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Applying the Trespass Doctrine to K9 Sniffs in Marijuana Traffic Stops

September 14, 2020

In United States v. Jones, 565 U.S. 400 (2012), the Supreme Court announced that any physical intrusion onto a personal "effect," such as a vehicle parked on a public street, was a search under the Fourth Amendment when done for the purposes of gathering information. Most attorneys and judges understand Jones to be the "GPS monitoring" case because the F.B.I joint task force affixed a tracking device to a vehicle driven by a suspected drug trafficker. The attorneys at GRL Law know, however, that the reach of Jones and its progeny extend far beyond its facts. We believe it has...

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Marijuana Smells Like, Well . . . Marijuana

September 11, 2020

The odor of burnt or raw marijuana, when detected by a law enforcement officer, supplies the requisite probable cause in Iowa to search a vehicle or apply for a warrant to search another's property. You might think that a district court judge would require proof of some level of training and certification before determining the officer was qualified to distinguish between the odor of marijuana and, say, any other dried plant material? Turns out that's not the case. In fact, some basic drug interdiction training coupled with a tautological opinion from the officer that "marijuana smells like marijuana" will typically be...

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THC Metabolites Remain in Blood for Extended Periods During Abstinence

September 11, 2020

According to data recently published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, THC remained detectable in blood at levels greater than 2.0 ng/ml during several days of abstinence. Investigators affiliated with the University of British Columbia reviewed the relevant literature assessing residual THC plasma levels in those who regularly consume cannabis. They reported: “n all studies where participants were observed for over a day, blood THC in some participants remained detectable during several days of abstinence,” with some subjects continuing to test positive for up to 30 days. Some subjects also demonstrated a so-called “double hump” pattern “where their...

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