Rats have found their way into confiscated marijuana at the aging police headquarters of New Orleans, nibbling on the evidence amidst a backdrop of mold and cockroach infestation, revealed the city’s police chief.
Addressing members of the New Orleans City Council, Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick remarked, “The rats eating our marijuana, they’re all high.”
Kirkpatrick painted a grim picture of vermin overruns and deterioration within the offices, which have served as the New Orleans police headquarters since 1968. She noted instances where officers discovered rat droppings on their desks.
Despite an emailed request for further details regarding how the marijuana consumption by rats was discovered or whether any cases were impacted, the police department did not respond immediately.
New Orleans Chief Reports Rats High on Marijuana Evidence in Infested Police Building (Credits: Sky News)
City authorities are actively pursuing plans to relocate the department to a new facility, a priority emphasized by the police chief since assuming office in October.
According to Kirkpatrick, the 910 officers under her command often contend with broken air-conditioning and elevators upon arriving for duty. She conveyed to council members the demoralizing effect such conditions have on staff and their deterrent effect on potential recruits attending interviews.
“The uncleanliness is off the charts,” Kirkpatrick lamented, while acknowledging the commendable efforts of the department’s janitorial staff. “They deserve an award for trying to clean what is uncleanable.”
The City Council is considering a proposal to allocate $7.6 million for a 10-year lease, securing temporary quarters for the police headquarters in a downtown high-rise building.
The council’s Criminal Justice Committee advanced the leasing proposal to the full City Council for a vote following a meeting on Monday, as reported by The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate.
Kirkpatrick envisions the rental agreement providing the department with the necessary time to develop plans for a new permanent headquarters.
Ron Harrison, the global technical director for Orkin Pest Control, expressed surprise at the notion of rats consuming marijuana, although the company holds pest control contracts for some marijuana-growing greenhouses.
Harrison explained that while the situation in New Orleans isn’t entirely unprecedented given rats’ omnivorous nature, the rats may undergo similar effects from marijuana as humans, depending on its form.
“Understanding the biology of the rat and its similarity to humans, I would assume that based on the amount or concentration they ingest, it would be somewhat akin to what humans experience,” Harrison remarked.
