TOPEKA – The Kansas Highway Patrol has responded to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on Tuesday that says law enforcement officials in Kansas cannot stop and search motorists for having nothing more than out-of-state license plates from states that have legalized marijuana.

The Kansas Highway Patrol issues a response regarding the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals’ recent decision on a case: pic.twitter.com/e1WT5C9zVW

— KS Highway Patrol (@kshighwaypatrol) August 25, 2016

 

The court said the officer’s reasoning would justify the search of citizens from more than half of the states in the country.

The court reinstated the lawsuit filed by a Colorado motorist against two Kansas Highway Patrol officers who stopped and searched his vehicle while he was driving alone at night on I-70 in Kansas.

It found the officers violated Peter Vasquez’s Fourth Amendment rights in searching his car.

Twenty-five states permit marijuana use for medicinal purposes, with Colorado, Alaska, Oregon, Washington, and Washington, D.C. permitting some recreational use under state law.