Recreational marijuana is now legal in Ohio, which means police K9s need new training. K9
Achilles, the newest member of Norton Police Department, is one of the first in Summit County that is not trained to detect marijuana, reported an MSN article.
“With Achilles, his training is just for what you could call, the hard narcotic odors. Your methamphetamine, heroine, cocaine, things like that,” Patrolman Adam Kauffman told the media outlet.
Kauffman noted in the article that his K9 partner is certified in narcotics detection, tracking, area searches, and apprehension. He told the media outlet that these new guidelines allow officers to have a specific amount of certainty when they are searching for drugs.
“We know that we are not getting an alert that is tied to a substance, that in certain quantities is still legal. We are then able to stand by that search or whatever action that we take next because we have that confidence,” he reported to MSN.
The agency sought guidance from prosecutors after marijuana was legalized in the state, he said. He explains that police must enforce state and local laws, making it beneficial for the department to no longer train police K9s to detect marijuana.
This can also help make their cases stand up in a court of law, the article reported.
Cincinnati FOP President Ken Kober said in a Local 12 article in July that he expects the new law to have a major impact on police K9s. Ohio, the article noted, has as many as 400 dogs trained to detect marijuana.
Some departments may retire these dogs early, the article noted. Others might use them in different ways, Kober told Local 12 in July.
