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Senate Bill 42 passed the Senate last month. In a House
committee hearing Friday, state Rep. Curtis Tarver, D-Chicago,
said that separate cases recently decided by the Illinois
Supreme Court made the smell of burnt cannabis not grounds for a
search, but the smell of raw cannabis is.
“The Supreme Court clearly is, I think to some extent, asking us
to do something because they interpret it, burn versus raw,
coming up with two different opinions and then saying that we
probably have to amend the vehicle code,” Tarver said.
State Rep. Patrick Windhorst, R-Metropolis, said policymakers
should first get a handle on the lack of roadside testing of
drivers for cannabis intoxication before taking a tool away from
law enforcement.
“My preference would be to dissolve those intoxicated motorist
issues before we start making changes to the cannabis statute,”
Windhorst said.
Tarver said he is looking to do something that makes sense.
“Not something that ties the hands of law enforcement,” he said.
Other questions were raised about what the change would mean for
law enforcement pulling over a suspected trafficker smelling raw
cannabis.
“So I hear you about the traffickers, I don’t want the
traffickers either,” Tarver said. “But I also want to be able to
drive down the street and have the same respect and dignity and
treatment overall as everybody else, and that’s what’s not
happening.”
The measure advanced out of committee Friday. The House returns
Tuesday. Session is scheduled to end May 31.
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