{"id":2814,"date":"2021-06-10T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-10T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/CAIiENspz7D4l8Q9PvCvmMfhF0EqGQgEKhAIACoHCAow8dv9CjDw5_UCMO_i1wU"},"modified":"2021-06-10T07:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-06-10T07:00:00","slug":"if-marijuana-is-legalized-connecticuts-pot-sniffing-k-9s-may-retire-ctpost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=2814","title":{"rendered":"If marijuana is legalized, Connecticut’s pot-sniffing K-9s may retire – CTPost"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Most, if not all, of the state police dogs trained to smell for weed will retire if Connecticut legalizes recreational marijuana.<\/p>\n

Police dogs, a widespread tool in Connecticut law enforcement, have been used for years by local and state police to detect hidden drugs. But with marijuana facing possible legalization, the need would end for those specifically trained to sniff out the drug.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe potential to have to retire those K-9s is a pretty good possibility,\u201d said Brian Foley, assistant to Connecticut State Police Commissioner James Rovella.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, we would look for other avenues and other uses for those K-9s,\u201d Foley said. But it\u2019s not that simple. There are behavioral and legal issues, according to Anthony Guiliano, the sergeant in charge of the Connecticut State Police\u2019s K-9 unit.<\/p>\n

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\u201cTraining a dog to alert to a substance is fairly easy,\u201d Guiliano said, though to train that dog to \u201cunlearn that behavior is significantly more difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cThere\u2019s not necessarily a guarantee that we could ever totally untrain that behavior,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Legally, a dog that has been trained to recognize a now legal substance presents some difficulties.<\/p>\n

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When a K-9 alerts their handler that there may be an illegal substance, it \u201cgives them probable cause to enter a vehicle or a dwelling,\u201d Foley said. But if that dog is specifically trained to recognize the smell of a now legal substance, \u201cit ruins the veracity of the dog hit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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Narcotics dogs are trained to alert their handlers on a variety of substances, Guiliano explained, but dogs can\u2019t tell their handlers which substance they are smelling.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI don\u2019t know what the dog is thinking,\u201d Guiliano said.<\/p>\n

So if, for example, an officer entered a car and found an illegal weapon because a K-9 alerted the handler that a legal substance was inside, the search of the car might be challenged in court.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re potentially violating someone\u2019s Fourth Amendment search-and-seizure rights, something we take very seriously,\u201d Guiliano said.<\/p>\n

There are 21 narcotics detection dogs employed by the Connecticut State Police, and Guiliano said about 12 of them are trained in the detection of marijuana and may need to be retired.<\/p>\n