United States: some police dogs will be trained to stop detecting weed

The legalization of cannabis in the United States sometimes has unexpected consequences. While the majority of US states have legalized the medical use of cannabis, the use of K9 units, dog units, to detect drugs becomes more complicated.

Most dogs are trained to recognize 4 smells: cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and cannabis, but can't tell the difference between each. And they can't distinguish between legal and illegal quantities of cannabis.

And even if prosecutable offenses are uncovered thanks to the dogs, they will be easily contestable in court. Proposition 64, which will regulate cannabis from January 2018, stipulates, for example, that possession of a legal quantity of cannabis is not valid for further search or arrest. Something a dog can't distinguish.

The Colorado court came to the same conclusion. In last July, A panel of 3 judges decided that a dog that detects cannabis is no longer sufficient for a search. The decision was made after a Moffat County resident had his truck searched following a K9 alert. Police found a crack pipe, but the case was dismissed. The court ruled that the police lacked evidence to search the truck in the first place, unable to determine before the search whether the dog had smelled (legal) cannabis or an illegal drug. Had the police searched the truck and only found a legal amount of cannabis, they would have violated the citizen's right to privacy.

Similar decisions have been taken in Seattle (Washington State) or in Oregon, where adult use of cannabis is legal.

The new dogs will therefore be trained to detect only illegal drugs, excluding cannabis in states that have legalized it. In any case, there will still be plenty of «good reasons» to stop «people with strange attitudes».