Rats at New Orleans police headquarters getting 'high' on seized marijuana

March 14 (UPI) -- New Orleans Police Department officials said the rats infesting the department's headquarters are "all high" from eating marijuana stored in the evidence room.

Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick told the City Council's Criminal Justice Committee the building is infested with cockroaches and rats, and the rodents in particular seem to be having a good time destroying evidence.

"The rats eating our marijuana, they're all high," Kirkpatrick told the committee during a this week's meeting.

Kirkpatrick spoke in support of a $7.6 million proposal to temporarily relocate police headquarters to a leased space in a downtown building for 10 years while exploring permanent solutions to the current building's numerous issues, which are not limited to pests.

"We all know the facilities have been rundown," Criminal Justice Committee Chairman Oliver Thomas told WDSU-TV. "Last year, it was so hot that we had to close the buildings. Sometimes it's so cold that our officers and the rank at headquarters can't even occupy the building."

Gilbert Montano, the city's chief administrative officer, told the committee the relocation proposal would be considerably cheaper than the estimated $30 million it would cost to fix up the current headquarters.

The proposal must now go before the full City Council for approval.

Scientifically speaking, it's unlikely the animals are experiencing the euphoric effects of cannabis. Raw cannabis contains inactive ingredients that must undergo heating -- decarboxylation -- before THC is produced in the form that gives mammals the sensation of feeling high.