Court: Can't arrest all in car based on drug scent

OLYMPIA — Police in Washington can't arrest a group of people in a car just because an officer catches a whiff of marijuana.

That's the word from the state Supreme Court, in a ruling that overturns a nearly 30-year-old legal precedent in Washington.

Today's unanimous decision says individual privacy rights prevent police from arresting multiple people in a car, if the only evidence is the smell of drugs.

But the court says police can still search the car for more evidence based only on the smell of drugs.