Unsealed cannabis packages must be stored in the trunk just like alcohol, a little-known rule that’s led to more than 1,200 misdemeanor convictions in Minnesota reports local media
When Minnesota lawmakers legalized recreational marijuana in 2023, Democrats hailed it as the state’s most sweeping shift in drug policy in half a century and long-overdue relief for tens of thousands whose records were marred by low-level marijuana offenses.
What had been a felony — having two ounces of cannabis flower in a car, enough for about 100 joints — became legal overnight when the law took effect on Aug. 1.
But legalization hasn’t ended marijuana prosecutions. Minnesota prosecutors have brought more than 3,500 charges and won more than 1,200 misdemeanor convictions against people with cannabis in their cars since legalization, according to a Minnesota Reformer analysis. Additionally, prosecutors have filed nearly 500 charges against people for consuming cannabis in vehicles, either as passengers or drivers.
That’s due to an important but unadvertised caveat: all cannabis products — including flower, vape pens, wax and edibles — must be in the trunk (or trunk area in the case of SUVs) unless they’re sealed in their original, labeled packaging from a dispensary.
The police stops and prosecutions have defense lawyers concerned about the threat of racial profiling and warrantless vehicle searches.
“Now there’s this whole entry point to all of these cars — officers are going to take it every time they get,” Amanda Brodhag, a Hennepin County public defender, said.
Law enforcement leaders and prosecutors say there’s an obvious public safety rationale for the law: driving under the influence of cannabis or any intoxicating substance is dangerous and they shouldn’t be easily accessible to the driver.
The packaging law has caught many consumers and even cannabis attorneys unawares.
“I’m surprised,” said Elliot Ginsburg, an attorney who helps marijuana growers, manufacturers and retailers comply with the new regulatory regime. “I suspect a lot of people don’t know that.”
The law prohibiting improperly packaged marijuana in vehicles isn’t mentioned on the state’s “need to know” page about adult-use cannabis, nor is it referenced anywhere in the chapter of laws governing recreational cannabis, including the lengthy section detailing limits on cannabis possession and the many things people may not do with it, like use it in a vehicle.
The rules are found in the lengthy chapter of traffic laws, next to the nearly identical section on open alcohol containers.
Violating the cannabis open package law is a misdemeanor, carrying a maximum penalty of $1,000 fine and 90 days in jail, although many people end up paying a few hundred dollars or less, according to the Reformer’s review of convictions.
In dozens of convictions reviewed by the Reformer, some cases included evidence that the driver had recently consumed, like a burnt roach in the ashtray or a vape pen tucked under the driver’s leg. In those cases, there were often additional charges such as driving under the influence, speeding or driving without a license.
In many other cases, however, the driver is not even suspected of being under the influence but simply had a jar of marijuana in the passenger area or in the center console. In those cases, drivers often freely showed officers their bag of weed, seemingly unaware they had done anything wrong.
Brodhag, the Hennepin County public defender, said the people she’s represented charged with marijuana packaging violations have been surprised to learn they did anything wrong.
She and other criminal defense attorneys have also seen officers use it to search vehicles without a warrant or the driver’s consent, which they say is a troubling trend. They worry police may use the ban on improperly packaged cannabis as part of a strategy that targets people of color and people in low-income neighborhoods in hopes of turning up illegal guns, drugs or other contraband.
In 2023, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that the odor of marijuana alone did not give police officers enough probable cause to search a vehicle without a warrant or the owner’s consent. But if drivers admit to having marijuana in the passenger area or a police officer sees it, that could justify a warrantless search.
There are apparent racial disparities in some counties, according to data obtained by the Reformer through a public records request. In the state’s most populous Hennepin County, for instance, around 42% of people charged with having open cannabis packages or using in their vehicles were Black despite making up roughly 13% of the population. In Ramsey and Dakota counties, roughly a third of people charged since legalization were Black.
“We’re just switching how we’re criminalizing the same exact plant,” Brodhag said. “And it’s going to hit the same communities that the criminalization of marijuana did.”
Brodhag serves on the state’s Cannabis Expungement Board, which was created by the Legislature to review more than 100,000 past marijuana-related cases. Sen. Lindsey Port, a Democrat from Minneapolis and lead author of the bill, has said the aim of the board is to “undo that harm” of cannabis prohibition. (Port did not respond to multiple requests for comment on this story.)
Brodhag finds it hard to reconcile her work on that board expunging low-level cannabis offenses with defending people who continue to be charged with the low-level cannabis offense of having an improperly sealed bag or vape pen in the car.
“These cases are not going to be up for expungement in the same way, and these people are going to have convictions that could still impact their future,” Brodhag said.
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Prosecutors have brought over 3,500 charges for marijuana possession in cars since legalization
