Legal Weed In Ohio Sends Police K9s Into Retirement As They Can't Unlearn Cannabis Detection Skills, Now What?

Ohio lawmakers are scrambling to address an unexpected consequence of the state’s November marijuana legalization law. Nearly 400 police dogs trained to sniff out cannabis will need to be retired, creating a financial burden for law enforcement agencies.

Why? The dogs can’t reliably be retrained not to sniff out cannabis.

“We don’t think anyone anticipated this as a problem for our police departments, and it’s a real concern,” said state Rep. Sean Brennan (D) who is sponsoring a bill to help offset the cost of replacing the K-9 units. Brennan and state Rep. Josh Williams (R) are lead co-sponsors of proposed legislation that would provide grants of up to $20,000 per dog to cover acquiring, training and equipping new K-9 units that will not alert police to the presence of marijuana.

"I don't think that anybody that voted for the issue, either intended or knew that this was even going to be a problem for our police departments," Brennan told the Associated Press. "The fact that we're now going to need 300 canines, like overnight in Ohio, the demand for dogs and for training is going to be at a premium."

Law Enforcement Officials Behind The Bill

One officer who works with his canine partner, Rico, in Whitehall, Southern Ohio says it's not cheap to train and maintain specialized dogs like his.

“These dogs can range (in price) from $7,500 to $11,000, and some places might sell them more,” said Matthew Perez, adding that grant money foreseen in the bill “would be super beneficial for some departments that may not have as much money or profit coming in, you know, and they’re needing a dog, or they’re wanting a dog and they’re wanting to continue that program.”

Police Deputy Chief Dan Kelso in Whitehall said the cannabis-detection dogs live at home with their handlers who can buy them from the city for $1 once they're retired.

Meanwhile, Ohio's Legalization Program Drags As Politicians Wrangle

The launch of Ohio’s legal cannabis program is stalled in its tracks. Possession and home cultivation are now permitted, though the rollout of adult-use marijuana sales is in a frustrating cycle of legal delays.

Shortly after November's legalization vote Gov. Mike DeWine and the GOP-led Senate set out immediately to change the initiative, which was approved by 57% of Ohio voters. Since then, the initiative has been stuck in a tug-of-war between the House and Senate, causing many Ohioans to wonder why the Governor felt compelled to change the popular initiative in the first place.

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