Can't you smell that smell? State appeals court says no, cops couldn't from THAT distance

PORT ANGELES, Wash. (AP) — The Washington Court of Appeals has upheld the dismissal of drug charges from 2009 that were based on police officers' ability to detect the smell of marijuana.

The Peninsula Daily News reports (http://is.gd/NI0eMT ) the cased hinged on how far away the officers could detect the scent of marijuana.

The appeals court agreed with a lower court ruling that officers acted with "reckless disregard for the truth" in obtaining a search warrant, which led to the discovery of the marijuana operation.

A companion $20 million civil suit concerning the raid of a Discovery Bay property, where officers claimed they could smell a marijuana grow operation from 130 feet away, has already been dismissed in federal court.

Steven and Timothy Fager say they will appeal the decision on the civil lawsuit.