Legalization in Missouri Sends Sheriff's K9 into Early Retirement

Clay County Sheriff's Department Announces that Aging K9 Officer's Duties are No Longer Required now that Recreational Pot is Legal in Missouri

The Clay County, Missouri Sheriff’s Department announced on Facebook that K9 Blaze will be enjoying retirement now that recreational marijuana is legal in Missouri. The seven year old is the department’s last dog trained to detect cannabis. Like many law enforcement agencies across the country they are not training their canine officers to sniff out blunts and joints.

Even in Kansas where marijuana is still very much illegal, law enforcement agencies are opting to no longer employ canines that detect marijuana. The Johnson County Sheriff’s office has already testified before the Kansas legislature that legalization would render their K9 team ineffective. Earlier this year the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Department welcomed a new K9 that isn’t trained to detect weed. At the time, the handler told KWCH News that they don’t know if the tool is going to be useful or not. Given the fact that police forces can spend tens of thousands of dollars on one K9 it’s no wonder they aren’t willing to make that investment as legalization sweeps through the region.