Massachusetts' highest court on Tuesday ruled that police can't stop motorists solely because they suspect they are in possession of marijuana.
The Supreme Judicial Court based its 5-2 ruling on a measure approved by voters in 2008 that reduced possession of an ounce or less of pot from a criminal offense to a civil violation, according to The Boston Globe.
Justice Margot Botsford wrote that permitting such stops does not serve the objectives of the law change and doesn't refocus police efforts on pursuing more serious crimes.
The ruling does not bar officers from issuing a citation for marijuana possession if they stop a driver for a traffic violation.
Massachusetts State Police spokesman David Procopio said that trooper are not primarily concerned about motorists possessing an ounce or less of the drug and usually make observations of marijuana use after stopping a vehicle for other reasons.
"What does concern us about marijuana, even amounts less than an ounce ... is whether the operator has used it and is thus driving while impaired," he said in a statement. "The voters decriminalized possession of less than an ounce. That does not mean that using less than an ounce means you are OK to drive."
Procopio said the ruling will have no impact on the procedures used to establish probable cause for drugged driving the determination that a driver should be charged.
