Two wrong calls on marijuana

There were a couple of decisions on Tuesday involving marijuana. In our view, both were wrong.

The state Supreme Judicial Court ruled that police cannot pull over a vehicle simply because an officer smells burning marijuana, pointing to a 2008 ballot question approved by voters that decriminalized possession of one ounce or less of the drug. The court argued in part that because of the change in the law, the "strong" or "very strong" smell of unburnt marijuana is no longer enough to provide police with probable cause to believe that a criminal amount of the drug is present.

That's true, but that's probably not why an officer would pull over the vehicle. There is still the possibility that the driver may be impaired by the burning marijuana.

"It's a horrible decision," Attleboro Police Chief Kyle Heagney said. While possession of alcohol is legal for adults, he said, the smell...

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