I. This article is discussing the nature of medical marijuana and state regulation of the drug.
Medical marijuana is legal in certain states, but the use of marijuana is considered against the
law federally. The article is centered around the state of Florida. Specifically, the issue is when a
police officer smells the odor of marijuana coming from an vehicle, does the officer have the
authority to search your vehicles? The issue being raised is whether the smell of marijuana is
enough reason for police officers to search vehicles if medical marijuana is legal. The person of
interest in the article is a young man named, Victor Chavez. Victor feels that his constitutional
rights were violated when a Florida police officer searched his vehicles and found marijuana in
the trunk. Mr. Chavez feels that his right against an unlawful search and seizure was violated.
Other states have already had the issue raised that odor is no longer enough “probable cause” for
officers. States like Arizona and Washington have ruled that odor is still “probable cause” for
officers to search vehicles. The main reason being raised is that smokable medical marijuana is
not legal. The legality of medical marijuana is in oils containing THC, the main component of
medical marijuana. The prosecutor in the article makes clear points that marijuana possession
and use in public and vehicles has not been decriminalized, therefore in the state of Florida the
odor would still be probable cause for search and seizure. The article also raises other issues
where a man was growing marijuana in his home to help treat his wife whom had cancer and lost
in court. Medical marijuana laws have been put into place to help people who have chronic
diseases such as cancer, epilepsy, etc. Another man was growing marijuana to treat his anxiety,
he also lost in court. Yet, Victor Chavez, is not claiming to have a valid medical marijuana use
card but still feels that the search was unconstitutional.
