Before New Mexico legalized adult-use cannabis in 2021, the state had briefly decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana.
That law, which was only in place for about two years before being usurped by legalization, played a key role in a state Supreme Court decision issued last week.
Specifically, the state’s highest court upheld a Court of Appeals ruling that warrantless vehicle searches prompted by the odor of cannabis were still allowable during the time of decriminalization.