New study shows that banning sniffing dogs could be beneficial

Australian drug experts have said that banning sniffer dogs from festivals could be beneficial to the safety of festival-goers.

The National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre conducted a study of 500 New South Wales festival attendees to see how sniffer dogs influenced their behaviour, with some saying they would take drugs before entering the festival as a result.

The survey found that 62 per cent of those asked said they would consume drugs whether or not there were sniffer dogs but lead researcher Caitlin Hughes said there was a significant increase of consumption outside the venue due to the presence of dogs.

"There was a 13 per cent increase in the number of people who said they'd use at least some of their drugs outside the venue, rather than using them all inside.

"The other big change was a 40 per cent increase in the relative amount of consumption of ecstasy, methamphetamine and other drugs, as opposed to using cannabis."

Other studies have shown that sniffer dogs find it easier to detect drugs such as marijuana and Dr. Hughes believes that is why there has been an increase of people taking drugs such as ecstasy and MDMA.

The study followed Australian band Art vs Science making a plea to ban sniffer dogs at Splendour in the Grass in order to reduce the number of overdose-related hospitalisations.

[Via: Sydney Morning Herald]