Seems to me a key problem with the debate re smell of cannabis as grounds for #stopsearch is circumstances matter. When a car door opened as I walked past with my kids the other day the smell of cannabis was overpowering. Had I been a police officer what should I have done?

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Maybe the point is that, as with a driver who smells of alcohol, the argument in favour of enforcement is far stronger (and the bar for action lower) given the risks to others from impaired driving, and this differs from pedestrians etc.

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Unlike my example, there are many other circumstances, where it may not be possible to link the smell of cannabis to one individual with any certainty, and there must also be concerns that, as grounds for #stopsearch, smell could be misused (being subjective).

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In my part of London, it is not uncommon to smell cannabis when walking in residential areas and there is no-one obviously around. Often unclear if coming from a house, a residual smell from someone who has passed by earlier etc.

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My strong suspicion is that this debate is really about the reliance of the Met in particular on policing cannabis possession as a means to police violence (do the ends justify the means?)...

https://twitter.com/gmhales/status/1108693998481391622

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...and the way this interacts with the relative normalisation of cannabis use, including for perceptions of police legitimacy. Almost 1 in 5 (18.7%) 16-24yr olds in E&W used cannabis in the last year. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/articles/drugmisuseinenglandandwales/yearendingmarch2020

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