Smoking IN your house and getting in trouble...

actually opab, that might work as well. i dont think they can break a door down legally w/o a warrant. and if they had just shown up at your door b/c of a neighbor, i'd doubt they could get in. could always say you were asleep.
 
The general rule for a search of a residence is that the police need a warrant.

However, there are several exceptions to this rule. (Among them are exigent circumstances and searches based on plain view). In this case, the "plain view" exception might apply. Police can search your residence, without a warrant, if the officer HIMSELF has "plain view" of an illegal substance or illegal activity. (Note that this is not the same as a neighbor reporting to the police that she sees or smells something illegal.) For purposes of the plain view exception, any sense will do. In other words, the police can enter and search your residence if the cop smells the drug himself.

As a practical matter, my experience is that most police will not go so far as to conduct a search of a residence based only on the smell of marijuana.
 
^^^
I was under the impression that the "plain view" theory was only applicable in situations in which the officers lawfully enter a home for; as an example: domestic violence and see a bag of herb lying about on the kitchen counter in an orange neon Frisbee.%)
 
The plain view exception applies to more situations than just finding illegal substances or activities during a warranted search. (Although the plain view exception is frequently applied in situations where police are conducting a warranted search for one thing but then find and seize something else that is illegal. But the plain view exception is NOT limited to those situations only. For example, if a police officer knocks on your door for whatever reason (always legal) and sees or hears or smells something that is illegal, the officer can enter and seize the illegal object that was seen.

A limitation on the plain view exception: Police knock on your door. You open door. Police see illegal drugs on table. Police may seize the drugs in plain view. However, police may not proceed to search anything that is not in plain view. An example: After seizing drugs on table, police begin opening droors in your bedroom and find an unregistered gun. The prosecutor could not introduce the gun at trial because it was obtained illegally, that is without a warrant or pursuant to an exception.

Another situation occurs when police are conducting a search, pursuant to a valid warrant, and find an illegal object which was not listed in the warrant. Here are a couple examples of how this works. Example: Police search house, pursuant to a warrant for cocaine, and find a gun. The gun is admissible. Contrasting example: Police search house, pursuant to a warrant for stolen televisions, and begin searching in small droors where they find cocaine. In this second case, the cocaine is NOT admissible because the warrant was issued for stolen televisions, which are never found in small droors.

(These search and seizure laws are explanations of U.S. Constitutional law, specifically interpretations of the 4th Amendment. A state may afford the accussed additional protections beyond those demanded by the U.S. Constitution.)
 
PottedMeat said:


Seriously, a hepa filter thingy. I own two very strong ones.

Masking the odor, means to use some sort of spray. Orange cented or check with the local head shop.

If his roomies do not mind, just fire up inside; with the windows and doors closed.%)
Click to expand...

Where can one get these hepa filters? I don't think my friend spraying orange scented spray in his room is going to help mask the odor that actually reaches his neighbors' noses, but I could be wrong.

His roommates don't want him to smoke inside w/ windows closed, as they say the smell will accumulate and the room will constantly smell like weed.
 
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