A lot of new state laws go into effect Monday, August 1, and one of them will forbid police from using the smell of marijuana as probable cause to search a home.
The bill was authored by New Iberia Representative Marcus Bryant, who says there are still warrantless searches and arrests being made, simply because an law enforcement officer smelled weed. He says the new law makes it clear for police…
“That you can’t – simply because you smell marijuana – go into a person’s home and execute a warrantless search or warrantless arrest,” said Bryant.
Bryant’s House Bill 629 won final passage and was signed into law by the governor. He says his bill codified federal statute into state law.
Bryant says it is needed, now that a growing number of citizens are using legal medical marijuana. He says those patients shouldn’t have to worry about what happens if a police officer shows up at their door.
“The neighbor smells it, or someone knows they have medicine in the form of marijuana, and they could be subject to a warrantless arrest or the police coming into their home and making them uncomfortable,” he said.
Bryant says legalizing smokable marijuana as medicine makes this new law necessary to protect individuals’ rights. He feels there will be more bills filed in the future to decriminalize using marijuana.
“We do offer marijuana as a form of pain medication…so I think, going into the next session and the next governor, they are going to start looking at more ways to protect persons that have legal prescriptions for marijuana,” Bryant said.
