Indopedia All Things Marijuana
DENVER — Deuce, a German Shepard with the Aurora Police Department, is sniffing around tables and a barbeque at a picnic area outside a police station. After a few minutes, he sits and fixes his gaze on a plastic trash can.
Deuce’s handler, Sgt. Brandon Samuels, removes a one-pound bag of marijuana he planted for the exercise.
“Guh’ boy!” Samuels said, tossing Deuce a rubber toy.
The Aurora Police Department is one of a number of Colorado law enforcement agencies that trains dogs on marijuana, a legal substance in Colorado. Canines at other agencies in the state ignore pot. A recent court decision has drawn attention to that wide range of policies — and left some wondering if pot-sniffing dogs, like Deuce, are overqualified for their jobs.
The core of the matter is Kilo, another pot-sniffing dog with the Moffat County Sheriff’s Office. In 2015, officers deployed Kilo to inspect Kevin McKnight’s truck during a vehicle stop. Officers searched the truck following his…
