I emailed Sigma and asked them the same question and this is what they said:
My Question: What is the life span of the Narcotic scent once the seal is open and kept in the freezer. What is the life span of the Narcotic scent if used and kept in room temp?
their answer:
This product is stable for at least 2 years if properly stored and handled. Storage at room temperature will decrease its shelf life and may affect its suitability for use, but Sigma has not performed any detailed stability studies under other storage conditions. Trainers will routinely prepare several training objects and store them at room temperature up to one month without any apparent deleterious effect in canine training.
Regards,
Jeffrey Howard, Ph. D.
Sigma Technical Service
Major Iain Pedden Webboard User Reg: 02-18-2003
Posts: 197
Loc: Virginia
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Gents:
I'll take up the torch on searching case law for pseudo precedents. In the meantime, remember that cases are part of common law, which changes on the whim of activist judges moved by the illegitimate arguments of defense lawyers who don't care if a child in their neighborhood OD's.
In Illinois, for example, we have recently been battling a decision which seems to impose a reasonable suspicion requirement to deploy a dog at a traffic stop. This case is now going up to the U.S. Supreme Court.
As a lawyer who works for the good guys, I'll tell you flatly that if you train with pseudo, and the defense lawyer is sharp, he'll hammer you on it. And it only takes one judge to throw out a nice bust.
I'll keep you posted on what I find out.
My posts reflect my own opinions, and not those of the Marine Corps or the United States.
Major Iain Pedden Webboard User Reg: 02-18-2003
Posts: 197
Loc: Virginia
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I haven't come across any cases dealing with the use of pseudo insofar as it affects establishing PC. There are, however, a couple of cases that mention it.
1. In U.S. v. Navarro-Camacho, 186 F.3d 701 (1999), the suspects accused the officers of smearing pseudo on their vehicle to get the dog to alert so that the officers could search the car. (They lost)
2. In People v. Hollingshead, 569 N.E.2d 216 (1991) (Illinois), the court addressed pseudo in the context of obstruction and other charges brought against an officer who told a suspect he found a bag of pseudo in the suspect vehicle in order to get the suspect to confess.
There's a much more recent (Jan 2003) case that deals with pseudo-ephedrine, but that's a separate controlled substance used in producing meth, and doesn't really apply to what we're talking about here.
Agencies like USBP and Customs enjoy a more liberal application of K9s because there is a decreased expectation of privacy at borders, coupled with an increased government interest in protecting those borders. The average LEO on the street is subject to more stringent limitations. Some trainers choose to avoid the issue entirely by training with real drugs.
The Army has not allowed the use of pseudo since 1993 (unless there has been a subsequent, unreleased change in policy). See Army reg. 190-12, par. 3-5(d).
My search also didn't turn up any periodicals or law review articles addressing holes in establishing PC due to training with pseudo. That would generally indicate a lack of interest in the subject among defense lawyers.
Hope this helps, and is a good conversation starter. I'm deefinitely interested in the topic and will continue the research.
My posts reflect my own opinions, and not those of the Marine Corps or the United States.
David C.Frost Webboard User Reg: 01-23-2002
Posts: 1204
Loc: Nashville, TN
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Kristen,
To get a DEA license, you will need to obtain a registration form. Call your local DEA office and they can assist you. You will need to complete a protocol that lists, what you are going to use the drugs for, the schedules you will be maintaining, how you will provide security for the drugs, inventory and issue specifics. A few hoops to jump through but it can be done.
DFrost
Any behavior that is reinforced is more likely to occur again.
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