Lake County Gazette

Illinois Sen. Craig Wilcox (R-McHenry) discussed Democrat-backed legislation prohibiting "the smell of marijuana" from being used as probable cause to search a vehicle or its passengers.

"What do they want, for criminals to have to tell officers about a crime before officers can intervene?" Wilcox told the Lake County Gazette, referring to Democrats. "There is no doubt this progressive left has decided the only way they can remain in power is to empower more criminals at the expense of everyone else. There’s no doubt when we legalized marijuana we thought we had things figured out. The reality is, just because we say marijuana can be legally purchased and transported, we still have to acknowledge not everyone will wait until they get home to partake of it, and given that, we still have to allow law enforcement the tools to do their jobs. Officers shouldn’t have to manufacture a reason to conduct a stop when they know they have a criminal in front of them."

Wilcox said he feels that such a measure would make police officers' jobs much harder and wished that legislators had considered their input before anything was passed or approved.

"If we actually had an honest discussion with law enforcement, we could have got to that before we drafted a bill like this," he said. "Democracy works when you let it work."

According to Marijuana Moment, Senate Bill 125, sponsored by Illinois Sen. Rachel Ventura (D-Joliet), passed by a vote of 33-20 and is currently set to be considered by the Illinois House of Representatives. Supporters argued that the bill will protect residents' rights against unreasonable searches.

“People — especially people of color — are unnecessarily pulled over far too often,” Ventura told Marijuana Moment. “The odor of cannabis alone shouldn’t be one of those reasons. Cannabis is legal in Illinois, and it’s a pungent scent that can stick to clothes for extended periods of time.”

Senate Democrats said that their push for the bill is motivated by a Will County court case where a defendant was pulled over and arrested after the responding officer detected "a strong odor of burnt cannabis emanating from the vehicle." The defendant later claimed that the smell was due to someone having smoked cannabis in the car "a long time ago."

SB 125 wouldn't alter Illinois' laws around impaired driving, meaning that the act of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would remain a criminal offense.

“If 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,” the bill reads.