Court: Legal Cannabis State Residency Doesn’t Justify Police Search

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On Aug. 23, 2016, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that law enforcement officers cannot stop and search motorists based solely on the fact that they live in a legal cannabis state, with the decision applying to motorists in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming.

The ruling stems from from a 2011 incident where Colorado resident Peter Vasquez was pulled over and detained by Kansas Highway Patrol Officers Richard Jimerson and Dax Lewis. Vasquez claimed the search had no merit, but the officers justified their unsuccessful search for cannabis by saying Vasquez was a Colorado resident and driving alone at night from Colorado to Kansas in a recently purchased older model car.

But in the 2-1 decision the court rejects this assumption, arguing that Vasquez’s behavior was “hardly suspicious, nor is it particularly unusual.”

“It is time to abandon the pretense that state citizenship is a permissible basis upon which to justify the detention and search of out-of-state motorists, and time to stop the practice of detention of motorists for nothing more than an out-of-state license plate,” wrote Circuit Judge Carlos Lucero.

According to the Huffington Post, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt will ask the appeals court for a review of the decision.

William Sumner is a freelance writer and marijuana journalist located in Panama City, FL. Passionate about writing, William is dedicated to journalistic integrity and providing quality insight on current events. You can follow him on Twitter @W_Sumner.

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