WHITEHALL, Ohio– Two Ohio lawmakers want to ease the looming financial burden on law enforcement agencies in their state, which will have to replace marijuana-sniffing dogs after voters last year approved a plan to legalize recreational marijuana use.
Nearly 400 Ohio police dogs trained to detect marijuana will have to be retired because they cannot be reliably retrained. This means that any warning they give about the presence of drugs can be challenged in court, because they cannot unlearn the smell of cannabis.
State Rep. Sean Brennan, a Democrat from Parma, called this an “unintended consequence” of Ohio voters’ decision in November to legalize recreational use.
Brennan and Rep. Josh Williams, R-Sylvania, are the lead sponsors of a bill that would provide each agency with up to $20,000 per dog to offset the costs of acquiring, training and equipping tranquilizer dogs that are not alert to the smell of marijuana .
“I don’t think anyone who voted for this issue intended or knew that this would even become an issue for our police departments, and it is a real concern,” Brennan said.
He noted that acquiring the dogs and training them is a major expense.
“The fact that we need 300 canines now, like at night in Ohio, the demand for dogs and for training will be higher,” he added.
Whitehall Police Officer Matthew Perez, a trained dog handler who works with his canine partner Rico, said the measure would greatly help communities like his.
“These dogs can range in price from $7,500 to $11,000, and in some places they can sell for more,” Perez said.
He encouraged support for the bill.
“I think it (grant money) would be super beneficial to some departments that might not be bringing in as much money or profit, you know, and they need a dog, or they want a dog and they want to continue that program,” he said.
Dan Kelso, deputy chief of the Whitehall Police Department, said the staff dogs live with their handlers and the handlers can buy the dogs from the city for $1 when they retire.
The voter-approved referendum allows adults in Ohio to legally grow and possess cannabis at home. However, they can’t buy it legally yet because the state legislature and state regulators are still debating how exactly the new rules will be implemented. A hearing on that plan was held Thursday, but it is not clear when a final decision will come.
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Shipkowski reported from Toms River, New Jersey.