Georgia CommonsHB 496: Criminal procedure; scent of marijuana, cannabis, or hemp; provide imitations on stops, searches, seizures, or arrests
Last action February 20, 2025 · House Second Readers
A Georgia House bill would bar police from stopping, searching, or arresting someone based only on the smell of marijuana, cannabis, or hemp, whether burnt or not.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Introduced version, the latest LegiScan holds.
In plain language
Under current Georgia practice, the smell of marijuana can give police a legal basis to stop a car or person and search for drugs. This bill would add a new section to Georgia's arrest law (O.C.G.A. § 17-4-31) saying the scent of marijuana, cannabis, or hemp on its own, burnt or unburnt, cannot by itself create reasonable suspicion or probable cause for a stop, search, seizure, or arrest. The bill specifically bars officers from stopping a person or vehicle based solely on that scent, and from searching or asking to search a vehicle, driver, or passenger based solely on that scent. Since hemp and legal cannabis products can smell like illegal marijuana, the bill responds to the fact that scent alone no longer reliably signals a crime. The bill repeals any conflicting laws but does not state a specific effective date beyond the general session rules.
What the bill does
- Creates a new Georgia Code section (O.C.G.A. § 17-4-31) limiting when the smell of marijuana, cannabis, or hemp can justify police action.
- Prohibits treating the scent of marijuana, cannabis, or hemp alone, burnt or not, as reasonable suspicion or probable cause for a stop, search, seizure, or arrest.
- Bars officers from stopping a person or vehicle based solely on that scent.
- Bars officers from searching, or asking to search, a vehicle, driver, or passenger based solely on that scent.
- Repeals any existing Georgia laws that conflict with these new limits.
Who it affects
Georgia drivers and passengers, law enforcement officers who conduct traffic stops and searches, and anyone who might be suspected of marijuana or cannabis possession based on smell, including people legally carrying hemp products that smell similar to marijuana.
Why it matters
Because legal hemp can smell identical to illegal marijuana, officers currently may stop or search people based on scent alone even when no crime has occurred. This bill would remove that basis, changing how traffic stops and vehicle searches can be justified across Georgia.
Key provisions
- New Code section 17-4-31(a) states scent of marijuana, cannabis, or hemp on its own, burnt or not, cannot support reasonable suspicion or probable cause for a stop, search, seizure, or arrest.
- Subsection (b)(1) prohibits officers from stopping a person or motor vehicle based solely on that scent.
- Subsection (b)(2) prohibits officers from searching, or requesting to search, a vehicle, driver, or passenger based solely on that scent.
- Section 2 repeals all conflicting laws, a standard clause clearing away inconsistent existing statutes.
From the bill
“The scent of marijuana, cannabis, or hemp on its own, whether burnt or not, shall not provide a law enforcement officer with reasonable suspicion or probable cause for a stop, search, seizure, or arrest.”
“Search, or request to search, a motor vehicle, driver, or passenger in a motor vehicle, based solely on the scent of marijuana, cannabis, or hemp on its own, whether burnt or not.”
Status timeline
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Jasmine Clark (D, HD-108)
- Tanya Miller (D, HD-062)
- Jordan Ridley (R, HD-022)
- Derrick Jackson (D, HD-068)
- Dar'shun Kendrick (D, HD-095)
- Akbar Ali (D, HD-106)
Topics
- marijuana and hemp law
- police searches
- traffic stops
- criminal procedure
- civil liberties