SE Illinois News

Illinois state Rep. Chris Miller (R-Oakland) is speaking out against Democratic state senators who have passed a bill that would prevent police officers from searching a vehicle based solely on the smell of marijuana.

“It’s a desperate argument by desperate people,” Miller recently told the SE Illinois News. “This legislation will lead to a lot of criminals not being caught or prosecuted and at some point maybe even having officers not trusting their instincts.”

Senate Bill 125 is sponsored by Illinois state Sen. Rachel Ventura (D-Joliet), and lawmakers voted 33–20 to pass the legislation, a recent Marijuana Moment report said. Supporters argued that the bill would protect residents' rights against unreasonable searches.

“People—especially people of color—are unnecessarily pulled over far too often,” Ventura said in a statement, quoted by 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 affirmed the push for the bill stemmed from a Will County court case in which a defendant was pulled over and arrested after the officer detected “a strong odor of burnt cannabis emanating from the vehicle,” which the defendant later clamed was due to someone having smoked cannabis in the car “a long time ago.”

Marijuana Moment pointed out that the bill would not alter the state’s laws concerning impaired driving, meaning the act of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would remain a criminal offense. The bill states that “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.”

Miller noted that the legislation would make it more difficult for law enforcement personnel to do their jobs.

“It definitely will and we need to stop meddling and allow officers do their jobs,” he told the News. “Enough with all the red tape and the negative attitude some that should be advocating for officers actually have toward them.

“It is as bad as it gets. I would like to think that we’re all engaging on the basis of common sense and this throws that assumption out the door. At the end of the day, we don’t need to add more regulations to make it harder for officers to their jobs.”

The bill is now set to be considered by the state’s House of Representatives.