JAYFORCE

In Washington state, changes in law enforcement procedures – especially allowing for legal marijuana possession and use – has come with unique challenges. Unique for now… I’m sure other states will eventually have to go through challenges like this: How do you get a dog to respond differently when sniffing for weed in Washington – to let “personal use” ride but still alert handlers to “intent to sell” situations? Some of Washington’s law enforcement agencies have an answer: Stop training drug-sniffing dogs to alert for marijuana.

“Moving forward, it makes most sense not to train dogs to alert to marijuana as that would likely lead to unwarranted investigatory detentions of people who are not breaking any law.”

– Alison Holcomb, author of Washington’s I-502 Law and Drug Policy Director for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

WHAT??!! Is that a round of applause I hear? Wait. You know I have to posit the downside on stuff like this. But I am not alone this time: My worry is ACLU’s worry. Not all law-enforcement agencies are changing procedures for training or using narcotics dogs, as the possession of marijuana is still illegal under FEDERAL law. That’s one thing, but not the MAIN thing. Holcomb has a concern that

“…narcotics dogs trained to alert for legal marijuana could extend detention and questioning beyond the scope of reasonable suspicion of a crime. This is especially worrisome because marijuana residue and odor are much more likely to be present on the state’s residents than any of the other substances dogs are trained to detect.”

Hate stop and frisk? Try stop, SNIFF, frisk, and DETAIN UNTIL COPS FIND SOMETHING TO ARREST YOU FOR.

READ: LEGAL POT MEANS BIG CHANGES FOR DRUG-SNIFFING DOGS

– @ojones1