For years, dogs have been used to detect illicit substances and objects. Dogs are used to sniff out contrabands because they have more than 300 million olfactory receptors in their nose. As a result, they are able to sense smells 10,000 times better than human beings. Canines make an essential component of law enforcement because of their ability to be trained and they can be used to sniff out narcotics or contraband items.
Drug dogs can be found working at borders, customs, and airports. However, we have a wide range of illegal drugs available today. It is, therefore, good to know whether these dogs can smell LSD. Read on to get detailed information about drug dogs and their ability to sniff out LCD.
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What is LCD?
LCD or Lysergic Acid Diethylamide is also casually called acid. It is a powerful hallucinogen drug that is derived from lysergic acid, which is a fungus that thrives on grains such as rye. LCD is also referred to as “lucy” or “dots.” A high that is caused by LCD is usually known as “trip.” Anyone who has used this drug to trigger a high will tell you that it usually takes the mind on a wild ride, although it is not always a good kind of high.
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The trips caused by LCD have been described in all ways from a trip to the depths of hell or a spiritual awakening. Based on whether you had a good trip or a bad one, the afterglow will involve feeling unsettled and anxious or happy and energized. This entire phase may last for 6 to 15 hours and the effects may even linger on for days depending on the amount of acid you consumed.
Although this drug has undergone research to determine its potential therapeutic uses, in the United States, it still remains a Schedule I drug. This simply means that it is illegal to manufacture, distribute, and even possess LCD.
Does LCD have a Scent?
In its pure form, lysergic acid diethylamide or LCD does not have any smell and this is why the drug is undetectable even to drug dogs. LCD is also available in a liquid form that is colorless and odorless. This liquid is usually applied on blotted paper that is then cut into stamp-like circles or squares. The paper is then applied on the tongue allowing the drug to enter the bloodstream through the mucus membranes.
Can Dogs Smell LCD?
Most drug dogs may not be able to smell LSD. This is because LD is in low concentration and does not have any odor. However, there are a few highly trained sniffer dogs that can smell these acid tables by perceiving the scent of chemical impurities produced during the manufacturing process or they can smell the cross-contamination of forbidden narcotics.
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Even in such cases, drug dogs may have challenges detecting acid tabs or LSD because they are trained to detect individual scents. The dog may be trained to detect a specific chemical impurity. Police dogs are usually trained to detect just 3 to 5 drugs and are mainly trained to give alerts on what is perceived as problem drugs. This includes drugs like marijuana, heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine.
Are Sniffer Dogs Trained to Smell Acid?
It is highly unlikely that you will find police dogs that have been trained to specifically detect and smell acid tabs or LSD. This is a safe assumption to make because of a few good reasons. First, training a police dog to detect illicit drugs takes lots of time and effort. A dog can correctly and consistently alert authorities only after lots of time is spent and patience.
Secondly, it hard to believe that most custom forces or the police will put resources and effort so that their dogs can just smell acid. This seems like a waste of money, resources, and time. It is not financially viable to try training dogs to smoke out LSD or acid tabs.
Thirdly, because of the high demand for some drugs and their adverse impact on society, we can assume that most sniffer dogs will be trained to smell narcotics like heroin, cocaine, and amphetamines. Lastly, drug dogs are usually trained to smell 4 or 5 types of drugs. Therefore, it is safe to assume that these are the drugs that the government and society are mostly concerned with. There are very small chances that police dogs can smell LSD and acid tabs, however, this does not mean that it cannot happen, but it rarely occurs.
In a Wrap
LCD is an illegal drug and sniffer dogs can easily detect it. However, the only time that these dogs can smell acid tabs is if they have the necessary training to identify the chemical impurities resulting from its manufacturing process. However, this does not mean that sniffer dogs cannot detect acid tabs as they have been reports of police dogs nabbing these drugs. If dogs can precisely sniff out cancer cells in blood they will certainly smell any chemical impurities that are used in the production of LSD.
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Category: DOGS
