What Kind of Drugs Can a Drug Dog Detect?

Maybe you’re concerned a family member could be abusing drugs. Perhaps you’re in charge of a school, and you suspect drug trafficking on campus. Or you run a youth facility or sober home for rehabilitating addicts, with zero tolerance toward drugs or chemical substances of any sort.

What do you do? Who do you call?

“The advantage of using a private service instead of the police is that our drug dogs can detect both illegal and legal substances that are commonly abused,” said Mark Chmielinski, president of 3DK9 Detection Services. “Police dogs can only sniff out illegal substances. Our drug dogs can be imprinted to sniff out anything.”

The list of what 3DK9 Detection Services drug dogs can detect is long – and getting longer. Currently, the company’s drug dogs can detect the following:

1. Marijuana – The most commonly abused illicit substance.?
2. Heroin – A highly addictive analgesic drug derived from morphine, used to produce euphoria.
3. Cocaine – Also known as coke, a strong stimulant most frequently used as a recreational drug. It is commonly snorted, inhaled as smoke, or dissolved and injected into a vein. Mental effects may include loss of contact with reality, an intense feeling of happiness, or agitation.
4. Crystal meth – A stimulant classified as a controlled substance. It can treat ADHD and can also help obese patients lose weight, but it is often misused.
5. MDMA – Also known as “Molly” or “Ecstasy,” the official name is 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine. It is a psychoactive drug primarily used for recreational purposes. The desired effects include altered sensations, increased energy, and pleasure.
6. Xanax – A type of benzodiazepine, or central nervous system (CNS) depressant. It is legal and often prescribed to treat anxiety and panic disorders. Xanax comes with a high potential for addiction, even when taken as prescribed, because tolerance to benzodiazepines occurs quickly.
7. Adderall – Another legal drug used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy. It is also used as an athletic performance enhancer, cognitive enhancer, appetite suppressant, and recreationally as an aphrodisiac and euphoriant.
8. Opioids – A class of drugs that include the illegal drug heroin, synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, and pain relievers available legally by prescription.
9. Opiates – Highly addictive substances derived from opium such as morphine and Dilaudid.?
10. Bath salts – This is a group of recreational designer drugs. The name derives from instances in which the drugs were disguised as bath salts. The white powder, granules, or crystals often resemble Epsom salts, but differ chemically.? Seconal (secobarbital) – A barbiturate hypnotic that calms patients before surgery and prescribed for insomnia.
11. K2 – A synthetic cannabinoid also known as Spice.
12. Fentanyl – A powerful synthetic opioid analgesic similar to morphine.
13. Kratom – A tea derived from a tropical tree (Mitragyna speciosa) native to Southeast Asia, with leaves that contain compounds that can have psychotropic (mind-altering) effects.

Police agencies are limited to detecting illegal substances, Chmielinski said. “A police dog can’t be imprinted on Xanax because Xanax is legal with a prescription,” he said. “We offer a wider range of services to our clients. It’s your property – you can do whatever you want to do on your property. I can imprint my dog on any substance our clients are concerned about.”

For example, he said, “Dogs can imprint on nicotine. It’s legal, of course. But some businesses don’t want smoking. We can help with that.”

Kratom is another legal substance. “It’s a tea – you heat up water and mix it and drink it,” Chmielinski said. “But if you ingest enough of the powder it gives you the same high as heroin. So, if you run a drug rehab facility, a jail or a sober home, it’s absolutely banned. And you may not want it around your family.”

3DK9 Detection Services takes pride in listening to customers and keeping up with trends, continually training their drug dogs to sniff out more substances. “We keep adding odors as we see a need,” Chmielinski said. “The next odor I’m putting my drug dogs on is formaldehyde. The street name for it is ‘wet.’ You dip it in cigarettes and smoke it. If a high school student is smoking wet, the police won’t come. It’s not illegal and their dogs can’t find it.”

At 3DK9 Detection Services, we take pride in helping our clients provide a safe environment for their families, employees, students, residents, and customers. We work with our clients individually to develop customized solutions using highly trained drug dogs. We can help you put together a detection plan!

Contact 3DK9 Detection Services today to discuss the right K9 security options for you.