Cops Have to Treat Marijuana in Your Car Differently After New California Supreme Court Ruling | KQED

""We hold that at a minimum, to constitute a violation of (the open container law), marijuana in a vehicle must be of a usable quantity, in imminently usable condition, and readily accessible to an occupant," wrote Associate Justice Goodwin Liu in a unanimous opinion. Loose marijuana found on a car's floorboards is like spilled beer, the court ruled."

""In assessing whether the marijuana is imminently usable or readily accessible, courts should consider whether the marijuana could be consumed with minimal effort by an occupant of the vehicle," the court found. The case at issue was out of Sacramento, where police officers stopped a car and searched it, finding 0.36 grams of marijuana crumbs on the floorboards of the backseat, along with a tray on which to roll joints."

The court set a three-part test for open-container violations: usable quantity, imminently usable condition, and ready accessibility to an occupant. Loose crumbs on a car floor resemble spilled beer and do not automatically meet that standard. Courts must consider whether the marijuana could be consumed with minimal effort by an occupant. In the Sacramento stop, officers found 0.36 grams of crumbs and a rolling tray but no evidence of paraphernalia to facilitate immediate consumption. The court concluded officers lacked probable cause to search based on nervousness and the tray alone.

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