Something Michigan Police Can No Longer Search Your Vehicle For

You may have been pulled over, written a ticket, or sent to jail for what used to be a crime, but Michigan police can no longer search your vehicle for this.

Times Change, as do Michigan Laws

I am old enough to know that the drinking age in Michigan was 18 from 1972 to 1978. I wasn't old enough to drink, but I knew the law.

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For a brief time in 1978, Michigan's legal age to drink was 19, but that only lasted a few weeks before it was raised to 21.

There was a brief time in Michigan when you could go to the bar at 18 but couldn't drink because the drinking age was 21. Then Michigan cut that out.

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Drinking laws have changed in Michigan over the years, and as the cannabis industry grows, laws involving marijuana are changing.

Michigan Police Can No Longer Search Your Vehicle For This

According to WOOD, Michigan law enforcement is no longer allowed to search your vehicle because of a marijuana odor without a warrant. The Michigan Supreme Court made a 5-1 ruling on a case from 2020.

This doesn't mean you can cross the Michigan border to Canada, Indiana, and Ohio with your car smelling like weed. All three of those will bust you, and it will cost you, even though marijuana is legal in Ohio. This law is also not a license to smoke and drive because that is still considered a DUI in Michigan.

The smell of cannabis is no longer probable cause to search a vehicle because you can legally possess a legal amount. Maybe a passenger smoked before entering, but isn't driving, and smells of weed. Neither the driver nor the passenger can smoke marijuana in the vehicle, and the driver can't before they get in either.

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Times change, and so do the marijuana laws for Michigan residents.