Shawn Ford (D). \u201cAnd that is increase employment, develop communities, reduce crime in the state.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Bipartisan Congressional Bill Would Force DEA To Let Patients Use Psychedelics And Marijuana<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The post Illinois Senate Passes Bill To Block Police From Searching Cars Based On Marijuana Smell<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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\nRead More: Illinois Senate Passes Bill To Block Police From Searching Cars Based On Marijuana Smell<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Illinois Senate has approved legislation that would prevent the smell of marijuana from being used as probable cause to search a vehicle or its passengers. The Senate voted 33\u201320 on Thursday to pass the bill, SB 125. It\u2019s now set to be considered by the state\u2019s House of Representatives.Continue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":63334,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63333"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63333"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63333\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63335,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63333\/revisions\/63335"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}