In Thomas v. Superior Court (1972) 22 Cal.App.3d 972, a police officer stopped a vehicle to ascertain the identities of the persons in it. (Id. at p. 975.) The officer observed a "hand-rolled cigarette in white paper" on the back seat. (Ibid.) Based on that observation, the officer arrested the defendant for possession of marijuana. He then entered the defendant's car and seized the cigarette. (Ibid.) The appellate court held that the arrest for possession and seizure of the cigarette were unlawful because there was no evidence of circumstances indicating that the cigarette contained marijuana. (Id. at pp. 979-980.) The court noted that there was no evidence concerning the circumstances, or the officer's prior experience in telling the difference between the appearance of hand-rolled tobacco cigarettes and hand-rolled marijuana cigarettes. (Id. at p. 976.) The court also stated that it was "inherently impossible for the contents of a closed opaque container to be in plain view . . . ." (Id. at p. 977.)