INNOCENT FOR INDICA –
July 24, 2023 – The legalization of marijuana in Minnesota marked the end of an era for the canine officers of the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office.
Jango, a 9-year-old German shepherd, and Cobra, a 10-year-old Belgian Malinois, are set to retire soon after the legislation goes into effect Aug. 1, Capt. Ryan Mangan said. They are the department’s last K-9s trained to detect cannabis, a skill the department stopped teaching new dogs years ago and likely never will again.
Mangan said Jango and Cobra, who were already reaching the end of their careers, will be relegated to patrol work before their retirement in September because they likely can’t be trained to stop detecting marijuana, which could compromise narcotics searches.
