The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal upheld a lower court's ruling that the smell of burned marijuana is not enough to allow police to arrest someone and conduct a warrantless search.

"The smell alone can't constitute the grounds because the smell of burnt marijuana — as opposed to raw marijuana — gives an inference that the material is gone, it's dissipated into the atmosphere. So how can you say you're in possession of something that doesn't exist?" said Ronald Piche, Janvier's lawyer.

"There may be suspicion that the person is in possession of marijuana but that's not enough to base an arrest."

The Crown appealed the decision and the trial judge's decision was upheld.