Shit I thought that became the case when Illinois passed its recreational law.
Will police have to retire police dogs if they still react to weed?
Yes. Police dogs “alerting” on something that isn’t illegal, in a way that is indistinguishable from “alerting” on something that is illegal, are no longer qualified to be drug sniffers.
That makes it no different than it already is, most of those dogs will “alert” whenever they’re signaled regardless whether they smell anything. Information online suggests anywhere between a 26-44% positive ID rate though numbers on that seem a bit sketchy from different sources.
Hence the quotes around “alert.” I chose to keep my previous comment about accurate dog sniffs in order to address the question of “police dogs that react to weed even though the smell of weed is not illegal.” Inaccurate sniffs are a completely valid, but separate concern.
Shit I thought that became the case when Illinois passed its recreational law.
Yes. Police dogs “alerting” on something that isn’t illegal, in a way that is indistinguishable from “alerting” on something that is illegal, are no longer qualified to be drug sniffers.
That makes it no different than it already is, most of those dogs will “alert” whenever they’re signaled regardless whether they smell anything. Information online suggests anywhere between a 26-44% positive ID rate though numbers on that seem a bit sketchy from different sources.
Hence the quotes around “alert.” I chose to keep my previous comment about accurate dog sniffs in order to address the question of “police dogs that react to weed even though the smell of weed is not illegal.” Inaccurate sniffs are a completely valid, but separate concern.
Fair enough, point taken.