New Orleans Police Department officials have said the rats infesting the department's headquarters are "all high" from eating marijuana stored in the evidence room.
"The rats eating our marijuana, they're all high," Kirkpatrick told the committee during a meeting this week.
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 run down," 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.
Similarly in November 2022, police in India accused rats of destroying nearly 200kg of cannabis seized from dealers and kept in police stations.
The court had asked the police to produce the stash as evidence in cases of drug peddling but the police blamed rats for consuming part of the drugs.
"Rats are tiny animals and they have no fear of the police. It's difficult to protect the drug from them," a court in Uttar Pradesh state has said.
The judge cited three cases in which marijuana was destroyed by rodents, according to BBC.
Judge Sanjay Chaudhary said in an order that when the court asked the police to produce the seized drug as evidence, it was told that 195kg of cannabis had been "destroyed" by rats.
In another case involving 386kg of the drug, the police filed a report saying "some" of the cannabis was "eaten up by the rats".
The report added that Judge Chaudhary said some 700kg of marijuana seized by the police was lying in police stations in Mathura district and that "all of it was under danger of infestation by rats".
The animals damaged furniture and air conditioning fittings in the president’s official office while he was in London receiving treatment, his media adviser Garba Shehu said.