California Cannabis Laws and Vehicle Searches

 "From the Classroom"  - Ray Hill, Professor Emeritus, Santa Rosa Junior College

California Cannabis Laws and Vehicle Searches

   I have the honor and pleasure of having worked and taught in the policing business for 54 years. Most certainly I have seen the dramatic changes in the laws with respect to cannabis possession and use. I can remember when I first started at the police department there was a section in the Health and Safety Code (formally 11356 H&S – since repealed) that made it a misdemeanor to be present in a place where marijuana was being used. We would get called out to a loud Friday night party and end up issuing a book of citations to violators! And the D.A. filed! 

    The purpose of this lesson is to help clarify what constitutes probable cause to conduct a vehicle search when cannabis is present. Since the passage of Prop. 64, the appellate courts have been providing case law guidance. Some of these cases illustrate what you always have been able to do and can continue to do. Other cases have provided a new interpretation of when a cannabis container is “closed or sealed” in a motor vehicle. Lastly, the need to articulate your experience and training and your ability to detect ....