Over 75 marijuana plants were discovered at a Miami-Dade home after officers driving by the home detected the smell of marijuana coming from the property.
When the officers noticed the smell, they knocked on the door of the house. Police alleged that the homeowner provided written consent allowing the officers to search the property.
The weight of the marijuana does not amount to trafficking in cannabis (25 pounds or more). The owner of the home has been charged with cultivation of marijuana and possession of marijuana.
The smell of marijuana coming from a property may give an officer a reason to come to a door for a "knock and talk." It is your right to refuse to consent to a search of your home and require the officer to obtain a search warrant.
Once you allow an officer into your home, unless the consent was obtained at gunpoint or under threat, a court will likely uphold the search as valid.
If confronted by police regarding a grow house investigation, you should politely but assertively refuse to give a statement. Anything you say will be used against you.
The smell of marijuana alone may not be sufficient to obtain a search warrant. In this case, the accused should have refused to allow the officers into the home and should have remained silent. The chances of beating the case would have improved dramatically.
Eric Matheny is a Miami marijuana grow house lawyer and Broward marijuana grow house lawyer.