Can Police Search a Car for the Smell of Weed in Minnesota? A 2024 Statute Says Not Alone

Minnesota answered the odor question twice — once in the Supreme Court in 2023, then in a statute in 2024. What neither one answers is the question you actually face on a stop: how much more do you need?

Can Police Search a Car for the Smell of Weed in Minnesota? A 2024 Statute Says Not Alone

Not on odor alone. Minn. Stat. § 626.223: a peace officer’s perception of the odor of cannabis “shall not serve as the sole basis to search a motor vehicle, or to search the driver, passengers, or any of the contents of a motor vehicle.” The Minnesota Supreme Court reached the same rule for probable cause in State v. Torgerson, 995 N.W.2d 164 (Minn. 2023).

Minnesota: odor and the car — Odor can't be the sole basis to search a vehicle — by court ruling, then by statute. — Minnesota: odor and the car — the statute, the controlling cases, and what still gets you into the car. The full breakdown lives inside StreetSense, offline.

The statute — § 626.223

Enacted in 2024 and in force since August 1, 2024. It covers searches of a motor vehicle, its driver, its passengers and its contents.
What it doesn’t say: it doesn’t address stops, homes or pedestrians. It has no DUI exception. And it states no exclusionary remedy of its own.

Torgerson and Douglas

Torgerson (Minnesota Supreme Court, 5–2): “the odor of marijuana emanating from a vehicle, alone, is insufficient to create the requisite probable cause to search a vehicle under the automobile exception.”
The test: the totality must give “a fair probability that the marijuana is being possessed or used in a criminally illegal manner.”
Know what it isn’t. Torgerson was decided on the law of 2021 — medical cannabis, hemp, and a small amount as a petty misdemeanor. The Court expressly declined to discuss the 2023 adult-use law. It is not a “post-legalization” holding, though its reasoning applies with more force now.
State v. Douglas (Minn. Dec. 24, 2025, 5–2): no good-faith exception for odor-only searches made before Torgerson. “The odor of marijuana is one circumstance that an officer may consider … but there is no bright-line rule that the odor of marijuana on its own is sufficient.”

What's still open

Which “plus” facts are enough after August 1, 2023 — when adult use became legal — has no precedential answer. We found no Minnesota decision on a search after that date.
So don’t rely on a checklist. Articulate facts that point to possession or use that is actually criminal under today’s limits, and write them in your report.

How much is legal, and in the car

Adults 21 and over: 2 ounces of flower in public, 2 pounds at home, 8 grams of concentrate, 800 mg of THC in edibles (§ 342.09).
Outside the residence: more than 2 up to 4 ounces is a petty misdemeanor. More than 4 ounces up to 1 pound is a misdemeanor; more than 1 up to 2 pounds a gross misdemeanor; more than 2 pounds a felony (§ 152.0263).
Open package law, § 169A.36: using cannabis in a motor vehicle on a street or highway is a misdemeanor. So is having cannabis in the vehicle that’s out of its retail packaging, opened, unsealed or partly used, unless it’s in the trunk.
The glove compartment and utility compartment count as the passenger area. No trunk? Then an area not normally occupied by the driver and passengers.
Under 21: possessing or using cannabis is not permitted (§ 342.09(b)(1)).

The federal floor — and why it doesn't decide your case

Under the Fourth Amendment the automobile exception needs probable cause and nothing more (Maryland v. Dyson, 527 U.S. 465 (1999)), and marijuana is still illegal under federal law.
Minnesota’s statute and Supreme Court give more protection than that floor.
That is the floor. A state court applying its own statute or constitution can — and here does — suppress what a federal court would admit. Work to your state’s rule.

How it plays out on the street

Mid-afternoon stop for a cracked windshield. The car smells of cannabis. The driver is 30, sober by every measure, nothing in view. No search — § 626.223 and Torgerson both say so. Now say there’s an opened pre-roll in the cupholder. That’s a § 169A.36 open-package misdemeanor, and it’s in plain view. Cite it. What that fact adds to the odor for probable cause to search the rest of the car hasn’t been decided by a Minnesota appellate court since legalization — don’t be the test case without more.

Frequently asked questions

Can police search your car for the smell of weed in Minnesota?

Not on the smell alone. Minn. Stat. § 626.223 provides that an officer’s perception of the odor of cannabis shall not serve as the sole basis to search a motor vehicle or its driver, passengers or contents. The Minnesota Supreme Court held in State v. Torgerson (2023) that odor alone is not probable cause to search a vehicle.

Can you have open weed in your car in Minnesota?

No. Under Minn. Stat. § 169A.36 it is a misdemeanor to have cannabis in a vehicle on a street or highway that is opened, unsealed, removed from its packaging or partly used, unless it is in the trunk. The glove compartment counts as the passenger area.

How much weed can you carry in Minnesota?

Adults 21 and over may possess or transport up to 2 ounces of cannabis flower in public, 8 grams of concentrate and edibles with up to 800 mg of THC. More than 2 and up to 4 ounces outside the home is a petty misdemeanor.

Carry the rule, not the guesswork. StreetSense breaks down Minnesota law like this — the statute, the limit, and the charge that actually sticks — verified against the code and available fully offline on shift. Start the free trial.

StreetSense is an educational reference for law enforcement, not legal advice. State law changes, and your department policy may be stricter than the statute. Always follow your state’s current rule and your agency’s policy.

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