The Canine 401k – Pot Sniffer Dogs are enjoying an early retirement

In many US states, marijuana was not legalized for a long time. The lack of legalization resulted in deliberate attempts by law enforcement agencies to search people, confiscate their marijuana, and prosecute them for possession of the illegal substance.

In order to conduct an effective search, the police officers needed the services of drug detection dogs. These dogs played a vital role back then in fishing out delinquent people so they could be arrested. We can say that the “war on drugs” with marijuana as a focus was advanced because of the dogs.

With more and more states legalizing cannabis recently, pot sniffing dogs are a thing of the past, which is why dogs are taking early retirement.

A prime example of this new reality is the state of Virginia, where police officers have initiated plans to retire 13 dogs. In smaller towns, police units are also planning to retire a dog or two, while some authorities have new plans for the dogs.

Such new plans include purchasing and retraining new dogs that can sniff and search for illegal drugs like heroin, methamphetamines, and cocaine. In some extreme cases, police forces skip the K-9 teams because of the high cost of purchasing and training the new dogs. It costs up to $ 15,000 for a new K-9 unit.

The reality of early retirement

The early retirement plans are for the dogs who enjoy just being dogs without the added pressure of “working” sniffing people and objects. However, it is not good for the people who have worked with it for a long time and become part of the person.

Getting the dogs into early retirement is tough on the people who have spent most of the time with them. They spend a good part of their days with the pets, working with them from morning to night, and developing a relationship with the pet.

A famous pot sniffing dog named Mambo in Cumberland County, Virginia, was adopted by one of the officers and was enjoying his retirement greatly. It is reported that Mambo is doing great, leading an extraordinary life, indulging himself with his bedroom in a house and enjoying all the attention. As dogs like Mambo get adopted and enjoy the moment, the idea of ​​adopting other retired Pot Sniffer dogs is gaining popularity.

It is a nice situation for the police dogs to live at home with their dog handler (ie the officer they worked with during the assignment). You are already used to the officers and would feel safer at home with them.

There are currently six retired marijuana detection dogs living with their handlers in Okaloosa County, Florida. Retirement for these dogs is an opportunity to enjoy the company of officers who viewed them as colleagues and friends while they rest at home.

Recreational marijuana became legal in Massachusetts in 2016, and the Quincy Police Department had to move two dogs from drug custody to patrol work. Eighteen months later, the dogs were retired and placed in the care of animal experts.

Is it possible to teach old pot sniffer dogs new tricks?

Marijuana is gradually gaining traction and acceptance in the states, with more legalization laws gaining positive votes. Legalization means that the dogs are useless to the police for sniffing marijuana. If a dog sniffs and detects an illegal drug and it turns out to be marijuana and not meth, the person who was inhaled can take legal action.

A defense attorney can use this as an argument to prosecute the police force, because now that marijuana is legal, no one should be harassed for being sniffed by a dog. However, it is almost impossible to teach the dog NOT to discover marijuana as an illegal substance anymore.

For many years, the dog was trained to sniff out and detect a range of illicit drugs (including marijuana). Now that the state has legalized it, an officer cannot return and retrain the dog to remove marijuana from its sense of smell. Nor can the officer get the dog to focus more on heroin and forget about cannabis.

Once a dog is trained in a certain way, the behavior never goes away. More so, dogs that work closely with law enforcement agencies don’t want to make mistakes, so they give the signal barking loudly as soon as they sense drugs.

The problem with the crowd

In most states, despite impressive legalization efforts, the bills contain strict laws governing the amount of marijuana a person can grow, buy, or own at any given time.

This law means that anyone who owns more than the legally required amount is breaking the law and can be prosecuted for doing so. The big question is, “Can a dog sniffing for weed tell the difference between the legal and illegal amounts of marijuana?” What if someone has a small amount of marijuana and the dog is still marking it illegal?

Pot sniffer dogs are 44% accurate, and that’s because they have been trained to warn officers of the presence of drugs, not the crowd. The dog will prevent a person from moving forward when he senses a drug and if it is found to be the legal amount it can lead to conflict.

Bottom line

It’s impossible to teach new tricks to an old animal, especially one that has spent many years doing the same thing over and over. Pot sniffer dogs were trained to sniff for illegal drugs, which included marijuana, before legalization took place.

Now that states are taking the initiative and legalizing cannabis, the dogs will be useless as people can now move around freely with marijuana. Some police officers in states where marijuana is now legal are allowed to take such dogs home to maintain relationships with them and to help the dogs get used to their new life.

Yes, grass sniffer dogs are no longer required in states where cannabis is now legal: so it’s safe to say that they can enjoy early retirement while the world adopts marijuana with legalization.

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