UPDATE: The Arizona Supreme Court says the mere smell of marijuana can still be the sole basis for police to obtain a warrant to conduct a search, despite the state's legalization of medical marijuana. However, a unanimous decision by the state high court says that legal foundation for a search can be dispelled if authorities have indications the suspected marijuana use or possession is authorized by the medical marijuana law.
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The state Supreme Court plans to release a ruling Monday on whether the mere smell of marijuana is enough to justify a search by police in the wake of Arizona's legalization of medical marijuana.
The justices agreed in March to consider appeals of contradictory rulings by the Phoenix and Tucson divisions of the state Court of Appeals.
A three-judge panel of the Phoenix division ruled the enactment of the medical marijuana law doesn't eliminate a legal doctrine that says the plain smell of marijuana is sufficient to establish probable cause for a search.
A ruling by a divided panel of the appeals court's Tucson division ruled that circumstances other than the mere smell of marijuana are now needed to provide the legal basis for a search warrant.
