Odor of Marijuana as Probable Cause; Terry Frisk
.A pat search was justified under the Fourth Amendment by the odor and presence of marijuana in a vehicle being driven in a high-crime area, combined with the evasive and unusual conduct displayed by defendant and the driver; the passage of Proposition 64 did not change the result.
The odor of marijuana emanating from the SUV and the driver, as well as the driver’s admission that there was marijuana in his half-burnt cigar, provided probable cause for a search of the vehicle, which, in turn, provided additional support for the validity of the pat search on officer safety grounds because the vehicle search would have left one of the officers outnumbered by the driver and defendant, who was wearing baggy clothes that could conceal a weapon.
