Thanks to new laws legalizing marijuana in various states, some new police dogs are no longer being trained to search for the scent of marijuana.
New trainees in states where pot is now legal, including Nevada and Oregon, will be trained to alert to illegal narcotics like cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine, but pot is off the list.
In some cases, older K9s are even being retired early because it’s not easy to retrain a police dog to ignore a smell he used to alert to.
Thumbnail: Photography ©danisacch | Hibrida13 | Getty Images.
Jackie Brown is a freelance writer from Southern California who specializes in the pet industry. Reach her at jackiebrownwriter.wordpress.com.
Editor’s note: This article first appeared in Dogster magazine. Have you seen the new Dogster print magazine in stores? Or in the waiting room of your vet’s office? Subscribe now to get Dogster magazine delivered straight to you!
2 thoughts on “Police K-9s: New Training When It Comes to Marijuana”
Whenever I watch TV shows like “Banged up Abroad” I always wonder how anyone can dare to try to smuggle illicit substances through customs with sniffer dogs around. I certainly don’t think you would stand a chance if one happened to be on duty!
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