Can police really smell cannabis in your car?

It’s difficult to imagine that 52 pounds of cannabis wouldn’t smell, but a new study, inspired by the real arrest and confiscation of a massive amount of tightly sealed cannabis, suggests it’s possible. Though the study tested two ounces instead of over fifty pounds, the results could change the way defendants fight police searches based on the “in plain smell” doctrine.

In the study, which will be published in the March 2020 issue of Science & Justice, two researchers found that people can’t smell marijuana packed in double vacuum-sealed bags. The study examined the ability of the human nose to identify marijuana when it was packaged in different ways. The scent was still obvious in casual packaging like Ziploc sandwich bags, but heavier plastics and seals stopped the odor from escaping, according to the study.

“In plain smell” is a common sense law enforcement doctrine that allows police to search property if they detect the odor of marijuana. Such searches are common, especially in vehicle stops, but with marijuana laws changing, smell-based searches are getting challenged in courts across the country​.​

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