(WSVN) - A police dog trainer in Illinois is claiming that legalizing marijuana in the state could lead to the euthanization of police K9 dogs.
According to the Bloomington Pantagraph, Chad Larner, who heads training at K9 Training Academy, said retraining the dogs would amount to “extreme abuse,” and replacing the dogs could cost millions of dollars.
Because many of the dogs are not trained not to be social, Larner also said a number of dogs would likely have to be euthanized.
Illinois Sheriff Howard Buffett, agreed with Larner’s statements, telling the newspaper, “It’s a giant step forward for drug dealers, and it’s a giant step backwards for law enforcements and the residents of the community.”
However, Dan Linn, the executive director of a marijuana advocacy group in the state said the idea is simply ludicrous.
“The idea that legalizing for adults to have an ounce on them will equal … all these dogs being euthanized, that seems kind of ridiculous and hyperbolic,” he said.
Illinois lawmakers are currently considering a proposal that would expand the use of medical marijuana to fight the state’s opioid crisis.
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