The newest drug-sniffing dog on the police force in one US city is not trained to point out the presence of marijuana. Other police departments in the area are retraining their dogs to ignore pot as well — part of the new reality after voters in Washington State legalized marijuana use last year.
“We wanted to train our dog on what was truly illegal substances, that would be heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine,” said officer Duke Roessel, who handles a 19-month-old black Labrador named Dusty in the city of Bremerton, near Seattle.
Washington and Colorado are the first US states to legalize marijuana for recreational use, and the rest of the country is watching — while the federal government continues to see marijuana use as illegal.
Police departments in Seattle and other cities, as well as the Washington State Patrol, have either put the dogs through pot desensitization training or plan not to train them for marijuana detection.
The new law decriminalized possession of up to 28g of the drug for individuals over 21 years old. It also barred the distribution and growth of marijuana outside the state-approved system.
Traditionally, police dogs are trained to alert on the smell of marijuana, heroin, crack cocaine, methamphetamine and cocaine.
The dogs cannot tell which one it is or how much of each there is.
In January, the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission removed detecting marijuana from its canine team certification standards.
However, some police departments are not making any changes.
The legalization law “just made one ounce not a crime for adults. That means that any amount over an ounce is still illegal, growing marijuana is still illegal, selling marijuana is still illegal, passing a joint to somebody is still illegal,” medical marijuana advocate and attorney Douglas Hiatt said.
Dog trainer Fred Helfers of the Pacific Northwest Detection Dog Association is helping departments who want to go through the “extinction” training, which he said is a common method to change what substances dogs alert to.
It takes about an initial 30 days plus everyday reinforcements to modify the dog’s behavior.
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
RSS