That's ruff! Dozens of weed-sniffing dogs are retired as Virginia legalizes marijuana on July 1
Asking dogs to follow their noses won't work anymore in states that have legalized marijuana.
As Virginia prepares to legalize adult possession of up to an ounce of marijuana on July 1, drug-sniffing police dogs from around the state are being forced into early retirement, following a trend in other states where legalization has led to K-9s being put out to pasture earlier than planned.
The measure, which was signed into law by Governor Ralph Northam this past April, will also allow Virginians to legally grow up to four cannabis plants. Virginia is the first state in the South to legalize weed.
In Virginia, the rush to take marijuana-detecting dogs out of service began even before lawmakers voted last month to accelerate the timetable for legalization.
A separate law that went into effect in March prohibits police from stopping or searching anyone based solely on the odor of marijuana.
Virginia state police are retiring 13 K-9s, while many smaller police departments and sheriff's offices are retiring one or two dogs.
Virginia State Police K-9 officer Tyler Fridley works his dog Aries at State Police headquarters in Richmond on May 10. Drug-sniffing police dogs from around Virginia are being forced into early retirement as the state prepares to legalize adult recreational use of marijuana on July 1
Fridley poses with his dog Aries outside State Police headquarters in Richmond, Virginia in this May 10 file photo
Most are in the process of purchasing and training new dogs to detect only illicit drugs, including cocaine, heroin and methamphetamines.
Some departments are unable to afford up to $15,000 to buy and train a new dog, so they are disbanding their K-9 units.
The dogs trained on multiple drugs alert in the same way for all of them, so it's impossible to tell whether they are indicating the presence of marijuana or an illicit drug.
The dogs also cannot distinguish between a small, legal amount of marijuana or a larger, still-illegal amount of the drug.
Aries, detects and tosses a test rag during a training exercise at State Police headquarters in Richmond
For police, that means they can no longer be used to establish probable cause for a search.
'We won't use our dogs trained in marijuana because that could be a defense an attorney would raise for a client, to say, "Which odor did the K-9 alert on - was it marijuana or was it an illegal drug?"' said Bedford County Sheriff Mike Miller.
Using a dog that has been trained to detect all drugs except marijuana can help 'guarantee he didn't hit on marijuana, that he found heroin or something else,' Miller said.
Miller's office retired one dog and is now using a second dog for tracking and apprehension duties only, not for drug detection.
His office also bought a new dog not trained on the scent of marijuana; that dog will be used to detect other drugs.
Miller said he'd like to purchase a second drug-sniffing dog, but isn't sure when he will find the money in his budget.
Other states that legalized marijuana earlier have had to make similar adjustments.
'The trend is everywhere,' said Don Slavik, executive director of the United States Police Canine Association.
'Once you train a behavior in a dog, that never goes away. They don't want any mistakes, so that is why they want to bring in new dogs,' he said.
A 2017 ruling from the Colorado Court of Appeals solidified concerns that using marijuana-trained dogs in places where the drug is legal may not withstand legal challenges.
Kilo, a Moffat County Sheriff's Office dog trained on multiple drugs, alerted on a man's truck during a 2015 traffic stop.
Officers found a methamphetamine pipe containing white residue.
The court found that Kilo's alert was not a reliable indicator of illegal activity because the dog could not differentiate between marijuana and an illegal drug.
The court overturned the man's drug possession conviction, finding that police did not have legal grounds to search his truck.
The ruling was later upheld by the Colorado Supreme Court.
In Massachusetts, where recreational marijuana became legal in 2016, the Quincy Police Department shifted two dogs from drug detection to patrol work, then retired them about 18 months later.
Virginians will be able to legally possess up to one ounce of marijuana under the new law which goes into effect on July 1. The file photo above shows James MacWilliams pruning a marijuana plant in Portland, Maine in this December 2017 file photo
Lt. Bob Gillan, the department's K-9 Unit Supervisor, said drug traffickers quickly figured out how to raise doubt about the legality of a search by a dog trained to detect marijuana.
'Usually, when they're delivering their illegal drugs, they will always have marijuana burning in the car. Any defense attorney worth his or her salt will say, "Well, your dog hit on a legal substance," (not the illegal drugs),' he said.
Sgt. Scott Amos, the canine training coordinator for Virginia State Police, said that with the July 1 legalization date approaching, police are busy training new dogs to detect MDMA, also known as ecstasy; cocaine, heroine and methamphetamines, while also getting 13 dogs ready for retirement.
Apollo, Aries, Bandit, Blaze, Jax, Kane, Mater, Nina, Reno, Sarge, Thunder, Zeus and Zoey are being adopted by their handlers, Amos said.
Cumberland County Sheriff Darrell Hodges said his office recently had to retire its drug-detecting K-9, a Belgian Malinois named Mambo.
He said his 17-person department doesn't have the money to purchase and train a new dog.
'You work with them day in and day out, and they become part of you, and to just take it away is kind of tough,' he said.
Hodges said all turned out well for Mambo, who was adopted by his handler.
'The dog is actually living a wonderful life,' he said.
'He has his own bedroom in a house and is getting spoiled rotten.'
So far, 34 states and Washington D.C. have legalized marijuana in some form, including recreational use, medical use and sales
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