Quincy, Mass. – Before he was cleared to join the force, the newest dog at the Quincy Police Department was brought into a room containing more than 200 pounds of marijuana so his handler could see what he would do.
"No interest whatsoever," said Lt. Robert Gillan.
The dog, Charlie, passed the test with flying colors. Unlike previous generations of police dogs, Charlie had been trained to detect only the smell of cocaine, opioids and methamphetamines – not marijuana, which today became legal for recreational use in Massachusetts.
Charlie is not alone, The Patriot Ledger reported. As Massachusetts has gradually legalized marijuana – starting with decriminalization of small quantities in 2008 and advancing to the legalization of medical use in 2012, many police departments have already phased out dogs trained to detect the drug and have brought in new dogs with different training. But with marijuana now no less legal than alcohol in the state, some officials say many more dogs will have to be replaced or retired soon.
"That’s a big problem for police," said Richard Sweeney, a Quincy criminal defense attorney and former head of the Boston Police Department’s drug unit.
At issue is the role that drug-sniffing dogs play in giving police "probable cause" to search a vehicle without a warrant. Under a widely accepted exemption to the Fourth Amendment, which concerns unreasonable searches and seizures, anything found in a vehicle after a dog indicates the presence of illegal drugs is fair game for prosecution, including firearms and stolen property.
Marijuana legalization has made that exemption more complicated for police because dogs can’t tell their handlers whether what they’re smelling is legal marijuana or still completely illegal heroin. Massachusetts courts have already found that the smell of marijuana alone does not give police probable cause for a search because the human nose can’t tell the difference between an illegal quantity of marijuana and a legal quantity.
"Whether it’s a dog or a police officer, essentially the smell is no longer going to lead to probable cause," said Jeffrey Sankey, a Plymouth criminal defense attorney.
Gillan, who leads the Quincy police K-9 unit, said some drug dealers have started using that to their advantage, keeping a small quantity of marijuana in their vehicles while transporting other drugs so that if they’re stopped by an officer with a dog, they can later claim in court that the dog detected the pot, not the other drugs.
"That’s not a new issue by any means, and the bad guys know it," Gillan said. "That’s why they drive up with a joint in their car. It’s a well-known practice."
Some police departments in Massachusetts saw what happened to police dogs in Colorado and Washington state after marijuana legalization and have prepared by having their new dogs trained to ignore marijuana. The Hingham Police Department’s newest dog, Pablo, completed 12 weeks of training in August that focused on only three odors: cocaine, methamphetamine and opioids.
Tom Black, co-owner of Northeast K9 Unlimited in Raynham, said he just began training a new dog this week and for the first time didn’t start with marijuana, which is usually used to start the training process because of its strong odor.
"We didn’t mess with marijuana at all," he said.
Black said dogs can’t be trained to ignore a smell once they learn to detect it, but he doesn’t believe that many departments will retire the dogs they already have, largely because of the cost. Gillan said an untrained dog can cost about $6,000, while a trained one can go for $12,000 to $15,000.
Quincy police still have two dogs who are trained to detect marijuana, but Gillan said both are about 10 years old and are nearing retirement age. In the meantime, he said they can still be used to scan packages because shipping marijuana is still a federal crime.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker
Full Article: With Marijuana Legal, Many Police Dogs Are Now Overqualified
Author: Neal Simpson
Contact: WCVB
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