Rats have gotten into confiscated cannabis at New Orleans' aging police headquarters, munching the evidence as the building is taken over by mould and cockroaches, said the city's police chief.
"The rats eating our marijuana, they're all high," Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick told New Orleans City Council members.
Superintendent Kirkpatrick described vermin infestations and decay at the offices that have housed New Orleans police since 1968.
She said officers have even found rat droppings on their desks.
Ron Harrison, global technical director for a local pest control company said he hasn't encountered someone reporting rats eating their marijuana though the company has pest control contracts for some greenhouses that grow it.
But he said the New Orleans situation isn't completely shocking since rats are omnivores, and that the rats may experience the same effects from the marijuana as humans, depending on what form it was in.
"From understanding the biology of the rat and how it's somewhat similar to us, I would think based on the amount or concentration they take in, it would be somewhat similar to what humans experience," Mr Harrison said.
Police did not detail how they discovered the marijuana was eaten by rats and if it had impacted any investigations.
City officials are taking steps to move the department to a new space.
The police chief said she has been making it a priority to move the headquarters elsewhere.
She said her 910 officers come to work to find air-conditioning and elevators broken.
"The uncleanliness is off the charts," Superintendent Kirkpatrick said, adding that it's no fault of the department's janitorial staff.
"They deserve an award for trying to clean what is uncleanable."
Story By: AP
Original Story: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-14/rats-are-high-on-marijuana-evidence-at-infested-police-building/103587936
